MEET YOUR MAKER Tom Burkleaux by Brandy Crowe Photos by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland
Portland’s “maker” scene goes well beyond what sits on your walls, shelves and limbs. The city’s vast drinking culture has a part to play as well. After all, you can’t have a craft cocktail without the craft, right? So this month, we’re visiting with one of the first spots on Distillery Row: New Deal. In addition to the well-stocked tasting room and CARL, the giant copper still, New Deal offers spring cocktail classes and whiskey workshops. In 2001, Tom Burkleaux was on the consumer side of things, drinking cheap vodka, and lamenting it, due to the recession.
Then, in true DIY fashion, he decided to make his own. New Deal’s first tiny still resides in the tasting room even today, among other incarnations. (CARL is around No. 15 for New Deal.) “It was an art project that got out of hand,” says Burkleaux, who admits he started with little knowledge when he got into the distilling game. “I consider myself a natural scientist. There weren’t as many resources then as there are now. But, wow people were excited seeing me do it! Portland is supportive of craft. We want to do it ourselves and be part of the process.” Now, celebrating 15 years, New Deal sees its artisan spirits on many craft cocktail menus across the city. The distillery puts out about seven to eight thousand cases a year of their flagship Bike Lady vodka, reserve whiskey, gin, liqueur, rum and brandy — all made with mostly local ingredients. Burkleaux says his company could double its production at this point, but he wants to hone in on the time and quality of the finished product. “I do think there’s something about small scale distillation,” he says. “Some people have very automated stills. It’s more of just having a direct experience with your medium.” You can order a beautiful drink at New Deal, but you can also take part in a series of Thursday evening classes this April. There, Public Provisions will step in to share knowledge on how to prepare, balance, and mix the perfect cocktail.
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