Carrie and I visited Wildwood Spirits Distillery in Bothell a few weeks ago and met with Chef/Co-owner John Howie and Master Distiller/Co-Owner Erik Liedholm. We enjoy making the occasional field trip outside of Woodinville, and let’s be honest, sometimes we take a break from drinking wine and go for cocktails instead!
As a nostalgic tribute, the distillery was named Wildwood after the street in East Lansing, Michigan, where Erik grew up. The name of Wildwood’s straight bourbon whiskey, The Dark Door, is a tribute to his childhood home!
We loved the modern apothecary design of the tasting room and especially the window that allows guests to see into the distillery. Pictured here is an announcement for The Dark Door bourbon and an article that was published in the beautiful Art Culinaire Magazine which featured Wildwood Spirits and Erik pouring Kur Gin.
We were given a spirit tasting at the counter, and I immediately fell in love with The Dark Door bourbon. (Notice that no corks are used in their bottling practice!).
We had done a little research before coming to tour the distillery. Carrie ordered a delicious craft cocktail at John Howie Steak the day before made with Wildwood Spirits’ Stark Vatten vodka and I tried the Kur Gin in my Hemingway’s Kur.
Wildwood Spirits’ Kur Gin is made using 8 different botanicals, each distilled separately according to when they are in season (Seville Oranges for example!) Erik and John told us that this is only done by a few distillers in the world, because as Erik put it, “you have to be a masochist.”
When we toured the distillery, we noticed how good it smelled in there. There was corn cooking that day, but at other times, the crew may be cooking wheat or malt. John and Erik produce their spirits using a culinary approach, and this is noticeable in the flavor that is in the finished products.
Erik went to distilling school in London and later studied with Kris Berglund at Michigan State University.
I love this picture of the gorgeous copper stills. They are really exquisite! We are grateful for the behind-the-scenes tour opportunity and for Chef Howie and Erik Liedholm’s time showing us around the distillery.
John and Erik create spirits that focus on quality and flavor before volume. They use the distilling process to get to the heart of the alcohol because it is smoother that way. They told us that this produces a smaller yield, but they are committed to the quality and flavor of their products. We love this!
