our story
Our Family
Oregon Spirit Distillers is a family operated distillery focusing on quality spirits that are produced with integrity and creativity. We practice sustainable operations using local ingredients whenever possible. We want our spirits to reflect the quality of life that Oregon stands for. At Oregon Spirit Distillers we produce our own mash, ferment it and distill it ourselves. We believe that’s the way it should be done.
Brad Irwin, head distiller, has been studying distillation techniques since 2006. He has been involved in the spirit industry since 1992 and is a Certified Spirit Specialist. Brad’s extensive knowledge of mixology aids in the development of the products at Oregon Spirit Distillers where he creates spirits that mix well and participate in the cocktail as well as stand on their own as beautiful, sipable spirits.
Kathy Irwin, finance director, has had many years experience with business management. Although new to the spirits industry she is enjoying learning the complexities of this business.
Our family is blessed with 2 children. Eli, 25 who is a writer and soulful human being and Savannah, 7 who is the boss of keeping the still clean! No family is complete without the love of a faithful dog and we have the world’s best Pembroke Welsh Corgi – Rook.
Try our spirits. We are confident you will enjoy them as much as we enjoy creating them.
Our Team
Lance Hardy – Website Development and Consulting
Lance is a longtime friend of the Irwin family and has worked on many business projects with us in the past. He is a creative and dependable web designer and photographer. We couldn’t imagine developing our website without him.
Tasting Panel – The following discerning palates helped us in our recipe development
Mohawk Jon
Kathleen “Boom-Boom” McDonald
Mix Becki
Lance Hardy
Jason and Janetta
Mark Merrick
Q-Bob
Reese Mercer
Dave Meddish
Michelle Tisdel
Brian and Lydia McNaughton
Elijah Goodall
The Gustafsons
Craig Irwin
Tom and Elena Clemmons
Special Thanks – Oregon Spirit Distillers is grateful to the following individuals who gave so generously of their resources, time and energy to help us get our doors open and our still on:
Bryan Howe, Portland – Master Plans
Tim Wilkinson, Portland – Engineer
Dustin Murdock, Portland – Design
Lindsay Bascom, Bend – Design
Chuck Schirm, Bend – High Desert Development & Investments,LLC
Nichole Schirm, California Girl – General Support
Carol Goodall, Bend – Grandma extraordinaire
To John and Sharon – Thanks for making our dreams come true. We love you.
Oregon Spirit Distillers Code
“A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job.” — John Wayne