Pacific Distillery

How has it taken me THIS long to have visited Pacific Distillery? This place is awesome! My friend and I were having a Woodinville tasting adventure, and we included Pacific Distillery as part of our day. It's a hidden gem that should no longer be hidden.

Pacific Distillery is located in the Warehouse District of Woodinville, surrounded by several wine tasting rooms. Parking isn't an issue, as parking is easily found in this part of Woodinville with the lots around. The space is small, but that's all they really need to make their booze.

They don't take reservations, so walk-ins are welcomed. We came on a Saturday in the late afternoon and were the only ones in the place 'til someone came by to buy some gin. He was a regular, which is always a good sign. The employee who helped us could not have been friendlier. You can tell he really cares about the product, especially the absinthe and gin.

Tastings are free! Which is reason enough to check out Pacific Distillery. You get three tastings: vodka, gin and absinthe. All of the alcohol was smooth and easy to drink. I don't even really like gin all that much, but this one had me thinking otherwise. It was that good.

You can also get a tour of the back of the room, where all the magic is made. Everyone should visit here when in Woodinville, as Pacific Distillery has quality alcohols that are dangerously smooth. I'm glad I finally made my way here.

These guys have a small operation tucked in the middle of seemingly dozens of wineries in the Warehouse District of Woodinville. There's plenty of parking, but on nice days the wineries get packed.

It's usually quiet in the distillery tasting room--they don't offer cocktails, just small neat tastes of their spirits. Vodka, gin, and absinthe. No seating.

We hung out for the whole flight, which took literally less than 2 minutes. The vodka was a bit harsh, but the gin had nice flavors and was smooth. The absinthe is clearly the specialty of the house, and a real labor of love for the crew here. It's a smooth, interesting, highly flavorful spirit with tons of character. We took home a bottle ($64). I've never even messed with absinthe before, but this is cool.

At the distillery, they serve little tastes poured over sugar, which is traditional. You've probably seen it in movies or on TV. We tried it at home neat, since we don't have the sugar cubes and hardware and stuff. It's good! Reminded all of us of drinking a Good 'n Plenty, if you remember those candies.

We didn't head back for the tour, but we did chat with the bartender for a few minutes. He's a colorful character with tons of stories.

Service: The manager, Mike, was great! He took me and my friends back for a tour of the distillery and was very knowledgeable. It wasn't an extravagant tour compared to like Woodinville Whiskey or some of the bigger places, but we were still able to look at their equipment and learn more about what they do. Mike was the only one working at the time, and from my knowledge, it seems like there is only ever two people there max.

Menu: there isn't much of a "menu", as this is more of a store where you buy their full bottles. We came in with the Passport to Woodinville and got our tastings (which are usually free anyways, apparently). After the tour and tastings, we ended up buying a bottle of absinthe. Mike also gave us a print out of some fun recipes they have!

Location: this is a small space with one counter immediately when you walk in and then the distilling area in the back. They have bathrooms.

Parking: there are free parking spaces all around the industrial district

Fun place to check out! Great spirits but I have to say my favorite is the gin! I enjoyed the tour of the distilling process in the back. For the best deal, buy direct from them! I like that I can also find their products in stores when I don't have time to come down to the distillery myself! Bottles of local small batch spirits make great gifts! Cheers!

Honestly, you'd never guess that such a gem is hidden in the back of a Woodinville office park. I stopped in here with a friend just to see how absinthe is made. We stopped first in the front tasting room, where we were given small samples of both their offerings: small batch artisan gin and absinthe. I was very impressed with the smooth clean gin flavor and the fabulous anise and herbs in the absinthe.

We were then taken through the facility (one room), where we saw the handcrafted stills (made by a very old European company), and the owner explained the process. There wasn't a big crowd so we asked a lot of questions and he spent time answering and explaining. I enjoyed especially the commitment to using original recipes from an antique recipe book.

The passion for the product was really evident in both our tour and the tasting. We added our names to his email list and are excited to come back for one of their occasional events.

I've always wanted to try Pacific Distillery but previously they had not been open to the public. My understanding is that they were finally able to open up a tasting room to the public this year. Pacific Distillery did not disappoint and I wish they had opened to the public sooner!

