Bull Run Distilling Company

Loved this placed! Stephanie knew everything from A-​Z and made it very casual and conversational. She should produce a video. All the information she shared was interesting and she even shared some info about other areas of the city. Maybe the Portland Tourism Board should scoop her up. She is a great asset to Bull Run. I bought the Barrel Strength Whiskey. I couldn’t help myself!

I think my +1 rated this number 2 on our 8 distillery tour stops.
We started off on rocky ground going into this place. We walked in when it was closing in 20 – 25 minutes, which we know is probably a no no but we didn’t think we would take more then 15 minutes because we’ve been to other ones. We walk in and ask if we can still do a tasting and the tasting guide was very rude and begrudging. He said yeah if you make it quick — very off putting to customers who want to try your product. We had the passport so that probably made him more mad. Not a good start.
After a few minutes, my +1 started talking to him about the liquors and he warmed up because he knew what he was talking about. The first pour he gave was so half assed and then he got better about being nicer to us. He was very talkative and knowledgable about the alcohol. We were confused about one bottle that he said it’s been sitting for so many years, yet the place hasn’t been open that long so we didn’t understand that. My +1 really enjoyed their whiskey and most of their products, we wanted to take one home but again, we only had carry on.
They let you have the tasting glass which is awesome, free shit! Tasting room is pretty cool, rustic and ‘old-​timey.’ I wasn’t happy about the first impression we got from the guy but he warmed up, so I guess that’s okay in my book.
Sidenote: there is a small parking lot.

Awesome tasting experience — staff was really knowledgable and friendly and the products were solid. A great experience all around.

So I walk in the liquor store in Pendleton Oregon during roundup headed to buy a bottle of Pendleton whiskey and a rep from Bull Run Distilling is there pouring samples of there American Wiskey. He tells me it’s seven years old and they make it themselves. I like it and buy it. Well now we get back to the room and I have a drink and start to read the label. IT SAYS DISTILLED IN INDIANA AND BOTTLED BY BULL RUN DISTILLING. Why the lie? If you don’t make it say so. At this point I don’t care how good your products are, you lost me as a customer. There are a lot of new Oregon distilleries and I will support them but not BULL RUN.

Very knowledgable staff– served by Jennifer this time, a gentleman last time. Product is great and consistent– very clear explanations about the product lines and the methods. We sampled the whisky blends and the new vodka aged in Pinot noir barrels and ultimately bought a bottle to take home to Texas. I would definitely recommend Bull Run as a must taste stop on your distillery tour in Portland. Stop by on your way to Pacific pie’s North West Location.

Great whiskey and rum, but the vodka tastes like alcohol (like most vodkas). Staff in the tasting room was very friendly and you get a free shot glass with the $ 5 tasting fee. One thing to note is that some of their liquors are not made in house, although I don’t see why that should deter anyone from visiting this place.

Amazing!!! Everything was smooth and wonderful… Get the flight and try something new… I’m leaving with the best Bourbon and a gift of Chinato Bourbon Whiskey (a manhattan in a bottle!!) YUM

If you’re making the rounds of distilleries, check this one out. I was surprised how smooth the vodka was. I was really looking forward to a flavorful bourbon, but it wasn’t quite the smooth. oaky bourbon I was looking for. Plus, as others have pointed out, its distilled in Tennessee then bottled in Portland. They just starting to distill their own but its going be 2 – 3 years before its all Portland-​made. Nice that the tastings are free — the others in the area charge.

ive never been to a distillery tasting room! sample vodka, tequila, rum, whiskey at 10am after a night of heavy drinking? sure, why not.
the lady behind the counter was super nice and the tastings are free. i dont typically sip spirits all on their own but i managed and I will say they have a nice selection. fun for a visit for sure. they give you some pretty nice coasters free for the taking as well!

Friendly staff, great free tasting.
However, we feel mislead– the implication was that all of the spirits were made in-​house. After we purchased the $ 30+ bottle of Temperance Trader Bourbon, we flew home to realize that right there the back label states «Distilled in Tennessee & BOTTLED in Portland, OR.» It also doesn’t state who distilled it– how do we know that it’s not just un-​filtered Jack Daniels etc.
The website says they are making an in-​house distilled OR whiskey to be released in 2015, but there was no mention of that in person.
Also disappointing; the flavor was significantly less smooth than what we had tasted. I guess that’s the risk with purchasing single-​barrel whiskey.
3 stars for being a fun spot; just read the back label before purchasing!

Selection of 3 whiskies which is what I was looking for. Other spirits and ginger beer soothed the lady. Staff was pleasant and informative. Left with a bottle of cask strength bourbon to savor like single malt scotch.
If there were a tour this would be a 5.

We happen to be walking down 23^rd street when I spied this place.
We walked in and saw that they had free tastings. The person behind the counter was really friendly and did a good job of shuffling her attention between the many people in the tasting room.
Although I didn’t personally see their spirits as standing out amongst others that I have tasted before, my wife really liked a couple of them. And several other people were buying bottles after having tasted them, so maybe my tastebuds are the oddball here. … So, for a free tasting, I say you should stop in and see if your taste buds more align with those of the other folks. :)
As for me, if you see my McMenamins Edgefield review, you’ll see the multiple bottles of spirits from their distillery that I enjoyed more than Bull Run.

