'Your Whiskey, Your Way' at new craft distillery

Having your own wine made isn't unusual. There are any number of wineries in many states that will tailor a batch to your specifics. But a new craft distillery that just opened over the weekend in Washington state may be the first to allow customers to help create their own spirits.

Heritage Distilling Company, which just opened to the public in Gig Harbor on scenic Puget Sound, is Washington's -- and perhaps the nation's -- first distillery to have a do-it-yourself component.

Owners Justin and Jennifer Stiefel are offering a program like called "Your Whiskey, Your Way." Customers can order a cask of spirits made to their specificatiopns, or can even take part in the process under the distillery's supervision.

The process is a bit tricky. State regulations do not allow unlicensed individuals to produce spirits without the proper federal and state licensing and permits. Heritage Distilling gets around that problem by doing all but the final stage of the distilling. Customers are allowed to selec a recipe and, later on, run one of the distillery's six micro-stills to complete the process.

"We are the ones licensed. We own all the equipment and have all the responsibility. It only becomes the customers’ product when they pay for it at the end," Justin Stiefel told The Business Journal.

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