Craft Whiskey Founders
Northwest States Region
The Northwest States Region includes the States of: Alaska, Oregon and Washington
Below are links to Whiskey Founders that have made huge contributions to the growth of the Pacific States Region’s Whiskey Industry. These may have been historical figures that lived long ago before prohibition or may be living leaders that have advanced the cause of the industry as a whole. Craft Whiskey has now been its own whiskey category for years.
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
1
Keith Barnes
Bainbridge Organis Distilling
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
2
Caitlin Bartlemay
Hood River
In April 2024, one year after her mentor and comrade McCarthy passed away, Hood River Distillers elevated Caitlin Bartlemay to the role of Master Distiller, giving her oversight over their full slate of brands, the most notable of which are McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt and Easy Rider Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
3
Sean Copeland
Port Chilkoot Distillery
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
4
Steven Day
Branch Point Distillery
Steven Day designed his production methods around traditional whiskey making rather than technological shortcuts. Branch Point uses grain-in fermentation, distillers malt, open-top fermenters, relatively slow fermentation, double copper-pot distillation, low barrel entry proofs, and non-chill filtration.
5
Brandon Howard
Amalga Distillery
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
6
Brad Irwin
Oregon Spirit
By the mid-2000s, Brad’s curiosity about whiskey had outgrown the bar. At home in Bend, he began tinkering with a small still in his garage, using home distilling as a way to understand grain and flavor more deeply. During this time, he ran batches in the garage and learned through trial and error
7
Nathan Kaiser
2Bar Spirits
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
8
Kirby Kallas-Lewis
OOLA Distillery
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
9
Steve McCarthy
Clear Creek
Academically gifted and driven, McCarthy pursued higher education at Reed College in Portland, earning his degree in 1966. He then went on to receive a law degree from New York University in 1969, evidence of a man deeply committed to learning and transformation.
10
Lee Medoff
Bull Run Distillery
Lee Medoff was making whiskey when Oregon had only a handful of serious distillers. He helped establish one of Oregon’s formative craft distilleries, and served as the first president of the nation’s first craft distillers guild, building Bull Run Distillery around an explicitly Oregon approach to whiskey.
11
Rick Molitor
New Basin Distillery
Rick Molitor’s Resignation Rye became especially personal. His grandfather had been a rye whiskey drinker, giving Molitor an existing affection for the style. Further, the grain was ground on site. Early Resignation Rye was made from a 100-percent rye mash and bottled at 100 proof.
12
Micah Nutt
Copperworks Distillery
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
13
Dawson Officer
4 Spirits Distillery
Dawson Officer entered distilling without any formal training. He is both self-taught and self-funded, learning production while simultaneously learning how to operate a spirits company. Luckily, his still manufacturer helped him understand the science behind distillation, while other Oregon craft distillers helped him troubleshoot.
14
Jason Parker
Copperworks Distillery
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
15
Jesse Parker
Doc Swinson’s
Jesse Parker taught himself distillation by studying processes, equipment, and techniques on his own, building a foundation that would later surprise seasoned professionals. A chance meeting moved that self-directed education into the real world when Parker struck up a conversation with a man doing a bottle signing; that man ran a nearby distilling school.
16
Don Poffenroth
Dry Fly Distilling
In 2007, Dry Fly Distilling officially launched in Spokane, co-founded by Don Poffenroth It was licensed as the first legal distillery in Washington State since Prohibition, an early entry in what would become a nationwide craft-spirits boom. From the outset, Poffenroth insisted on a local, grain-to-glass model.
17
Tad Seestadt
Ransom Distillery
Tad Seestedt developed a whiskey-making philosophy that differed markedly from the conventional bourbon model. At Ransom Distillery, he uses hand-hammered, direct-fired French alembic copper pot stills, and distillation cuts are made through taste and smell rather than automated controls.
18
Maura Selenak
Amalga Distillery
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
19
Heather Shade
Port Chilkoot Distillery
THIS FOUNDERS HISTORY WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON
20
Orlin Sorenson
Woodinville
In 2008, Orlin Sorensen and his partner cashed out their 401(k)s, sold their houses and secured small business loans during a recession in order to finance a distillery that would not produce mature whiskey for years. Sorensen left his airline career behind, and committed to building a whiskey brand from the ground up.
21
Mark Stell
Bird Creek Distilling
Mark Stell and his wife traveled the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and tasted widely, paying close attention to how age, process, and raw materials shaped flavor. His background had taught him that variety, origin, and producer relationships could transform an everyday commodity into something distinctive.
22
Molly Troupe
Freeland Distilling
After college, Molly Troupe returned to Oregon and stepped directly into the state’s emerging craft spirits scene. Before working at Freeland, she first worked for Hood River Distillers and Oregon Spirit Distillers in Bend, gaining practical experience as a distiller and consultant.