Recently, Chris and I came to the realization that we both kind of like gin. More and more we found ourselves ordering gin-based cocktails and really enjoying them, so it was time to learn more about gin and get some of our own to play with at home. Luckily for us, Temple Distilling is right here in Lynnwood, and even luckier, there was a Groupon for a tour and tasting!
Temple Distilling is tucked away in an office park near the convention center. It’s not visible from the street, but they had helpful signs out. They’re only open on Saturdays, or by appointments… But apparently if you call and they’re on-site working on gin, they’ll be happy to sell you some.
We stopped by on Saturday afternoon for some pre-dinner drinks. Co-owners Jamie and AJ were delightful and we liked them immediately. They both clearly love what they do and were great at making conversation. And of course, I’m immediately predisposed to like a fellow AJ!
On Jamie’s advice, we decided to do one gin tasting flight and one mini-cocktail flight, so we could share. The flight consisted of their two dry gins (one stronger and more citrus-y than the other), a barrel-aged gin, and a gin-based limoncello.
Now, I’m pretty new to drinking spirits straight — I tend to be a fancy cocktail kind of person. But I really enjoyed the chance to see what the gin tasted like on its own, and the warmth of it was welcome on a cool, rainy day. It was nice to experience the difference in flavor notes between the two dry gins, for instance, uninfluenced by cocktail mixers.
Oh yes, and our flight was accompanied by these cute lemon-lavender shortbread cookies. I found that they made a good “palette cleanser” between tastes.
As for the cocktails, there was one based on each of the gins. A classic gin and tonic, a dark and stormy inspired cocktail, an old fashioned, and a sweet dessert cocktail with the limoncello. Turns out I like a basic G&T! And the tonic syrup in the dark-and-stormy-esque drink was amazing, too.
After that, AJ invited us to take what was left of our cocktails and do the tour of the distillery. Well, it’s one room, so it’s not so much a “tour” as a behind-the-scenes look and an explanation of the distilling process. As someone who works with a lot of small businesses, I really enjoy seeing how everyone runs theirs, especially when they have a real passion for it. Seeing not just the still that makes the gin, but even the printer they use to make the labels, which they then apply by hand, was a treat. It left me feeling really connected to the end-product.
We spent a little time nerding out about various related topics, including cider and tea, and AJ even shared a little special imported Japanese gin (which was made with tea). As we were wrapping up our tasting, a large group came in and it included the person responsible for the label design!
Naturally we couldn’t leave empty-handed, so we brought home a bottle of the Woodcut Barrel Rested Gin, and some apricot shrub as well (because as I’ve mentioned before, I love shrubs!). Plus we received two of the Temple Distilling branded shotglasses as part of our Groupon deal.
All in all, we really enjoyed our visit to Temple, and I can easily see us going back on a Saturday just for cocktails and chatter (and maybe another bottle of gin for our home bar). If you’d like to visit Temple as well, as of this writing the Groupon deal is still available!
Do you have a favorite gin cocktail? Let me know in the comments!
