We had the honor of attending the first virtual gin tasting with Deviation Distilling a week ago and we couldn't wait to visit in person to try their whiskey!
I don't think I have ever been this excited about alcohol! :P First the gin... Gin has really never been on my radar. 2 years ago I had what I can remember was my first taste of gin. It was good... a bit too much Juniper for my taste. But I went in to the tasting with an open mind and was totally blown away. With the gin, the company and especially the people behind it!
The gin... I've been to a bunch of distilleries. I don't think that I have EVER been so impressed with the painstaking care and process that goes into everything that Deviation puts into their products. The gins have a whiskey base, different for each variety they produce. The magic happens with the other ingredients. I was shocked to hear that each component is a distillate itself. Each gin has at least 4 ingredients so aside from the base, there are 12 distillates created that are blended into the final product. Who does that? Deviation does! This allows them to tweak each batch precisely to the desired outcome. I was so glad with the tasting to sample each gin. It's funny... I expected to like the Citrus Rose the least and it ended up being my favorite! Mountain Herb and Spice Trade are amazing as well and each stand on their own merit, with the ingredients perfectly balanced. Even though gin is considered a cocktail spirit, these gins stand well alone for sipping. On top of that, Cindi, Bob and Dave have put together the most amazing recipes which perfectly compliment their gins. They are truly masters of their craft! And the packaging? These are gorgeous, award winning bottles and the artwork also hangs on the wall in the distillery.
This past Friday, Michelle and I figured there couldn't be a better way to end the week than swinging by Deviation for an adult beverage. If their gin was this good, we couldn't wait to try the whiskey! LOL Being a Scotch drinker, I keep trying to leave off the E! ;) A quick call to Deviation and we found that they had room for us so off we went!
Cindi and Bob were manning the distillery and are such delightful people. We lucked out and were the only people in at the time so we had their full attention. They gave us the lowdown on the whiskey, which was actually their initial product offering. We decided to do the flight of their 3 whiskeys: Americano, Mocha and Aztec. Such a tease!! I hate to be a broken record but beaver's dam! They were all amazing!! We had such a hard time deciding which to purchase a full bottle of to bring home. We wanted them all and I am sure will have the full collection soon! We did opt for the Americano because um... coffee! And you have no clue how much of a chocolate fan I am!
Upon ordering BBQ from Smokin' Yards, next door (OMG that is a whole other review... such deliciousness!), we did order cocktails after our flight. I went off the menu, which Cindi and Bob love, and the whiskey drink was amazing! My better half ordered from the menu and it was incredible. I can't say enough... these people know what they are doing! And it is very clear that they do! You MUST visit... you will feel like you have met new best friends.
And as if that is not enough, these beautiful humans responded to the pandemic locally by creating hand sanitizer when one of the stills was not in use. Thank you Deviation for your service to the community! We were please to see that they were as adamant about keeping everyone safe with their sanitation measures in the distillery as they are in producing their products!
Seriously, I could go on and on and this is officially my longest Yelp review. Please, you don't know what you are missing. If you think you don't like gin or whiskey, you haven't been to Deviation Distillery. Converting minds, one drink at a time. read more