Gin lovers — and even haters — know it’s the unique blend of spices, herbs and other botanicals that give gin its unique flavor. If you love juniper, you lean towards classic, London dry-style gins like Beefeater. If you loathe juniper, however, you might prefer the modern, milder style of gin popularized by Hendrick’s or even Aviation in Portland. And now, at a new distillery in Edmonds, Washington, you can mix your own personalized blend of botanicals for a gin suited perfectly to your palate.
Located a stone’s throw from the Edmond’s waterfront, Scratch Distillery was founded on a passion for about aromas and flavors. Owner and Head Distiller Kim Karrick has long loved gin, but it was on a trip to London a few years ago that she toured several distilleries, attending a gin blending session at one and reigniting her fervor for the aromatic spirit.
After moving to Edmonds in 2002 for her husband Bryan’s optometry practice, Karrick set her sights on the couple’s next venture. She spent time researching stills, distillation techniques, blends and botanicals. While taking classes at the American Distilling Institute, Karrick’s confidence went from zero to 60, then to zero again.
“I told Bryan at the end of this course, I’ll know whether we can do this or not,” Karrick explains. “My confidence went back and forth, it was a lot of intense learning.”
In the end, she gained the knowledge and confidence, took the plunge and opened Scratch Distillery in July 2015. She experimented with various botanicals before settling on the unique blends for the gins she produces. Karrick uses a vapor infusion basket rather than macerating the botanicals directly in the distillate.
“Vapor infusion provides more nuanced flavors,” she says. “When you macerate you can get a lot more resin out of the botanicals, especially the juniper, and generally need to use dried barks, citrus and spices. I can use fresh citrus and literally pick fresh flowers and add those as well.”
Scratch’s two flagship products are a “G&T” style of gin intended for the eponymous cocktail, and a martini-style of gin. Karrick has always felt those are two styles of gin. “Martini is made with more barks and spices and has a longer finish, while the gin and tonic style has more citrus and a touch of floral note,” she notes.
Today, the Karricks are sharing their passion and knowledge of gin, botanicals and distilling in weekend “Giniology” classes. The 2.5 hour small group classes teach the history of gin, include a tour of the distillery and lesson on how to make the spirit. The attendees then have the opportunity to smell and taste over 30 different infusions and learn which flavors they prefer. Finally, the team at Scratch helps them create a unique gin blend they can bottle and take home. The best part is that your recipe stays on file, so when you need to restock, you can order your own custom gin and make into the following cocktail.
Bitter Lemon Cooler
2 ounces Scratch G&T style gin
1 ½ ounces dry vermouth
Splash of grenadine
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
2-3 ounces Fever Tree Bitter Lemon soda
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine gin, vermouth, grenadine and lemon juice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with Fever Tree Bitter Lemon.
