TOAST raises a glass to spirits for the fourth year in Portland.
Last weekend, the Oregon Distillers Guild’s yearly celebration of artisan spirits took place amidst the twinkling lights and glittering glass of Portland’s World Trade Center. Novices and connoisseurs alike had the opportunity to talk to more than 30 craft distillers and taste their wares over the course of two gloriously warm weekend evenings.
The fourth annual TOAST was a rare opportunity to sample both new offerings and old standbys, both those made locally and across the country. Standouts included Koval Distillery’s Four Grain whiskey, which won a gold medal at the 2012 International Whiskey Tasting Competition and Corvallis, Ore.-based Vivacity Spirits’ Native gin, which won a silver medal from the American Distilling Institute. Nine of the 17 botanicals used to infuse the gin are grown natively, and the Oregon grape and juniper are hand-picked by the distillers themselves. The gin itself was wonderfully fragrant, redolent of lavender and citrus; we were reliably informed that it goes equally well on the rocks or with a splash of 7-Up.
The event’s organizers had clearly gone out of their way to promote an informal, intimate atmosphere that was as enjoyable as it was educational. We learned about triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye that is used by Spokane, Wash.-based Dry Fly Distilling because rye is considered an invasive species in the Northwest. We tasted a rice vodka from Vinn Distillery that is also the first rice vodka ever bottled and distributed in the United States, a wonderfully soft and sweet vodka that can be taken with ice and virtually disappears in a pineapple cocktail.
The event also included a number of non-spirits-related vendors, such as Moonstruck Chocolate and drinking vinegars from Pok Pok Som and Sage and Sea Farms. We look forward to following up with a variety of local and national distillers on our own–at least, until next year’s festival.
