Organic vodka brewed in Ashland
Thursday | 01 May 2008 CategoriesIn the news
Ashland Daily Tidings
By Mandy Valencia
Diane Paulson, president, owner, CEO, and chief bottle-washer of Cascade Peak Spirits, has opened a distillery in Ashland brewing vodka.
"We started brewing over cocktails in the summer of 2006," Paulson said. "In September of 2007, we were developing a business plan, going to workshops and researching the whole distilling industry."
Paulson and her partner, David Eliasen, looked at the growing organic food industry and decided, "If I can eat organic food, why wouldn't I want to have organic booze?"
The new business has a total of three partners, eight stockholders who are friends and two full-time employees.
A loan from Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. helped the business plan come to fruition, Paulson said. SOREDI is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the long-term prosperity of Jackson and Josephine counties. Since Cascade Peak Spirits will create jobs in the valley and specifically in Ashland, they qualified for a large loan that enabled them to buy the equipment they needed to start producing.
Brewing started Feb. 9 with master distiller Thomas MacKenzie from Alabama. MacKenzie spent time showing the new business owners how to perfect their techniques and get the best taste possible.
"Everything is hand-crafted," Paulson said. "We're a micro distillery; we do everything. We bottle it, label it — every piece is done by our hands."
In staying regional, Paulson and partners are getting their pure spirits from a distillery in Idaho. The spirits are then filtered about six times using coal and other filters. Most people think that vodka is made from potatoes, but most vodka is made by fermenting and then distilling the simple sugars from a mash of pale grain or vegetable matter, according to Tastings, a beverage testing institute.
Eventually, Cascade Peak Spirits will be able to do everything from scratch, Paulson said.
Mark Wheeler, a farmer in Grants Pass and owner of Pacific Botanicals, has planted two acres of rye that will be ready for harvest in the fall. The company plans to ferment this rye to make the vodka.
Another advantage, aside from supporting a local farm, is the mash left over after the fermentation process. This mash can be given away to anyone locally who may want it and can be used for compost. By doing this, the company saves itself from having to pay to have it removed through a trash service.
"When you use organics, everything is recyclable," Paulson said.
Paulson hopes that, if she continues to buy local, so will fellow Oregonians by purchasing the only organic vodka certified by the Oregon Tilth.
"If everyone buys local, that's the exchange," she said.
Currently, the OLCC requires that the company drive the product to Portland to a warehouse before it can be ordered by restaurants and liquor stores here in Ashland. Paulson is hoping the regulations can be changed soon, as this process is time- and gas-consuming.
"Our debut is this First Friday in the Ashland Liquor Store on Lithia Way. We're doing a tasting in the store of a quarter ounce; that's what we're allowed," Paulson said. "We plan on doing other tastings in the liquors stores around the valley."
The company also has been experimenting with organic gin, working with different herbs such as juniper berry, coriander and basil. They are still in the tasting process trying to perfect the recipe.
Cascade Peak Spirits has friends and family all over Oregon who are going to begin mass campaigning across the state in an attempt to have a large presence by June.
By Mandy Valencia
Diane Paulson, president, owner, CEO, and chief bottle-washer of Cascade Peak Spirits, has opened a distillery in Ashland brewing vodka."We started brewing over cocktails in the summer of 2006," Paulson said. "In September of 2007, we were developing a business plan, going to workshops and researching the whole distilling industry."
Paulson and her partner, David Eliasen, looked at the growing organic food industry and decided, "If I can eat organic food, why wouldn't I want to have organic booze?"
The new business has a total of three partners, eight stockholders who are friends and two full-time employees.
A loan from Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. helped the business plan come to fruition, Paulson said. SOREDI is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the long-term prosperity of Jackson and Josephine counties. Since Cascade Peak Spirits will create jobs in the valley and specifically in Ashland, they qualified for a large loan that enabled them to buy the equipment they needed to start producing.Brewing started Feb. 9 with master distiller Thomas MacKenzie from Alabama. MacKenzie spent time showing the new business owners how to perfect their techniques and get the best taste possible.
"Everything is hand-crafted," Paulson said. "We're a micro distillery; we do everything. We bottle it, label it — every piece is done by our hands."
In staying regional, Paulson and partners are getting their pure spirits from a distillery in Idaho. The spirits are then filtered about six times using coal and other filters. Most people think that vodka is made from potatoes, but most vodka is made by fermenting and then distilling the simple sugars from a mash of pale grain or vegetable matter, according to Tastings, a beverage testing institute.
Eventually, Cascade Peak Spirits will be able to do everything from scratch, Paulson said.
Mark Wheeler, a farmer in Grants Pass and owner of Pacific Botanicals, has planted two acres of rye that will be ready for harvest in the fall. The company plans to ferment this rye to make the vodka.
Another advantage, aside from supporting a local farm, is the mash left over after the fermentation process. This mash can be given away to anyone locally who may want it and can be used for compost. By doing this, the company saves itself from having to pay to have it removed through a trash service."When you use organics, everything is recyclable," Paulson said.
Paulson hopes that, if she continues to buy local, so will fellow Oregonians by purchasing the only organic vodka certified by the Oregon Tilth.
"If everyone buys local, that's the exchange," she said.
Currently, the OLCC requires that the company drive the product to Portland to a warehouse before it can be ordered by restaurants and liquor stores here in Ashland. Paulson is hoping the regulations can be changed soon, as this process is time- and gas-consuming.
"Our debut is this First Friday in the Ashland Liquor Store on Lithia Way. We're doing a tasting in the store of a quarter ounce; that's what we're allowed," Paulson said. "We plan on doing other tastings in the liquors stores around the valley."
The company also has been experimenting with organic gin, working with different herbs such as juniper berry, coriander and basil. They are still in the tasting process trying to perfect the recipe.
Cascade Peak Spirits has friends and family all over Oregon who are going to begin mass campaigning across the state in an attempt to have a large presence by June.