The day I tried Pacific Distillery they were pouring their Absinthe and Gin. Now from what I've heard they've also added a Vodka to the line up since then. The Gin was flavorful and was one of the better local gins I've tried. The Absinthe was amazing and definitely deserves awards! To taste the Absinthe they actually don't give it to you straight, unless you ask for a little sample. The Absinthe is mixed with sugar water to dilute down the percentage of alcohol you are tasting, which is the correct way to actually drink Absinthe. The Absinthe is made in the traditional way and is not the fake stuff.

I was also able to tour the back room and see the stills, which I recommend if you get a chance. I'm definitely impressed with Pacific Distillery and I did go home with a bottle of Absinthe.

HIGHLY recommend this place.

Stumbled in here almost accidentally and so glad we did. My fiancé is an absinthe lover where I usually stick to vodka. That being said, their absinthe was divine. It was so light and delicate.

It's a very small tasting room but the staff certainly fills up the place with their personality. We were also welcomed into the back where we saw the stills, learned the process and smelled the herbs. It was an incredible experience!!

Some of the best absinthe I've ever had is made right here in my home state! Who'da thunk it?

Absinthe is an oft-misunderstood spirit with such a fascinating (and checkered) history. True absinthe has been illegal for so long that the market is polluted with a number of copies--green, anise (or anus?) flavored parodies filled with food coloring. The skilled distillers at Pacific found a 150 year old recipe book which they have used to recreate and refine an antique recipe for genuine absinthe. Their skill and passion is helping to bring absinthe back to the world.

Their facilities are a bit hard to find (or maybe that was just Apple maps and Siri misdirecting us). They're in the back of an office park, so you can't see them from the road. They also don't yet have a tasting room (as of this writing) but they were happy to give my girlfriend and I a free tour. I definitely recommend that you email them before showing up in order to ensure that they'll be around and available. They took us back to see their still, which was busy making a batch of their wonderful Voyager gin (the other spirit they distill). They showed us around the rest of the facilities, told us their story and answered all of our questions. It was a fun, interesting, personal tour and a unique part of our visit to Woodinville.

They also put on bottling parties, which are announced regularly on their Facbook page. Friends of the distillery get together for a private party to help bottle a new batch of booze--with some festivities afterward. I am definitely thinking about attending one.

My hope for this review is that enough of you Yelpers will read this and buy a couple bottles of Pacifique absinthe and Voyager gin so that these folks can expand and build us a tasting room! Now go chase that green fairy!

Great people! Very informative. Last but not least, this is my favorite gin! I love a martini and I am spolied by how good this is. Juniper and some present but far from overwhelming botanical flavors.

I will return for some absinthe soon!

This was an outstanding "field trip." Went with a friend on a "let's check this off my list" adventure...truly not disappointed. We were met by the owner and his colleague who literally hand craft a distilled gin and a absinthe.

The tasting was the first legally permitted, and I think we were the first to legally taste their product in their tasting room. The tastes were small thimble sized amounts, and we shared ours. Perfect way to have a small taste or sip, and not worry about the amount consumed when being shared by two.

The gin was peppery and strong. I think I would have loved having that mixed with something...tonic? Soda? Something. But, it was a smooth taste with no harsh after taste/burn. The absinthe was really something "of legend" as it features in old adventure and early horror books. The samples were premixed with ice water, so we didn't get to see the "contraption" in works, but the taste was really different. I am not a licorice fan, but this was enjoyable...we had it explained to us that absinthe was a concentrate that is traditionally mixed with ice water and some sugar. So, my mind started wondering hmhmh...wonder if this could be mixed with a sugar and creame?? (Think thai tea like??).

After the tasting, being fascinated by processes, we got to tour the distillery. The copper, hand crafted in Europe stills were truly amazing to see and hear about. Then having a detailed explanation in a fun, educational, and enjoyable manner was the topper - from juniper berries for the gin, to wormwood and anise for the absinthe, well this was a true art and an artist who loved to explain his product. We got shown the actual plants in a living display out front. We then walked to the car...and about four minutes after driving away, talking about the experience, we realized we had failed to purchase anything...SO WE WILL BE BACK!

Don't be thrown off by the industrial park complex that is home to this and a few wineries apparently. This is a class A operation, the second licensed distillery in Washington, and artisans who love their craft, product and the sharing of both.