Bourbon

BourbonA true Bellingham Bourbon, made entirely from locally grown grains and aged to perfection in American White Oak barrels. No question about it making a high quality bourbon from scratch is a challenging project, which is why most "craft" distilleries don't even attempt it. They cut corners by outsourcing the grind, mash, and fermentation process to a brewery, or worse yet, by simply purchasing pre aged bourbon in barrels from an industrial supplier out

A true Bellingham Bourbon, made entirely from locally grown grains and aged to perfection in American White Oak barrels.

No question about it – making a high-quality bourbon from scratch is a challenging project, which is why most "craft" distilleries don't even attempt it. They cut corners by outsourcing the grind, mash, and fermentation process to a brewery, or worse yet, by simply purchasing pre-aged bourbon in barrels from an industrial supplier out of state which they then bottle and bring to market under their own label.

The alternative? Bite the bullet and do it from the ground up – sourcing and mashing grains, fermenting and distilling on site, then putting it in barrels… and waiting patiently for years for it to mature. You can guess which route we took.

A true Pacific Northwest representation of this quintessential American spirit. We source the corn, wheat, and rye from farms located within 25 miles of our distillery and grind the unmalted grains right here on site. We ferment in open air wooden washbacks, distill, and place the resultant spirit into the highest quality, toasted and charred American White Oak barrels to age. And then we wait.

Fortunately, all that waiting is worth it. The result is a highly nuanced bourbon that is warm, bold, and bright with a distinctive PNW character and just the right amount of spice.

"Tastes like walking into a forest after its first rain. Bright and vivacious" - Tasting notes from the 2020 USA Spirits Competition, Gold Medal, 94 points

Awards

Chuckanut Bay Distillery Bourbon took the silver medal at the New York International Spirits Competition, silver medal at the Bartender Spirit Awards, the gold medal at the USA Spirits Ratings Competition, the gold medal at the MicroLiquor Spirits Competition, the silver medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the silver medal at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition.