It's right there in the name, so it should be no surprise that Browne Family Spirits was born out of owner Andrew Browne's desire to honor his family.
A successful Washington winemaker for more than two decades, Browne built Browne Family Vineyards from a small Walla Walla winery that initially produced four barrels of cabernet into a large operation with six tasting rooms around the state. While there was a history of wine in his family, especially from his grandfather who turned down Harvard for a year abroad at the University of Bordeaux, Browne knew he had to expand to honor the entire family.
"It was a generational thing with my grandparents who were much more spirit drinkers than they were necessarily wine drinkers. So I always had it in the back of my head that if we could do something on the distilled side, I would love to do it in my hometown," Browne says.
714 N. Lee St.
Open 11 am to 6 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
That dream became a reality in 2022 when Browne Family Spirits opened in the old Warrior Liquor distillery next to the ADM Milling silos in an industrial section of East Spokane. There was more than just coming home to Spokane that brought Browne's distilling dream here to the Inland Northwest.
"The water in Spokane is very good with the Rathdrum Aquifer," says distiller Aaron Kleinhelter. "Washington has a very good grain source. It's got a good climate for aging whiskey."
The only grain the distillery doesn't source from in state is their barley, which Kleinhelter says comes down to climate. It grows better at higher latitudes, so they source it from just across the border in British Columbia.
While Browne grew up in Spokane and saw putting a distillery here as a way to remain connected to his hometown, Kleinhelter doesn't have the same local connection. For what he's doing, however, that might be for the best.
Kleinhelter was born and raised in Kentucky, the heart of America's whiskey industry, where he learned the ropes before taking a job here at Warrior Liquor.
Fittingly, most of the offerings at Browne Family Spirits are brown liquors, from classics like single malt and rye whiskeys to seasonal experimental offerings like a vanilla bean flavored bourbon.
For those who are looking for something different, Browne also offers some vodka and gin options.
"We just came out with a Northwest botanical gin in our tasting room. It's called Gigi's Gin, and it's named after my grandmother on my mom's side," Browne says.
They're all available, along with a selection of Browne Family Vineyards wines, at the tasting room adjacent to the distillery. Visitors are treated to the view of the giant copper stills and the racks of barrels slowly aging their product, and to the wafting scent of grains passing through the open, high-ceilinged space.
In addition to traditional tasting room staples like flights and bottle purchases, Browne Family Spirits offers a selection of cocktail options to highlight flavor pairings and a small selection of light bites for those who feel like snacking.
"We work really with more of your classic straightforward cocktails and a few creative ones that Aaron and I'll work with together on, seasonal ones based on what our new releases are. He gets to be my guinea pig with that," says general manager David Duarte.
Their newest cocktail creation for spring and early summer is a mint fizz with their seasonal cucumber and mint infused gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, soda water, and lavender bitters.
Between the sun-soaked lawn and patio out front to the warm, very Northwest-looking interior of timber beams and polished wood, the tasting room feels out of place in the otherwise isolated, industrial area.
"You have this industrial feel, you have the mill facility across the street that you can see from a large portion of Spokane right across from it," says Kleinhelter. "It's kind of a hidden gem in a sense."
