Kim Karrick, Scratch’s co-founder and distiller, refuses to rest on her liquid laurels
The meet-cute story behind Scratch Distillery has become a local libation legend: Bryan Karrick asked then Kim Lenhardt out for a Michigan State collegiate date. On it, he mixed up her first gin and tonic. A drink she liked so much (well, maybe she liked him quite a bit, too) that they had future dates, eventually getting married, moving west, and opening the distillery that initially focused on gin. Perhaps lesser known is that the Pacific Northwest spirits-and-liqueurs industry nearly lost Kim (now Karrick) to a sibling: the wine industry. Which would have had us missing sipping the deliciously creative offerings she’s made as Scratch’s distiller.
Before distillery-ing, Karrick was very into wine, even working at Woodinville’s Sparkman Cellars. She’d realized she had an advanced palate and thought about leaning into that by opening a winery or perhaps becoming a sommelier before deciding the hours might be too long. The irony is not lost on her; distillers aren’t known for short work days.
Near the same time, she and Bryan took a few gin-focused trips to the United Kingdom, where she said she “was fascinated by what seemed like an endless array of gins, compared to the few you see on most back bars in the U.S.” A little research stateside and the distillery decision was made, with Scratch opening its doors 10 years ago this July 10.
Sadly, many distilleries have come and gone in those 10 years. What kept Karrick and Scratch pouring? A couple of important factors, starting with Karrick’s above-mentioned palate. From their original two gin releases, tailored in taste specifically towards one being ideal for Gin & Tonics and another for Martinis, to Edmonds’ Own Whiskey, which uses organic Skagit Valley grains and just won a Platinum award in Sip’s Best of the Northwest competition. Karrick delivers well-balanced sippers.
She also continually pushes the Scratch lineup in new directions. The distillery has an extensive range of liqueurs, from traditional, like coffee, to inventive choices like their Lilikoi liqueur and aquavits. Of course, Scratch crafts other traditional spirits, such as gins, whiskeys, rums, and vodkas — including the scrumptious Hatch Pepper vodka, also winning top honors with
Sip. Moreover, Scratch hosts a Giniology class where Karrick helps drinkers make custom gins.
But it hasn’t been solely toasts and awards over the last 10 years. Being a craft distiller is a tough road, and being a women distiller in the Pacific Northwest — Karrick was one of the region’s first, and remains one of a small group — is rare. To make it over 10 years, her palate combined with a heaping helping of perseverance. Competing with the large multinational liquor companies is hard, as she says, “the lack of money/ability to incentivize distributor sales reps compared to ‘the big boys’ is truly frustrating.”
This is where Karrick’s creativity comes into play again, as she emphasizes, “tasting room sales and the diversity of product to supply our everyday customers, but especially our spirits club. Keeping them interested and invested is what has kept me alive in this business.” She’s also “cultivated a staff that is truly like family,” one that includes many Spirits Club members drawn to the distillery’s welcoming and friendly culture – as well as its spirits and liqueurs.
That spirits and liqueurs list isn’t getting smaller, either, as Karrick continues to push herself, creating tantalizing new pours, like, recently, a coconut rum. As she told us, “Sometimes the decision of what to do next is because we have an idea of what flavor would complement one of our already existing products, or it’s seasonal, or it is something hard to find in the market.” This is the case with their latest release, Liqueur Verte, an herbal number aiming to be a Green Chartreuse substitute. It took a long stretch to get it absolutely right, as it often does – but unveiling pitch-perfect flavors is what Karrick’s all about. It’s how Scratch started, and how they’ll continue for the next ten years and beyond.
Start Your Scratch Sipping
Scratch distiller Kim Karrick has unveiled shelves of intriguing spirits and liqueurs in the distillery’s nearly ten years. The below favs are a dandy way to get Scratch-ing, but heading to the distillery in Edmunds is even better – as is joining their Pride Spirits Club to get in on limited releases. Check out Scratch Distillery for more.
Martini Style Gin
Once the most ordered — and revered— cocktail in the U.S., the Martini gets a bit of short shrift in today’s cocktail culture. But when adding Scratch’s Martini Style Gin — tailored precisely for the cocktail via a balanced juniper mingling with 16 other botanicals — with a worthy dry vermouth, you’ll remember instantly why the Martini remains a champ.
Ingredients
2-1/2 ounces of Scratch’s Martini Style Gin
1/2-ounce dry vermouth
Directions
Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the gin and vermouth. Stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Edmond’s Own Whiskey
This whiskey has garnered a mantle’s worth of deserved awards — its individual mash bill of organic Skagit Valley grains, spelt, millet, white winter wheat and malted barley, conveys a sumptuous layered flavor. Scratch’s port finished, cask strength, and single malt whiskies are worthy, too. Try it in a Tranquility.
Ingredients
2 ounces Scratch Edmonds’ Own Whiskey
1/2 ounce Scratch Blackberry-Sage Liqueur
Ice cubes
Garnish
Sage leaf (give it a smack first to start the fragrances flowing).
Directions
Add the whiskey and liqueur to an Old Fashioned glass. Add a few healthy ice cubes. Stir.
Rum
With notes of vanilla, banana, coconut and a dream of beach living, this is a white rum to savor. The key is organic, sustainably sourced, cane sugar (or panela). Get your pirate on with a Captain’s Blood.
Ingredients
2-1/2 ounces Scratch Rum
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
2 dashes Scrappy’s Orange bitters
Garnish
A lime slice, matey.
Directions:
Add the rum, juice, and bitters to a shaker half full with ice cubes. Shake well. Add a big ice cube or two to an Old Fashioned glass. Strain the mix through a fine strainer into the glass.
Lilikoi Liqueur
Dreary Pacific Northwest winter days got you down, but no time to fly to Hawaii? Sip this sensuous liqueur and transport yourself to island life with its tangy, fruity, just-sweet-enough taste. Passion fruit is notoriously hard to work with, but Karrick gets it exactly right. Hula it solo or sub for simple syrup in a classic Daiquiri or, as I’m calling it, Lil’ Daiquiri. It’s palm-tree dreams in a glass.
Ingredients
2 ounce Scratch Rum
1 ounce Lilikoi liqueur
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
Garnish
Lime peel.
Directions
Add the rum, liqueur, and lime juice to a shaker half full with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass.
Chai Liqueur
Another imaginative bottle from Karrick and Scratch. Here, Darjeeling and Assam teas, and masala chai spices mingle over a Scratch Wheat Vodka base and just enough simple syrup — but not too much. That balance makes it approachable while letting cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, anise, and more spices shine. 1½ or two ounces of this in a mug of your favorite tea (I like it in peppermint, interestingly) make a swell accompaniment to an afternoon of reading.