Last year in an attempt to gain love from my French parents-​in-​law I purchased a bottle called «The Temperance Trader Bourbon» made from the waters of Bull Run. I purchased in a liquor store based on recommendations and I was impressed as 2 months passed and a visit to their home revealed, the Bourbon was AMAZING. How’d I know? I didn’t taste it, but these two French people finished the entire bottle in 2 months. They said it was the best thing they’d ever had.
So I decided to go to the source. Jennifer was my hostess/​taste guide and man did she know it all. She was definitely a bit tired, the air conditioning needed emptying… and I was hot as well. However we remedied that with the following tasters:
–Temperance Trader Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($ 35.99)
–Temperance Trader Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Ginger Beer
–Temperance Trader Barrell Strength ($ 39.99)
–Temperance Trader Barrel Strength and a splash of water
–Pacific Rum ($ 27.99)
–Aria Portland Dry Gin
–Medoyeff Portland Vodka
–A new whiskey that I totally forgot the name, but it was something about a rare barrel aging process or something…
I took home:
–2 bottles of the Straight Bourbon Whiskey
–1 bottle of Pacific Rum
Why:
The bourbon was the most well balanced I’ve tasted in awhile. It had a soft taste, almost like a Cognac, and was definitely a whiskey I could drink straight. As said by the producer «ending in honey», and that it was.
The rum was amazing. Made from Hawaiian cane sugar, it tasted like a slightly alcoholic version of a Cuban simple syrup. It was absolutely delicious and something I could drink mixed or straight. In France we do a nice drink called «Planteur», simply a spoon of sugar, a lime wedge crushed in the glass and a shot of rum– I can’t wait to get home to try.

My friend and I saw this across the street one day and decided to stop in for a tasting. I went off gin for a few solid years due to a seriously rough night or two back in the day, so this was my first foray back into the gin world. This stuff is good! As well as the whiskey, vodka, and rum. I bought a bottle of the Portland Gin to bring back to San Diego and it is so good. The owner was friendly, helpful, and engaged with us during our tastings. Super fun time, and wonderful spirits.

I knew Portland was the go-​to place for beer and coffee. I didn’t realize that there were lots of good distilleries here too! We found this place by walking by, but they had just closed. We made sure to come back the next day for tastings.
The tasting room in small, and 4 people filled the tasting counter. The distillers themselves were doing the pouring — not hot chicks hired for the counter, like at some other places I’ve been to…
The tasting menu was their vodka, gin, (white) rum, whiskey, and barrel-​strength whiskey. All of it was good. Not just good — special and notable and unique and complex. It isn’t at a price point to *only* be for sipping, but all of it was easy to appreciate by itself. They also had cocktail recommendations for all of it.
If we weren’t flying home on a plane, we would have bought some/​all of it. Each bottle was at the price point that I’m used to buying, and much of it isn’t available down in California yet. So we will just have to wait for it to make it down there, and request it at our local bars and liquor stores.

The Aria gin is incredible (and a value). I’m not generally a vodka fan, but theirs actually has some flavor. Temperance Trader Bourbon is quite good, leading me to look forward to their Oregon whiskey. Friendly, knowledgeable folks.

Enjoying a lowball glass of Pacific Rum n Tonic… squeeze of lime! Short review… but have to get back to the glass… delicious!!! Simple and good! LOVE you Patrick!!!

As good as it gets is right. Bull Run is amongst the best of the best of local distillers, producing small batches of some of the greatest fire water that’s ever touched my lips.
Relatively new on the scene (2010), it started with Medoyeff vodka (owner Lee’s namesake), then Pacific Rum (oh, hay sailor!), then Temperance Trader Bourbon, OH HELLO! Coming (not soon enough) in 2015, Oregon Whiskey, just as soon as it’s done brewin’. Patience, people. It takes time.
Why are the spirits so good? Well, the love and NW water, obviously, but also the small batches mean each one is a teensy bit different, and I mean that in the best possible way. Lee and Patrick are running a tight ship with pot stills and barrels.
Stop into the tasting room sometime for a full bio of the company, the spirits, and to pick up bottles to go. They have a handful of cool booze trinkets, too. I am guessing that if you give a bottle of any of Bull Run’s booze to anyone for Christmas, you’ll never get out from under the mistletoe. So, don’t give one to your mother, that would be weird. But DO stock up: when they’re out, they’re out.

We were taking pictures near the distillery’s exterior after some dinner at Casa Del Matador when we were invited in by an extremely friendly employee. She invited us to have a taste of their vodka and rum, as well as some gin and burbon that were brought in by friends of the business. All 4 spirits were delightful. The woman pouring our samples told the story of how each spirit was distilled, how the Bull Run distillery came to be, and why a relatively new distillery has a difficult time selling aged burbon (spoiler alert: because it hasn’t aged yet). We laughed alot. I appreciate that.
The prices are great — top-​shelf quality with middle-​shelf pricing. I was very impressed with the local, small-​scale, high quality, and friendly distillery that I never set out to visit but happily stumbled upon. If I’m ever in the neighborhood again, I’ll certainly drop by.

We stopped by for a tasting, the staff was so courteous and fun, great tasting vodka and bourbon… I bought both!