WOODINVILLE, Wash. — Oh Christmas tree ... we never dreamed you'd end up in our mixed drinks!
Woodinville-based BroVo Spirits makes liqueurs with Pacific Northwest ingredients.
"And so Douglas fir trees are everywhere here,” smiled Mac Kenney II, a distiller at BroVo. You know where this is going…
They decided to transform 'Oh Tannenbaum' into a tasty drink.
“We had this idea of making a single note Douglas fir liqueur that had that character of the tree, kinda piney,” Kenney explained.
Every spring, they gather fir boughs near Mount Baker. Then they distill the boughs in a mixture of spirits, agave nectar, and water.
BroVo’s Douglas Fir Liqueur takes the holiday cocktail way beyond eggnog.
And Christmas tree isn't the only flavor this place captures in a bottle.
"We have over 100 different herbs and spices and roots and flowers that we use,” Kenney said, whose company makes amaros (also known as bitters) and vermouths in addition to single note mix-ins.
BroVo makes liqueurs their way. They use colorful socks like giant teabags to steep their ingredients. Production coordinator Connor Frederickson demonstrated his morning sock squeezing routine.
"Getting all the flavors out, essentially.”
They name their equipment — a still is called The Dude after the Big Lebowski character, another still is Evangeline for the song by The Band.
They also enlist the experts to develop recipes.
Seattle craft bartender Jon Christiansen helped develop some of the many flavors here, like Amaro #11.
His advice on adding Douglas fir to a drink?
"For a spirit-forward cocktail you’ve kinda gotta be careful with the piney, woodiness,” cautioned Christiansen, who proceeded to whip up a delicious martini and a whiskey sour using the fir liqueur.
Thanks to the craft cocktail craze — sales of BroVo's Douglas Fir Liqueur have taken off in the last couple of years.
"I always like to think that it tastes like a Christmas tree in a really good way,” Kenney said.
So, if you find yourself in need of some real Christmas spirit, you know where to find it.
Each bottle of liqueur costs $44.95.
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