Oct 31, 2015
We are distilling a speciality spirit as a fundraiser for our local volunteer fire department.
The Distillery will donate $5 from the sale of each bottle to the Mason County Firefighters Association.
This specialty spirit is fermented and distilled at the Distillery, using prickly pear cactus and Yakima Valley pears. It is then infused with chile peppers from the Jalisco Tortilla Factory in Shelton. The chile peppers include Morita, Chile Arbol, and Guajillo. For added depth, Italian Piment D’Esplette is added.
The result is a spicy hot distilled spirit, much like a chile vodka. The first sip is spicy, and the Morita chile adds a smoky flavor that shows up at the end. Each batch will be different, due to variations in the spices.
This spirit can be used to make a spicy Bloody Mary, or any other cocktail that like a little spice in it.
Sep 25, 2013
Our Bee’s Knees® is unique.
It’s a distilled honey mead that starts as 80% honey and 20% fruit. All of our Bee’s Knees® are created with only the finest honey from Washington beehives and the finest fruit grown in Washington orchards.
We are one of the very few U.S. distilleries making a distilled mead, and when we applied for a label for this unique spirit, the federal permitting agency told us that we were not making a brandy, or anything else that they could define or pigeonhole. What we were making was something unique to us, and we had to find a unique name. We chose Bee’s Knees® because it’s made from bee honey and it is truly the Bee’s Knees, an extraordinary spirit.
The taste of our Bee’s Knees® is as unexpected as it is unique. It’s not sweet, never cloying, and, in fact, many people compare it to the taste of a fine whiskey.
Here’s a roundup of our Bee’s Knees®.
Please note that not all of them are available all the time.
PEACHY KEEN was our first Bee’s Knees®, and it is distilled from honey and peaches. It has a distinct yet smooth peachy flavor that you’re bound to fall in love with.
FIG is made from a backyard fig tree.
PLUM. Well, what can we say? It’s Plumb Delicious.
MERRY CHERRY. A perfect combination of Washington state cherries and honey. Did we mention that it’s perfect?
RASPBERRY. Close your eyes and imagine the delectable combination of raspberry and honey on your tongue…
Other Bee’s Knees® coming soon:
Rhubarb
Sep 5, 2013
The next batch of Peachy Keen Bee’s Knees® will be distilled from Rich Lady peaches from Gilbert Orchards in Yakima, Washington. Rich Lady peaches have a warm yellow flesh, a rich dark red skin, and they smell delightful. This batch should be available in about 4 months.
Aug 24, 2013
Our small-batch Vodka is pear-based, remarkably smooth and inviting.
Try it on the rocks or in your favorite cocktail.
Jul 20, 2013
The First of July marked the opening of crab season on the Hood Canal. It is one of the best things about summer.
There is nothing better than warm summer evenings, out on the deck or by the fire pit, made even better with fresh crab. And now, I can relax even more with my Pink Gin and my Crabby Ginny.
Jun 2, 2013
Our Bee’s Knees® is unique.
It’s a distilled honey mead–80% honey and 20% fruit. We are one of the very few distilleries making a distilled mead, and our Bee’s Knees® are created with only the finest Washington honey and fruits.
Peachy Keen
Distilled from honey and peaches, Peachy Keen has a distinct yet smooth peachy flavor that you’re bound to fall in love with.
Other Bee’s Knees®:
- Plum Bee’s Knees
- Raspberry Bee’s Knees
- Fig Bee’s Knees
Nov 3, 2012
R GIN is the second in our series of seasonal Pacific Northwest gins.
It is a distilled, slightly smokey, dry gin, which is best when enjoyed with oysters. The Hama Hama Oyster Co. was very generous is letting us smoke the barley for our R Gin in their oyster smoker. They cold-smoked the barley, and the result is a subtle smokey taste.
R Gin is named for the discredited, but lively, old wives’ tale that oysters are best in months with the letter “R.”
We have a limited edition of this R Gin.
Aug 27, 2012
Our small batch whiskey is distilled from water from Mount Olympus and the Hood Canal watershed on the Olympic Peninsula.
It is hand-crafted in a copper pot still, and has breathed the salt air from the shores of the beautiful Hood Canal.
