Great American Distillers Festival

Rogue has capitalized on the regional enthusiasm for micro-distillation and hosts the Great American Distillers Festival next weekend. Now in its third year, it will be held at the haute Gerding Theater (formerly the Armory) in the Pearl. The list of attending distillers is impressive:

Prichards Distillery (TN)
Peach Street (CO)
Brandy Peak (Brookings, OR)
Clear Creek (Portland, OR)
Lantrix (ID)
Triple Eight (MA)
Hangar One (CA)
Indio Spirits (Portland, OR)
Modern Spirits (CA)
New Deal (Portland, OR)
Shakers (MN)
Bluecoat (PA)
Bend Distillery (Bend, OR)
Anchor Steam (San Francisco)
McMennamins Edgefield (Troutdale, OR)
Rogue Spirits (Newport, OR)
Essential Spirits (CA)
Ransom (McMinnville, OR)
Dolmen Distillery (McMinnville, OR)
Woodstone Creek (OH)
NW Distillery(Liquid) (Bend, OR)
Ocean (Maui)
Hood River Distillers (Hood River, OR)
Square One (CA)
Tito's (TX)
Stranahan's (CO)
House Spirits (Medoyeff ) (Portland, OR)

These 27 distillers will be offering over 50 liquors. For a full list of what they're bringing, here's a .pdf from Rogue.

Details and Schedules
Sat, Aug 25th: 11 am to 8 pm; Sun, Aug 26th: 11 to 7 pm
Gerding Theater, 128 NW 11th at Davis
$10 entry fee includes 3 free pours

Distilling Seminars (Sat.)
5pm: How to Distill
6pm: What exactly is Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, Bourbon, Brandy?
7pm: How to make a perfect cocktail

Mix Master's Cup - A competition among professionals
Saturday: 1pm Rum; 2pm Gin; 3pm Vodka
Sunday: 1pm Brandy; 2pm Flavored Vodka; 3pm Whiskey; 4pm Finals

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This looks pretty cool. Portland currently has more distillers than any city, and Oregon trails only California in total distilleries (sound familiar?). This is an opportunity to see what the micros are up to. I haven't been before, but I may try to make this one.