Just as Chuckanut Bay serves as an icon of the Northwestern Washington shoreline, a quiet inlet sandwiched between Bellingham and Samish Bay, the folks at its sister distillery are purveyors of iconic local ingredients, manifested in a line of terroir-focused spirits. The brainchild of longtime gin fans and co-owners Matt Howell and Kelly Andrews, Chuckanut Bay Distillery aims to preserve focused flavor and avoid heavy-handed production for balanced clarity in each bottle—sourcing all ingredients within 30 miles of the downtown Bellingham warehouse.
Since firing up the kettles in 2013, the team has been processing mass amounts of Whatcom and Skagit county grains, potatoes, corn and more onsite for handcrafted batches of the flagship 100-percent Yukon Gold potato vodka, white wheat vodka, grain-based gin, whiskey, bourbon and locally-roasted coffee liqueur (plus another house specialty liqueur on the way).
As Howell sees it, there’s a reason things are done as they are in the world of spirits—because they work. It is this philosophy that inspires creations such as Chuckanut’s Potato Gin, an unusual (but welcome) spin off more traditional grain-based varieties. In fact, it is one of just a handful of potato-based gins produced in the North American market. Predominantly Oregon juniper berry, this is everyone’s tried-and-true potato vodka, but in high-quality gin form. Bright botanicals offer an exceptionally clean finish with just a hint of sweet orange peel for good measure.
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