Cultus Bay Distillery and our Whidbey Island culture
Whidbey Island is a special place, a place of dark forests and bright beaches, of farms and bays and bogs and prairies and coves, of sunlight and rain on cozy villages, of towering squalls whipping white water. The people who live in this special place have come to expect their lives and experiences to be a bit special, and fortunately, these island folk also foster and produce such special experiences, and work to live such special lives.
At Cultus Bay Distillery, we’re proud to contribute to the island experience by distilling a range of fine handmade spirits from local Washington State materials, in our self-built distillery on the waterfront of Cultus Bay.
A good thing in a small handmade package
In an old converted dry boathouse, using small pot stills designed and built by us, and drawing on decades of distilling experience, we’ve melded traditional historic procedures and recipes with modern science and hard work. This allows us to craft a variety of small-batch handmade spirits with flavor and smoothness to challenge the best from the modern distilleries.
Our aged spirits are ripe with the bouquet and palate of our aging oak, Tennessee white oak specially heat-treated by us to control the flavor profiles of our whiskeys and brandies.
Our take on Washington State Craft Distiller Products
Licensed as a Washington State Craft Distillery, with the attendant restrictions on use of grown-in-Washington ingredients, and having extensive experience with Washington barley malt as a brewer, we chose to start with our single malt whiskeys Mulligan and Poitin. Additionally, we used barley malt for our award-winning Te Absolvo vodka and our killer Mortal Gin.
When looking for new products, it’s hard not to notice that we are surrounded by local island wineries, so we followed the whiskeys with a line of traditional grappas. European-style white eau-de-vie brandies, and traditional oak-aged brandies.
Lastly (and most decidedly not leastl), after years of living surrounded by South Whidbey’s peat bogs, we’ve just introduced our first peated single-malt Islay-style whisky, EFD 81, a memorial whisky for fallen Everett firefighter Gary Parks.
Spelling The Stuff
The Scots spell it whisky and the Celtics spell it whiskey, with an extra ‘e’. This difference in the spelling comes from the translations of the word from the Scottish and Celtic Gaelic forms. Whiskey with the extra ‘e’ is also used when referring to American whiskies.
Social Responsibility and Stewardship of our Island
When you live and work in a place as lovely as Whidbey, the last thing you want is for your hard work producing a fine product to mar the beauty of the island you love, and we take that concern to heart. A closed-circuit cooling system keeps wastewater from the environment. Solid wastes go to feed a herd of friendly sheep, who incidentally have one of the best views on the island. Spent stillage, containing nothing but fruit, yeast and/or grain compounds, is pH-adjusted to become irrigation water, with a bit of plant nutrient for good measure.
Where To Buy
Find us at these fine locations or order directly from us.
Visit Us For A Tour
Cultus Bay Distillery
8311 Sandy Hook Dr.
Clinton, Washington 98236
Call Us
Kathy Parks (360) 579 5632