Cocktail Classes with House Spirits Distillery

Have you ever had spirits from House Spirits Distillery? You may have enjoyed these local spirits in cocktails around Portland without even knowing it. Besides offering a distillery tasting room where during a visit you can try tastings of their liquors, at their tasting room you can also try their whiskey, spirit, and cocktail flight (or try a particular cocktail individually). You can also join in one of their free distillery tours. But did you also know they offer special cocktail classes? Having attended one myself, I can highly recommend it as you will get your money’s worth in learning at least 5 types of cocktails and making them hands on and tasting them, as well as the rest of the knowledge you will gain when you attend the cocktail classes with House Spirits Distillery.

For instance, for my class, which was called the Bitter Truth and centered on learning, trying, and using bitters, I was able to make multiple cocktails as you’ll see below. The cocktails centered around their Westward Whiskey, Volstead Vodka, Krogstad Aquavit, and Casa Magdalena Rum, so we got to try cocktails with all the liquors. Here’s a look at the setup before we messed it up making drinks – you can see my “Welcome House Spirits Cocktail” also in the video from my Instastories. Tip: wear comfortable shoes because you will be standing making cocktails during the entire class.

We started with a simple classic recipe dramatically named here, The Cocktail- basically an Old Fashioned. This simple start also is when we talked about how much is in a dash, how to know stir and when to stop stirring (stir for 20 seconds with back of spoon to the glass sides, and the glass should feel chilled), and tips on how long simple syrup lasts (4 weeks!) and freezing lemon juice in ice cube trays.
 

Next we tried a more complicated stirred cocktail, and each person (each bar stations were groups of 2) got to choose to try either a Sbagliato using Portland Bitter Project Cacao Bitters, or a unPerfect Martini using Portland Bitter Project Lavender Bitters. I picked the former, while my barmate picked the second one so that we could try both.

We also got try our hand at a couple shaken cocktails – first a Sour Template (basically a Lemon Drop). Then we moved to the next level with a choice of making a Daiquiri or a Bitter Tea cocktail (my choice) featuring Portland Syrups Vanilla Rooibos Syrup and Cynar and Townshend’s Kasmiri Amaro with lemon juice and Casa Magdalena Ron Blanco rum. Hey tip: take a Uber/Lyft or public transportation here because you may not want to drive after this class!

It was fascinating to be able to hear the history of bitters, then taste a wide variety of bitters and try them in mini-versions of the cocktails we poured to see how they changed the cocktail flavors.

We even got to try adding different flavored salts or try the effect of various herbs.

We got to learn and try out tips on techniques like how to shake a cocktail properly when using a recipe that uses an egg white too. Each of us made a Trinidad Sour, which was my favorite cocktail recipe I learned for the class. Also it’s a whiskey cocktail and I love my whiskey cocktails, admittedly. Though, I’m also a huge fan of the House Spirits Magdalena Rum.

They had a small snack bar to help us as we tasted our cocktails. They had options for vegetarians, vegans, and the gluten-free to accommodate every diet. Tip: also don’t feel that you have to drink the entire cocktail you make – pour it out in the buckets they provide for the ice after making cocktails.

At the end of class, we had a little R&D time wher we could try to make our own concoctions and then each present them in a blind tasting to be judged! I won 3rd place for my mix using Casa Magdalena Rum, Orgeat, Vanilla, Lime, dashes of rose bitters, pinch of chile salt, and some torn basil.

The House Spirits Tasting Room is open daily from noon to 6PM and the Distillery Tours are offered daily on weekdays at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 PM, and run at 1 PM and 3 PM Saturday, and at 3 PM Sunday. Besides tastings of their signature liquors of their Westward American Single Malt Whiskey, Casa Magdalena Rum, Volstead Vodka, Krogstad Aquavit, you might try House Cocktails samples like Rose Colored Glasses (Volstead Vodka with Portland Syrups Rose Cordial, Lemon, Soda Water), Wine and Chocolate (Volstead Vodka with Pok Pok Som Pinot Noir Drinking Vinegar, soda Water, Portland BItters Project Cacao Bitters), Aqua-Beet (Krogstod Festlig Aquavit with Pok Pok Som Black Pepper Drinking Vinegar, Beet, Lemon) or a Bloody Mary with your choice of Vodka or Aquavit.

Here is their calendar of upcoming events, which also includes a Whiskey Release Party coming up in a week and a half!

• 5/9 – Westward Whiskey Single Barrel Release Party – House Spirits is celebrating their latest single barrel with the release of Westward Whiskey Oregon Grown & Malted. Made using barley grown exclusively on the Christensen Farm here in Oregon, this single barrel will first be made available to the public at this event. Join them to sample through the many stages of making this limited release, pick up a signed bottle, meet the maker and farmer and grab some snacks. The party starts at 5:00pm and goes until 7:30pm. Tickers are $20 per person and can be purchased here.
• 6/9 – Tiki Party – Join us as we celebrate summer with classic tiki cocktails. We’ll escape into a world of tropical fruits, bold spices and rum, lots of rum. Learn how to make tiki syrups and drams in up to 5 cocktail recipes. You’ll leave feeling empowered to create your own cocktails at home. Join us from 5pm – 8pm. Class is $65.
• 6/23 – Whiskey Class – Celebrate American single malt with a deep dive into our whiskey making process. Taste each step as we show you how to turn grain into delicious American single malt whiskey from locally grown barley to stuff fresh from the barrel. You’ll taste Westward whiskey in each stage of the whiskey making process and learn what makes single malt so special. Join us from 5pm-7pm. Class is $65.
• 7/14 – Cocktails 101 – Learn how to effortlessly make delicious cocktails at home for you and your friends with this hands on cocktail class. In our introductory class, each participate will learn how to make up to 5 different delicious cocktails from ingredients found in most kitchens for $65. Join us from 7pm – 10pm.
• 8/25 – Cocktails 101 – Learn how to effortlessly make delicious cocktails at home for you and your friends with this hands on cocktail class. In our introductory class, each participate will learn how to make up to 5 different delicious cocktails from ingredients found in most kitchens for $65. Join us from 5pm – 8pm.
• 9/29, 10/27, 11/24, 12/29 – Cocktails 101 – Learn how to effortlessly make delicious cocktails at home for you and your friends with this hands on cocktail class. In our introductory class, each participate will learn how to make up to 5 different delicious cocktails from ingredients found in most kitchens for $65. Join us from 6pm – 9pm.

For more information or to reserve a spot at any of these, please email info at housespirits.com. Have you ever taken a cocktail class – what kind of cocktail would you want to learn to make?