Dry Fly Distilling

BY SHEI MCLAUGHLIN

What was once an idea born between two friends wading in a river has blossomed into an award-winning, community-oriented and ever-growing distillery.

Sitting at the intersection of Riverside and Monroe in Downtown Spokane is Dry Fly Distilling, a farm-to-bottle distillery boasting offerings of locally-sourced grain and botanical decks. Founded in 2007, Don Poffenroth took the idea hatched at the river and brought it to life as a way to meld his love for the outdoors and craft spirits. Dry Fly works hard to make sure all of its products, from gin to canned cocktails, are as fine as can be.

“Grain to bottle is hard. Being a craft distillery is hard. But we want to make our products the right way,” says Pat Donovan, Dry Fly’s president of operations.

Needing a bigger space to grow production, the distillery moved from its original location in the Riverwalk building to the window-laden brick building where The Spokesman-Review once printed its paper. The move granted the distillery more space to grow and improve their processes and products, even fitting a restaurant and event space available to rent.

With further expansion on the mind and a decade of collaboration under its belt, Dry Fly recently announced a partnership with Caymus Vineyards to increase their national footprint and expand their spirits selection.

Caymus Vineyards was started by the Wagner Family, who come from a long line of grape growers and winemakers in California’s Napa Valley. The vineyard has been a notable part of California’s wine industry since its inception in 1972, with its Caymus Cabernet known for being one of the region’s most celebrated wines. 

“It's all really exciting,” Donovan says. “This is a really tough and competitive industry and as a small business it is even more difficult. Partnering with Caymus, with their legacy and expertise, is going to open a lot of doors for us to grow Dry Fly.”

The distillery began working with Caymus more than a decade ago on various projects, one of which being a whisky aged in the Vineyards’ special selection of Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels, which will be ready for the public to enjoy next year. The partnership thrived as both companies value innovation and being family-oriented with similar visions for the future of Dry Fly.

Charlie Wagner, the owner of Caymus Vineyards, says that while his primary focus is the wine industry, he is looking forward to the new opportunities this partnership will bring.

“Now we are taking our collaboration to the next level,” Wagner says in the press release. “Assuming a bigger stake in the company speaks to my excitement over Dry Fly’s vision, passion and expertise, and its ability to make products that truly stand out in the market.”

Donovan views this partnership as an opportunity to grow and share their spirits throughout the United States utilizing Caymus Vineyards’ connections and partnerships. Though expansion is the main goal of the partnership, as far as operations go, headquarters will remain in Spokane “to be even better than before.”

“We still have local ownership and we don’t plan to leave Spokane,” Donovan says. “The goal here is to source more great Eastern Washington wheat and hire more great Spokane people.”

This partnership allows for the company to produce new, collaborative products, such as the whiskey aged in wine barrels. Dry Fly is also looking to further expand their selection of canned cocktails within the next year.

Originally specializing in vodka and gin, the distillery expanded into the canned cocktail industry to grow the business and introduce new ways to enjoy their spirits.

“When you go camping or fishing or really do anything outdoors, it can be difficult to bring a bottle of spirits with you,” Donovan says. “Our canned cocktails are compact and ready to be enjoyed outdoors.”

Dry Fly’s canned cocktails cover classic combinations like Bloody Mary, Moscow Mule and Gin and Tonic. They’ve also concocted original blends such as their Huckleberry Lemonade and Hibiscus Cosmopolitan. 

It was thanks to the popularity of their canned cocktails that the business grew into their new location in downtown Spokane, its almost floor-to-ceiling windows exposing the brass machinery used to create its products.

“Our new location really feels like a big Willy Wonka factory for adults,” Donovan says. “Our restaurant fishbowls the facility so that customers can see our production team hard at work crafting the spirits they are drinking.”

The distillery’s restaurant consists of locally-sourced ingredients and spirit-inspired dishes, including clams and mussels steamed in Dry Fly Gin. Donovan says the restaurant allows for customers to further immerse themselves in the distilling and tasting experience.

“The old location had a tasting room where we were able to pour samples and small cocktails under our distillery license,” Donovan says. “We wanted to elevate the customer experience at the new facility to showcase how to pair our spirits with food as well as provide people more options to sit and enjoy our spirits.”

There is also an event space above the dining room where the distillery hosts bimonthly classes on how to make different spirits. 

“Our cocktail classes allow 20 to 50 people to not only learn how to make cocktails but also how important each step in the process of making the cocktail is,” says Spencer Greer, Dry Fly’s front of house manager. “We go over when you should shake, when you should stir, what ingredients should be added when and why each step is so important.”

The increase in space and support allowed Dry Fly to branch into the growing nonalcoholic market of the cocktail world, leading to the introduction of canned mocktails for those looking to enjoy the essence of spirits without the actual alcohol. 

“Outside of sparkling water, we haven't seen a lot of nonalcoholic options that actually feel like a cocktail, so we wanted to change that,” Greer says.

Currently the distillery offers two different nonalcoholic flavors, Strawberry Lemon and Lemon Lavender, but are considering new blends and ways to offer inclusive spirits.

As a small business, Dry Fly enjoys experimenting with specialty releases and is excited to expand these projects with Caymus’s assistance. Donovan says that their Expo ‘74 Lemon Lavender cocktail was made possible by staff’s nature of fueling new ideas.

“We aren’t a corporate environment and we are very family oriented,” Donovan says. “When someone wants to try something new, we all work together to make it happen.”

The distillery also values collaborating within the community. From making specialized blends and labels for local bars to incorporating ingredients and infusions from other small businesses, Donovan says that these collaborations are both fun and mutually beneficial. 

“There are a lot of great opportunities to collaborate that we are just starting to scratch the surface on,” Donovan says.

With its roots firmly planted in the Spokane community, Dry Fly Distilling looks forward to the company’s future innovation and expansion as it continues its journey of being a leader in Inland Northwest craft distilling.

Dry Fly Distilling

1021 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA

Related Stories