Mike Nicolson, third generation master distiller from Scotland, is helping us create an outstanding whiskey. As he says, it’s easy to make whiskey, but it’s really hard to make good whiskey. Ours is a Scottish lowland grain style whiskey. We can’t call it scotch because we’re not in Scotland, but in all respects it is a scotch because we’re starting with good water and using a similar aging process. It’s a process that can’t be rushed, and we hope to have a baby whiskey (un-aged whiskey) ready by Thanksgiving 2013.
May 16, 2012
Crabby Ginny is distilled especially to be paired with crab from Hood Canal. Its underlying flavors of pear, orange, and cranberry make a perfect accompaniment to seafood.
Pink Gin Cocktail
- Fill glass with ice
- Two shots Crabby Ginny gin
- 4 dashes Angostura Bitters
- Tonic water
- Shave of lemon rind to garnish
(Please note: Crabby Ginny is not suitable for a Gin and Tonic.)
Pink Gin trivia (from Wikipedia)
- In the 1953 film adaptation of Nicholas Monsarrat’s book, The Cruel Sea, Lockhart (Donald Sinden) meets Ericson (Jack Hawkins) at a London hotel where they both drink pink gin. In a somewhat rewritten scene in the BBC Radio 4 Extra adaptation of 2013, the pair drink gin and tonic.
- A horse named after the cocktail competed in the 1997 Grand National steeplechase finishing fourteenth.
- Pink gin was drunk by Hattie (Jean Simmons) in The Grass is Greener (1960). She liked her bitters to be burnt with a match prior to adding the gin.
- Lottie Cassell offers a pink gin to Logan Mountstuart in Episode 1 of Channel 4’s Any Human Heart (TV series). 2010 (UK), 2011 (US).
- Bigelow (Alec Guiness) orders “Two pink gins, full measure and don’t skimp on the Angostura” in the movie “Raise the Titanic”.
- Pink gin is a popular drink in Graham Greene’s ‘The Heart of the Matter’.
- In the James Bond novel The Man With the Golden Gun, agent 007 orders a pink gin with Beefeater and “plenty of bitters” in the bar of the Thunderbird Hotel in Jamaica, which is operated by his nemesis Francisco Scaramanga.
- In Agatha Christie‘s Poirot, episode Triangle at Rhodes, some of the characters drink Pink Gin, one such cocktail being used as the delivery method of a deadly poison.
- Pink Gin is the drink of choice of Jerry Westerby in the novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
- The drink is repeatedly ordered in Patrick Hamilton’s novel The Slaves of Solitude.
- In the Nevil Shute novel, On the Beach, several of the main characters drink pink gin.
Apr 14, 2012
Being a fjord, the Hood Canal is perfectly situated for the production of aquavit.
It is similar to Scandinavia, the birthplace of aquavit, in climate and topography, and we expect an excellent aquavit to come from our waters.
Aquavit is a holiday treat in Scandinavia.It is one of the older liquors, and there are records of aquavit dating back to the 16th century. Like many of the older spirits, it was named “Aqua Vite” for “water of life” and was considered to have medicinal properties.
Aquavit is also spelled “akavavit” or “akevitt.” It is associated with many traditions in Scandinavia. It is popularly believed to help digest rich foods, and it’s enjoyed at holiday time and celebrations throughout the year. It is often drunk while singing a traditional drinking song.
Like gin, the recipes and flavors of aquavit vary among brands and are kept secret. Also like gin, there is a dominant flavor. In aquavit the dominant flavor is caraway. Other botanicals found in aquavit recipes may include cardamom, cumin, anise, fennel, and lemon or orange peel.
Aquavit is usually aged in barrels, but it does not have to be. Norway has a unique tradition of sending barrels of aquavit in ships from Norway to Australia and back again. The steady movement of the waves, the humidity and the mercurial temperatures cause the aquavit to extract more flavor from the barrels. Upon returning to Norway, the ocean-aged aquavit can be labeled as “linje” aquavit. Because this process has not been successfully reproduced in simulated circumstances on land, boats loaded with barrels of aquavit continue to set sail from Norway to Australia and back again.
