Fill Your Home with Local Spirits
Minott Kerr’s tabletop bar
Trained as a medieval architectural historian, Minott Kerr makes his living developing elaborate maps of Portland present and future for the Metro regional government. But at home, he savors his coffee-pot collection (100 and counting) and a liquor cabinet equipped with at least 15 gins for making the perfect martini. (“It’s tautological,” he says. “There is no best gin, only the best gin of the moment.”) A serious home cocktailer at his Northwest Portland pad—“I have more stemware crystal than any straight guy on the West Coast,” he boasts—Kerr these days is focused on local craft distillers who are making a national splash with their bold expressions of Oregon flora.
MINOTT KERR’S SIPPING LIST
Ransom Old Tom Gin: From Ransom Spirits in Sheridan comes a stunning gin like no other: dark, relatively sweet with cardamom notes on impact. Don’t mix, just sip. ransomspirits.com
Eau de Vie of Douglas Fir: What says Oregon better than a forest-green concoction of handpicked and macerated fir buds blended with Clear Creek Distillery’s world-class pear brandy? Well, nothing. This spirit is best for adventurous tipplers. 2389 NW Wilson St; clearcreekdistillery.com
White Dog: This unaged whiskey from House Spirits Distillery is made entirely from malted barley, unlike its corn-based cousin, moonshine. Available only at the distillery. 2025 SE Seventh Ave; housespirits.com
1
Share
