Copperworks Distilling’s Jason Parker on Local Spirits and Liqueurs

Keep up with great local distillers and products via the Washington State Distillers Guild

By Seattle Mag February 26, 2015

jason-parker

The Washington State distillery boom during the last few years has been amazing. There are so many tasty spirits and liqueurs being made right here and I think we’re the luckiest state in the Union.

Sometimes, there’s so much happening that it’s hard to keep up. But the Washington State Distillers Guild is a great resource to help you learn more about our distillers and the delicious products they’re making. I recently had a quick chat with Jason Parker, the new president of the Guild (and also the owner and distiller at the great Copperworks Distilling Company), to get a little more history about the organization, its future plans and much more.

If you enjoy local spirits and liqueurs (and you’d be nuts if you didn’t), then this is the interview for you.

Seattle Magazine (SM): How long has the Distillers Guild been around, and how many members does it have?
Jason Parker (JP):
The Washington Distillers Guild was formed in 2008, soon after the first Craft Distillers license was approved by the State Legislature. That was in June of 2001. For many years the WDG was simply an online chat forum, where a handful of would-be and active distillers, along with a few early leaders in the bartending world, exchanged ideas. The WDG didn’t elect officers until Nov 13, 2011. By that time, we had meetings with attendance in the mid 50s. Many of these folks were not distillery owners, but were in the planning phase, and were very interested in the two initiatives (1100 and 1105) to privatize WA liquor sales.

The WDG began charging dues in 2012: $200/DSP. That gave distilleries voting rights, and the ability to access member-only sections of the WDG forum. Full membership hovered at around 50 for two years. The main value of belonging to the WDG was the ability to attend PROOF, our annual showcase of WA distilleries, and to be represented in Olympia by the lobbyist we hired.

SM: Beyond just there being more distilleries, how do you think the Washington distillery landscape has changed in the last year, and what do you see around the bend?
JP: The products have definitely gotten better. Part of this is market driven, part of it is by hands-on experience, and part of it that we feel we’ve fostered is a sharing among WA distilleries of their knowledge with each other. The bottom line is that the better WA distilled products become overall, the better WA distilleries will do. We believe we have the opportunity and critical mass to become the example of good partnerships between distilleries, breweries, wineries, bars, restaurants, and distributors.

SM: What kinds of things does the guild currently do?
JP: We still focus on lobbying and events, but are now expanding our efforts into three other areas:

  • Marketing: we’re developing materials, both online and tangible, to help spread the word about WA distilleries, their products, their tasting rooms and the people behind them.
  • Education: The actual act of distilling is what most distillers come with when they open a WA distillery. What they generally lack is experience in filling out the monthly reports, navigating the layers of permitting and approvals required to open and operate a distillery, and some of the business skills that make small companies successful (i.e., trademarks, exporting, fundraising, etc.) We are focusing on programs in all of those areas to help WA distilleries open and grow.
  • Networking: We’re focusing on creating opportunities for distillers to meet with and work besides bartenders and restaurant owners/managers – both at the distilleries and at the bars. We are also planning more opportunities for distillers to get directly in front of their customers at tasting events.

SM: How would you like to see the guild expand its activities in the future?
JP: In all three of the areas mentioned above. Some specific projects we’re working on include building a WA Distillery Trail, creating distillery classes and sharing our products at tasting events.

SM: What’s the best way for people to learn more about the guild and its activities?
JP: Like the Washington Distillers Guild Facebook page and sign up for the WDG monthly newsletter

 

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