Author traces Washingtonstate distilling history, links colonial roots to modern craft boom

Becky Garrison, an author and journalist, traced the history of distilling in Washington state during an April History Talk at the Lacey Museum, describing how spirits shaped settlement, commerce and contemporary craft production in the Pacific Northwest.

Garrison told the audience the region's distilling story begins with early 19th-century commercial operations and home production, moved through a violent and adulterated Prohibition-era underground, and has re-emerged as a craft sector in the 21st century with distinct Pacific Northwest styles.

Garrison framed the history around three through-lines: the practical role of spirits in frontier commerce and preservation; public-health and regulatory responses to adulterated products; and the cultural and economic revival represented by modern craft distilleries.

She cited an early instance of distilling in what is now Washington state when, in 1833, the Hudson's Bay Company built a distillery at the site of Fort Vancouver. Garrison said archaeological finds from Fort Vancouver have included barrels, taps and copper tubing and that bottles were common in the site's reconstruction records.

Using national examples for context, Garrison described colonial-era production (including a large distillery operated by George Washington, which she said produced about 10,500 gallons of rye along with fruit brandies) and the shift westward where spirits became portable currency for…