I am continually in awe of Pacific Northwest distillers. The creativity found among established and newer producers flows through the spirits they make, and we’re lucky drinkers to have them here. Take Sinister Distilling, from Albany, Oregon. At its “brewstillery,” just over an hour south of Portland, the team is making everything from single malts and pineapple rum to gin and Italian-inspired grappa. Along the way, they’re winning awards and supporting their local community.
What exactly is a “brewstillery”? As the name suggests, it’s a space that houses both a brewery and a distillery. Sometimes one side of the operation takes precedence over the other, but at Sinister, both began at the same time. As co-founder Jamie Howard told us, the brewstillery “started working on everything in 2011, got licensed in 2012 and opened in 2013.” While this article focuses mostly on the distilling side, it’s worth noting they produce lagers and ales under the Deluxe Brewing label.
The combination of beer and spirits makes perfect sense. Jamie and husband Howie Howard knew they wanted to create whiskey from scratch and needed brewing equipment to do it. Having the brewhouse on-site is very handy, allowing them to make rum and single-malt whiskey washes. Washes, a fermented liquid made by adding yeast to wort —sometimes even called distiller’s beer — provides the base for a first distillation.
Creativity is Sinister’s calling card, both on the brewing side and the distilling front. As Jamie explains, that creativity largely comes from Howie, who “comes up with the recipes and distilling process” and is “always trying new recipes.” This inventiveness was evident from the start with their first Sinister release: Howard’s Hopped Up Gin, which uses hops as a standout ingredient.
Since then, the lineup has expanded considerably. It includes a series of single-malt whiskeys, barrel-aged and pineapple rums, vodka, several gins, and the intriguing Sinner series of experimental spirits. Most recently, Jamie says the Sinister family is expanding again with an old-world liqueur using our grappa.
Grappa — a staple in Italy after dinner or alongside espresso — remains one of the most misunderstood spirits in the United States. I’m both a longtime fan and always encouraging others to give it a try. Jamie explains that “Howie got the idea after making wine in our wine group.” Learning that grappa is a brandy distilled from grape skins left over from the winemaking process — a truly waste-reducing, sustainable spirit — he “then worked with a local winery to produce a unique grappa.” Currently, their oldest barrel of grappa has been aging for 10 years.
Working with a local winery isn’t unusual for Sinister. The distillery uses local ingredients for all of its award-winning spirits and liqueurs. Those accolades include a Platinum and a Double Gold at the recent Sip Magazine’s Best of the Northwest Spirits Awards.
Their local focus extends beyond ingredients. Sinister is an active part of the Albany community, hosting events that bring people together. Past and current gatherings include Bingo Sunday, a Monday Night Acoustic Jam featuring local musicians and Dogtoberfest, which celebrates canine companions while raising money for local shelters. Coming up next: the Albany Vintage Bicycle Show on May 9.
That sounds like the perfect opportunity to admire classic bikes while sipping something delicious inside the Deluxe Brewing/Sinister Distilling brewstillery — a word and concept I like more the longer I think about it. Combining two great parts of the beverage world under one roof makes delicious sense, like ingredients coming together in a well-balanced cocktail.
Sinister itself is a bit like a cocktail: a blend of inventive spirits, local focus and community connection. The name may sound, well, sinister — but the results are anything but.
Start Sipping Sinister
Sinister Distilling’s spirits and liqueurs span a wide range, with new releases appearing regularly thanks to the distillery’s inventive spirit and focus on local ingredients. To get you started, we’re highlighting a handful below. Try them neat first, but they also make excellent cocktail companions — so we’ve suggested a drink for each.
Howard Jacob American Single Malt Whiskey
$50 | 750 ml bottle
Sinister has made an already long line of single malts, with every batch individual in process and taste. Today, we’re highlighting the seventh version (but I’d suggest trying whichever version you find available). Its alluring honey-oak-dried-fruit nose travels smoothly into a vanilla, baking spice, grain flavor that ends with a bit more spice and macadamia nuts. Made from 100% malted barley and aged in a select oak cask, it won Platinum in Sip’s 14th Best of the Northwest Spirits awards, and is one to savor solo. But it also makes a magnificent classic Bobby Burns cocktail.
