Snohomish on the Rocks celebrates local craft distilleries

To Mike Huffman, whiskey is what beer wants to be when it grows up.

That’s how the Whidbey Island Distillery general manager describes the golden liquid that is distilled and aged on the distillery’s 9-acre farm on the south end of Whidbey Island.

Opened in 2010, Whidbey Island Distillery is a family-owned business that focuses on Washington ingredients to make not only its Bunker Rye Whiskey, but its four berry liqueurs.

Whidbey Island Distillery is the kind of locally owned and focused craft distillery that will be celebrated at Saturday’s Snohomish on the Rocks distillery festival.

“Washington has a definite history of bootlegging,” said Jean Simpson, Snohomish on the Rocks executive director. “But the reason Washington is so big in the distillery game is because we have all the resources here that are part of the distillery process. We have grain, wheat, rye and fruit.”

This is the seventh year for Snohomish on the Rocks, which has outgrown its previous home at the Snohomish Events Center and settled into its bucolic setting in the farmlands of Snohomish at Thomas Family Farms. The distillery festival is the main fundraiser for Grow Washington, a small business development organization.

Simpson said the festival has always focused on Washington distilleries, with an attempt to get as many Snohomish and Island county distillers as possible. Along with Whidbey Island Distillery, this year’s festival will feature spirits from more than 30 Washington distilleries, including Snohomish’s Skip Rock Distillery, Edmonds’ Scratch Distillery, Arlington’s Bad Dog Distillery and Lynnwood’s Temple Distilling.

“We’ve always had a great time with everyone involved,” said Temple Distilling owner AJ Temple, who will be attending for the third year in a row. “The local community of distillers is absolutely the best group of people to be involved with.”

Huffman agreed.

“We look forward to it every year,” Whidbey Island Distillery’s Huffman said. “It’s a beautiful setting on the farm and it’s a great opportunity to taste a variety of locally made spirits under one roof.”

The festival is the largest of its kind in Snohomish County and will feature one brewery, SnoTown Brewing, which will be selling its beers in the beer garden for those who want to take a break from spirits.