Hood River Distillers sits along the Columbia River in Hood River, Oregon, and it’s been around way longer than most people realize—since 1934, making it one of the oldest continuously operating distilleries on the West Coast. The company started as Monarch Distillery during the final days of Prohibition and has survived everything from World War II to the craft spirits boom by staying flexible and practical. Today, they operate out of a 40,000-square-foot facility that handles everything from contract distilling for other brands to producing their own spirits, including Clear Creek brandies, Broker’s gin, and various whiskeys. The operation is decidedly industrial rather than boutique—this isn’t a farmhouse distillery with copper pot stills as art pieces. Instead, you’ll find serious production equipment capable of handling millions of bottles annually, plus one of the most impressive barrel warehouses in the Pacific Northwest with over 10,000 barrels aging at any given time. What makes Hood River interesting is how they’ve managed to stay relevant across nine decades by adapting to whatever the market demanded, whether that was bulk spirits during wartime or craft brandies during the artisanal movement.
