Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Elemental at Better Living Show

We've just about recovered from an amazing weekend showcasing Elemental Vodka at the Better Living Show. Billed as "Portland's Largest Sustainable Lifestyle" trade show, the event was held Friday through Sunday at the Portland Expo Center.

Highball Distillery had a corner booth and it was a good thing because we were a popular attraction from opening to close all weekend. We poured tastes and discussed our product and distillery as a non-stop stream of the curious, eager, skeptical, and amazed stepped to the booth between learning about alternative energy, compostable coffins (yup!), vegan pet food and a host of other cool, environmentally-friendly products and services. It was a very cool event and a very appreciative crowd. We had a lot of fun and hopefully created a whole new generation of Elemental Vodka fans.

Thanks to all who attended and dropped by our booth.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Highball Distillery 2009

It's been a while since our last entry so I thought I'd post some information on what we've been up to over the last couple months and what's in store for the first half of 2009.

First off, our Open House in November went fantastic. Several hundred people stopped by to tour the facility, sample our wares, and enjoy some delicious food. A special thanks to our friend Cary Craig for the world-class jambalaya and hot cider!

Around this time we also partnered with O'Sullivan Distributing to handle our southern Oregon sales and marketing. O'Sullivan currently handles an excellent tequila called Zircon Azul. We met with owner Dean Sullivan who agreed that our product had amazing potential in greater Oregon and would make a nice complement to his products. Look for Dean at tastings and events around Oregon. For interest in carrying Elemental Vodka outside of Portland, call Dean Sullivan at 541-680-6677 or email osullivan_distributing@mcsi.net

The holidays were a blur. More of a blur than usual, actually. With the unprecedented snowstorms, much of Portland seemed shutdown for weeks. We still managed to get out and do some tastings as well as supply a good deal of Portland's last-minute holiday gift vodka!

Over the past six months we've fielded a lot of requests for Elemental from people in states across the U.S. Although we can sell directly from our retail store, we're forbidden to ship out of state. We've been hoping to find a solution to this problem and are happy to announce that we have. Elemental Vodka is now being carried by an online retailer called www.acorkabove.com that ships to every state in the U.S. Not only do they ship, they carry a great selection of hard-to-find spirits from around the world so check them out.

Also, the mini's are in! We're not sure exactly what to do with them, but they sure are cute (see picture)! We had a rush order for several thousand mini-bottles of our Elemental Vodka. Buckling down to complete that order in just a few weeks was a big bureaucratic challenge but we managed to pull it off (special thanks to John at Indio Spirits for a big assist on this one). Once the smoke cleared we were left with a few hundred mini bottles for ourselves. We may put them up for sale in the distillery store or possibly test the waters with them at select outlets. So if you're eager for the first Elemental Vodka collectible, this might just be the ticket. Let us know.

Oh, and somewhere in there Michael Heavener somehow managed to get himself elected Treasurer of the Oregon Distillers Guild. The new officers of the guild now include Eric Martin of Artesan Spirts as President, and Tom Burkleaux of New Deal Distillery as Vice-President. We want to thank outgoing officers Lee Medoff, Mike Sherwood, and John Ufford for setting things in motion the last year or so and for helping us with the current transition. The ODG will hopefully be able to pick up where they left off and make even bigger strides this year in terms of promoting Oregon spirits as the country's finest.

Now of course it's hard to believe we're already a month into 2009. Top priorities for us include getting our full-blown website up within the next couple of weeks and gearing up production for the spring and summer. We're also hard at work on some gourmet infusions that might see the light of day as limited editions come this summer.

As usual we're starting to fill our tasting schedule so look for us in your local liquor store. If your local store doesn't carry Elemental, please request it. We've had great response from the store owners and they've very happy to carry local products. But we need your help in making them all aware that we're available. The OLCC item number is 6457B. Thanks for all your support and look for the new website soon!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Open House, Nov. 22


Highball Distillery will be holding an Open House Saturday, November 22 from noon to 5 p.m.

After four months of being on the market with Elemental Vodka, we're finally able to slow down for a moment to celebrate. It's long-overdue but we're happy to finally have the opportunity to invite the public to the facility and show everyone what we do, and how we do it. We'll be offering tours, Q&A opportunities, door prizes, and the best Cajun jambalaya available this side of the Rocky Mountains! Our own Elemental Vodka will be on hand for free tastings and holiday gift purchase.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Highball Distillery Open House
November 22, 2008
noon-5 p.m.
610 SE 10th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
503-803-3989

Parking Disclaimer!: Please do not park in the World-Pac loading dock area. There is ample street parking all around the distillery. Thank you.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Distillery Row Dinner: October 31

As part of the ongoing Oregon Bounty "Year of the Distiller" festivities, Highball Distillery is excited to have partnered with local restaurant Iorio for a Distillery Row Dinner.

