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July 25, 2013
MADE IN PORTLAND
19
HOUSE SPIRITS
By KYLIE WRAY
The Tribune
H
ouse Spirits Distillery started in
2004 in Corvallis. After House Spir-
its outgrew its home there, compa-
ny officials decided to meet the
market head-on and relocated to Portland in
2005.
House Spirits is part of Portland’s Distill-
ery Row, which it helped found. The main
purpose of creating a collection of distilleries
is to help their businesses. The collection
hosts two to three events a year and now has
a passport available to consumers.
Founder and Head Distiller Christian
Krogstad and co-found-
er of Aviation Ameri-
can Gin Ryan Thomas
Magarian began work-
ing on Aviation Gin,
which accounts for 70
percent of House Spir-
its sales, because they
both had a passion for
pre-prohibition cock-
tails. Aviation Gin is
made with what House
Spirits calls a “botani-
cal democracy” consist-
ing of Juniper, Carda-
mom, Coriander, Laven-
der, Anise Seed, Sarsaparilla and dried
Sweet Orange Peel.
Since Aviation was developed by the bar-
tender, distiller relationship that is Krogstad
and Magarian, its developers love exploring
what bartenders can bring to the table.
“There is a cool trend right now of spirits
being developed by bartenders,” said Magar-
ian.
Aviation, which Krogstad describes as a
whiskey drinkers gin, is a favorite of both de-
velopers. “It’s good to drink by itself, but
works really beautifully with cocktails,” said
Krogstad. Krogstad’s favorite way to drink it
is in an english style gin and tonic, which his
sister introduced him to. “With lemon in-
stead of lime,” he said.
As a previous beer brewer, Krogstad loves
the ability to create new flavors which comes
with being head distiller. When creating new
flavors, House Spirits observes and recogniz-
es where there might be holes in the market.
When they first started out, House Spirits
distillers chose to make the flavors that they
wanted but couldn’t buy. When nothing was
quite what they were looking for, they had to
do it themselves.
Now their developments are based more
on what will fit with the market.
In the case of another of their spirits,
Aquavit, the distillers truly had no commer-
cial expectations since Aquavit is such a
niche product. But according to Magarian,
the Aquavit is doing better than they ever
expected.
But not only is House Spirits in charge of
providing great spirits to consumers, it also
has a hand in providing recipes for great
cocktails. “Our spirits are intended to be
good enough to drink one their own, but
there are some that need cocktails,” said
Krogstad.
Through its want to continue its closeness
with different tastemaker bartenders around
the world, House Spirits features cocktail
recipes on its website.
Company’s spirit-filled journey often guided by
adventurous bartenders around the world
“There is a cool trend right now of spirits being
developed by bartenders.”
— Ryan Thomas Magarian
House
Spirits
Distillery
2025 S.E.
Seventh Ave.
Portland 97214
PHONE:
503-235-3174
housespirits.
com
TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO
House Spirits helped nudge Portland’s fledgling distilleries into the regional spotlight. A handful of new distillers has joined the Rose City’s mature microbrew scene
during the past few years.