With less than a month under their belt, 2bar Spirits already has all the support that they need. Friends, old and new, gathered at their benefit on Wednesday night. Not knowing much about the distilling world, I met up with Nathan Kaiser, owner and head distiller, to get a run down on how he got that full bodied vodka I quickly fell in love with from those huge sacks of wheat.
2bar, whose namesake comes from the five generation ranch in Kaiser's family, uses all Washington grown wheat, corn, and barley in their spirits. By the time I had arrived to their new facility in SoDo, Nathan had a batch in mid sparge. Much like beer making, distilling involves getting the sugar from the grain in order to ferment into alcohol. 2bar was in the midst of sparging a 200 gallon batch. The wort running off the grains into one of his four country women crooner named fermenters, was light and sweet. Nathan used a refractometer, the same tool I used at Two Mountain Winery last month, to determine the sugar content. Once the wort was in the fermenter and the yeast was pitched, it would only be about seven to ten days until the batch was done.
2bar currently has Vodka and Moonshine, with many more ideas in the works. Their vodka was unlike any vodka I have had, and you all know I have had a lot. My thimble sample was full of flavor, and I enjoyed the trip it took across my palette. Many times, I find myself wincing at straight vodka samples, yearning for a splash of tonic and a lime. That was not the case with 2bar. Eyeing a bottle to take home, I eagerly tried their Moonshine. Unbeknownst to many, moonshine is just unaged whisky. This sample once again exhibited Nathan's soon to be famous full flavored spirit style.
Besides the obvious reason to visit the city's newest distillery, what brought me to 2bar was their Superstorm Sandy Benefit. Nathan was in New York during 9/11 and was obviously moved by the recent devastation to the East Coast. A silent auction, live music, appetizers, and free tastings enticed do-gooders near and far to stop by for a midweek treat. With all profits going to the relief efforts, my arm wasn't twisted too hard to walk out with a bottle of 2bar's nectar.
2bar Spirits proved to be more than just another distillery. High quality products, personal tours, and conversations with Nathan and friends made everyone who walked through the door a part of 2bar's story. This Hophead can only hope that one of their next creations includes a dry-hopped whisky!
2bar Spirits
www.2barspirits.com
2960 4th Ave S Seattle 98134
Mon-Fri 4-7pm/Sat 2-7pm
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