Well, “yes” it’s because we make our spirits from grain to glass, “from scratch.” But its more than that. When we started our business plan in 2013 and investigated the industry, we were surprised to find that most of the spirits industry doesn’t make their own base spirit and doesn’t use real ingredients.

We think ‘from scratch” means that we believe that these questions are important (and we hope you will too). What are the ingredients? Where were they grown? How were they grown? Where was the spirit made? What is mixed with it or added to it? Was the priority to make it exceptional, taking great care?

As a society we are now more conscientious as consumers. We consider where our food comes from. We make choices about what we eat. We often opt for products that are more natural, organic, and/or sustainably produced. We consider what is in our skin care product and our clothing.  We want to know that the companies that make them are ethical, and are responsible about their sourcing.

Alcohol is not typically discussed as an agricultural product.  But most of what you drink begins on a farm just like the food you eat.  Just like food, shouldn’t we consider what it’s made with, how it’s made, and what is added?

We believe that just like food, the best alcohol is made from local sustainably grown crops. We are fortunate to live near Skagit Valley. This is a special community. Skagit Valley farms are using remarkable crop rotation strategies to make quality produce, sustainably. They aren’t alone in this endeavor but nonetheless we think they are a standout in the agricultural industry, and we want to support them.

To make our products we first pay particular attention to where our organic, non-GMO ingredients come from: Fairhaven organic mill in Burlington, Skagit Valley Malting, Oregon Potato Company (Warden WA farms), Mountain Rose Organic in Eugene OR for many of our exotic botanicals, even PCC for our citrus and peppers.  Our own distillery patio garden, as well as the gardens of many Scratch Pride Club members serves as a source for sage, rosemary, and Rowan berries, for example.

We mash, ferment, distill, infuse, and bottle all of our products on site at Scratch Distillery.

When we use the term “from scratch” we think it’s analogous to making a nice meal- you use the most basic ingredients and nothing that has been pre-made.  For us this means we do not use: artificial coloring, (harsh) industrial alcohol, synthetic flavorings, or preservatives. We make products simply, using the best ingredients,

Local organic ingredients, small batches, using natural (real) flavor ingredients, made into delicious spirits with love, from Scratch;)