Ingredients
Cracked ice
2 ounces Sinister Howard Jacob American Single Malt whiskey
¾ ounce sweet vermouth
¼ ounce Bénédictine
Lemon twist, for garnish
Directions
Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway with cracked ice. Add the whiskey, vermouth and Bénédictine. Stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the twist.
Anchor Rose Pineapple Rum
$30 | 750 ml bottle
The minute you open a bottle of this flavored rum, your mind will transcend into tropical fantasies. It’s made with a base of their blackstrap molasses regular rum, to which real pineapple (no yucky additives here) and brown sugar are added. A grilled pineapple sweetness comes through from the jump, suavely and sweetly flowing from the opening smell until the lingering finish. The whole tasting experience is bound to make any pirate smile. As is using this to make a fruity Daiquiri, or Paiquiri, if you will, to give a shout to the pineapple.
Ingredients
Crushed ice (see Note)
3 ounces Ancho Rose Pineapple Rum
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
Dash of simple syrup (if desired – the rum’s sweetness may be enough for you)
Lime wedge, for garnish
Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with crushed ice. Add the rum, lime juice and simple syrup (if using) and shake well. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass. Squeeze the lime wedge over the glass, then drop it in once squeezed.
Note
I think honest-to-goodness crushed ice is the sunny-bomb-of-goodness here, because it gets your Daiquiri frothy. If you don’t have crushed ice, use cracked. If you’re not up for cracking, then use cubes. It’s still going to be delicious.
Barrel Reserve Grappa Brandy
$40 | 750 ml bottle
Grappa at one point was mostly of the clear, unaged variety, but now in Italy and other spots you see invecchiata, aged in wooden barrels for at least one year, and also specifically barrique grappa, aged in French oak barrels of 225 liters. Sinister’s current reserve version has been aged seven years in French Oak barrels, and is made using grapes from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It has an attractive earthy underlying grapey-ness, especially mid-sip, which is rounded out by oak and a smidge of vanilla from the barrel. Yummy on its own, try it also in an Old Fashioned, or a Ti Penso Sempre below, a recipe originally created utilizing regular brandy but tasty with this grappa.
Ingredients
Ice cubes
1½ ounces Barrel Reserve Grappa Brandy
1 ounce Aperol
½ ounce simple syrup (can go lighter here, if desired)
Orange slices, for garnish
Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, Aperol and simple syrup. Shake well. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass and garnish with an orange slice.
Oregon Apple Flavored Whiskey
$30 | 750 ml bottle
An easy-drinking liquid poem to our amazing Pacific Northwest apples and apple culture, this amiable charmer takes Sinister’s single-malt whiskey and adds local Hood River apples, brown sugar and spices to the mix. It’s bursting with apple pastry notes (pie, crumble and other family favorites), so much so that I think having a hearty glass of it alongside an apple-oriented dessert is a life-changing idea. Baking spices, a pure toasty sweetness, and an underlying umph from the whiskey make this an approachable sipper indeed. Try it in the below, a variation on the Jack Rose which I’m calling the Jackie Rose.
Ingredients
Ice cubes
2½ ounces Oregon Apple Flavored Whiskey (see note)
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ ounce homemade grenadine, or to taste (see recipe below)
Lemon twist, for garnish
Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add everything but the twist. Shake well. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass, garnish with the twist (if you want to also add a slice of fresh Oregon apple, great).
Note
If this mix is too much on the dessert side for you, I suggest adding a ½ ounce of Sinister’s Houst Vodka..
Homemade Grenadine
Store-bought grenadine isn’t awesome. Fortunately, it’s easy to make your own! Here’s a recipe to get you started.
Ingredients
4 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice
1 pint fresh raspberries
4 cups sugar
2 ounces orange flower water
Directions
Add the pomegranate juice and raspberries to a large saucepan and place over high heat. Cook for 15 minutes. Let the mixture stay at a steady boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes longer, reducing the heat if needed to prevent burning. Slowly stir in the sugar, stirring continuously. When the sugar is completely dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the orange flower water. Let cool, and strain into bottles. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
