A couple weeks ago I went up to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and one afternoon we hopped the border over to Spokane Washington. There we went to a really cool tap house that was in an old radiator shop. Is a matter of fact it was called the Radiator Shop. Great tap brews. I had a Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti on tap, and my host had some sort of Belgian thingy. I believe it was an Orval. Go figure he is opening a Belgian brewery! Before we went to the Radiator Shop we went to Dry Fly Distillery. As you can see it is just in a strip mall! Interesting location, just over by Gonzaga University.
Right next door was Northern Light’s Brewery’s tap room where we had lunch and some really marginal brews. Frankly I wan’;t impressed with anything there, but the distillery was cool. They make three liquors at Dry Fly, their Gin, Vodka, and of course Whiskey. We got to samle all three and I will give the whiskey a proper review later, but I was actually surprised that their Gin and Vodka were pretty good…
We took a “standing tour of the place because it is really small. Like other micro-distilleries I’ve been to it is contained in one room.
You have the Mash tank, the fermenters, and the distillers. Once distilled, the Gin and Vodka get bottled, and the whiskey goes into barrels. Where are the barrels you say? Well a simple twist of the head is all it takes.
The Masterdistiller took this picture, and I think he was right to not choose photography as his profession. Notice my eyes are closed. They age all their whiskey on the premises, actually in the same room as they mash, ferment, and distill in. My buddy Jeff that was my guide here noticed that the fermenters they use are flat bottom. Our tour guide, who was also standing behind the cash register had no idea that fermenters came in other shapes. So we really didn’t find out any mysteries of mash fermentation and why whiskey is fermented in a flat bottomed vessel and Beer is not, but be that as it may it was still an interesting little tour.
The brief time I had with the Master Distiller, he let me know that they are making a brand new spirit. Something from a grain that to his knowledge had never been used in liquor production before. Despite my efforts to get him to let the cat out of the bag, he wouldn’t divulge the grain, just to say it should be hitting the market in the next 6 months or so.
Interesting place, Dry Fly was. If you find yourself in Spokane with a half an hour to kill, pop over and take a look. It was interesting, even though it was small.
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
What impressed me the most was the over whelming pride the staff had in their operation. That and that I actually liked the vodka, which is odd for me. I typically don’t care for clear spirits. Looking forward to your thoughts on the whiskey. The bottle I picked up had something wrong with it so I need to go get another. Maybe I’ll get two and not send one to Jim 🙂
They sure do love their liquor! I normally hate Gin, and don’t really drink Vodka, so being as I liked their Gin and thought the Vodka was good too, that was a win for me. Now I’m a little worried about my bottle too. They were right next to each other on the shelf!
Neat little place! Personally, I love the picture.
To each his own Scott. I like the way it highlights my hair though…
Someday I’ll have to get up to that area and into Idaho, your description of this place and other places in Idaho make me want to visit., The only places we’ve been anywhere near there are the Seattle area and Canada around Vancouver Island.
Just got to say I love you’re tags for this post. 🙂
Just reread my comment, oops! Should say “Just got to say I love YOUR tags for this post!”
This part of Idaho is really great Will. Big lakes and lots of trees and mountains. In the south where I live it is all deserts, rivers, and creeks. Pretty country, but it is an acquired taste.