Iorio--named by the Oregonian as one of Portland's 2008 Best Restaurants--focuses on southern Italian cusine created with seasonal, regional ingredients with an emphasis on organic and sustainable agriculture, a philosophy we certainly agree with.

Come join us on October 31 (yes, Halloween!) at 7:45 p.m. for a special menu created just for the event by Chef Chris Thompson.

On the Menu:
Snow Creek oysters on the half-shell--your choice raw or pan fried

Squash and ricotta gnocci

Locally harvested wild mushrooms wrapped in Oregon coast sole and organic greens
or
Spice rubbed Draper Valley Chicken with a vodka and hot chili pepper glaze over roasted creamer potatoes

Housemade lemoncello granita with Hood River Apple gratin

The cost for the evening is $30.
Reservations are required and seating is limited. For reservations call 503.445.4716

For more information visit Iorio's website (click on events) at www.ioriorestaurant.com

Iorio
912 se hawthorne blvd. portland, oregon 97214
(just east of the Hawthorne Bridge)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Neighborhood Profile: Distillery Row

As mentioned before, we're fortunate enough to have started business in Portland's close-in, eastside warehouse district. Through synchronicity, cultural zeitgeist, or merely cheap rents for tall ceilings, the vast majority of the seemingly overnight micro-distillery startups have also set up shop in what is being referred to as "Distillery Row" or "Libation Alley."

It's rare and blessed indeed to have inadvertently created a potentially historic district just by the nature of you existing. The attention and excitement garnered on Distillery Row--even in its infancy--is very cool indeed, and speaks well for the micro-distilling movement in Portland.

We've been meaning to write up an entry for this blog on Distillery Row, but as it turns out PDX Magazine has just published a pretty comprehensive overview, so I might as well just refer to it. Aside from the oversight of not mentioning our product by name, it's still good exposure and will help cement the district in people's minds as the place to go for local spirits.

Read the story here.

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Great American Distillers Festival 2008

This weekend we'll be at the Great American Distillers Festival held at the Portland Center Stage Gerding Theater in Portland's Pearl District.

We attended the Distillers Festival last year and had a great time sampling product, attending seminars, and helping staff the new Oregon Distiller's Guild booth. But it was frustrating to not be ready with our own product and thus unable to participate as a licensed distillery.

This year we're proud to be one of the festival's featured distilleries and offering up samples of our organic Elemental Vodka to the festival's visitors. Come check us out. Michael K. will also be part of a panel discussion entitled "Evolutions in Distilling Technology" on Sunday at 2:30 in the theater lobby.

The festival offers various seminars, mixology competitions, and of course fine spirits tastings from distilleries across the nation.

Admission is $10 for one day and includes 3 taster tickets. A two-day pass is $16.

For a complete list of participating distilleries, products, and a schedule, visit www.distillersfestival.com

Hope to see you there.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Cocktail Contest

This upcoming October/November sees Oregon's distilleries as the focal point of a statewide culinary tourism event promoted by Oregon Bounty. We'll be talking about the event (in which Highball Distillery has a featured role) in the next couple weeks. But to kickoff the festivities, the state of Oregon is sponsoring a cocktail contest. The details are below. Now is the time for all mixologists, professional and amateur alike, to grab some Elemental Vodka and create an unique, delicious organic cocktail and share it with the world.

Let your inner bartender shine in the "Create the Oregon Bounty Cocktail" Contest.

It's simple: design a drink that represents your favorite part of the state, using Oregon's artisan distilled spirits and local products. Pick one or more of the following regions: Portland Metro, Oregon Coast, Central Oregon, Southern Oregon, Willamette Valley, Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge, or Eastern Oregon and then get cocktail creative. Download a PDF list of Oregon distilled spirits; most are available at Oregon liquor stores; for others, contact the distillery for information on where to purchase.

Seven winners will receive weekend getaways around the state. One will be chosen as the "Unofficial Official Oregon Cocktail." Grand prize winner will receive Nambé barware from Macy's, and a two-night getaway to meet and taste with Oregon's artisan distillers at the Oregon Distillers Guild Spirits Tasting, October 11 at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, plus dinners at Paley's Place in Portland, and the Black Rabbit at Edgefield.

Cocktails will be judged on creativity and originality (use of ingredients, how cocktail name/ingredients tie to associated region) and Approachability (how easily cocktail could be replicated by an average consumer).
Here are the two web addresses to submit your cocktails:

http://subscribe.traveloregon.com/cocktailcontest/
http://www.TravelOregon.com/bounty