by John Dowd
Recently, the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce released the winners of their yearly community awards. For 2023, the winner of “New Business of the Year” was the Westslope Distillery. The award is not necessarily meant for a business that has opened within the last year, but is structured to be given to a business that is recent, and has done excellent work trying to improve and be a part of the community. Because it is hard to predict how, or if, a business will survive long after their first year of opening, winners can often be selected after establishing themselves. The Westslope Distillery fits right into that mold.
Susan Young and her son, Will, are the co-owners of the Westslope Distillery. After starting up their business in 2018, they have made major strides to welcome and incorporate the valley and the community into their mission. According to Susan, this drive to participate comes from their experience with the people in the area.
Susan’s family came to the area, brought by the fishing and outstanding natural beauty. For her, a great part of why they love the area is due to “so many different people, and it was so welcoming to all those different people.” Because that “small town thing is hard to beat,” they decided to settle in the valley.
Susan is chief operations officer and Will is the man behind the bottle, acting as head distiller. Will wanted to produce a food product, and was looking into things like chocolate, beer and distilling. Susan wanted to start a business in Hamilton that strived to be, and appreciate, “local.” Self-described “foodies,” the mother/son team wanted to bring a value added business to the valley that they hoped would appreciate Montana for Montana. Eventually, they settled on the idea of opening a distillery because they are still relatively rare for the area, unlike breweries and chocolate makers.
Their flagship product was a honey brandy spirit created from a honey wine fermented at Hidden Legends Winery, located just outside Victor. The location specializes in mead, arguably the oldest form of fermented beverage in the world, and one that uses honey as its primary sugar. Westslope’s honey spirit is called “Sweet Sting,” and is twice distilled, as well as originally un-aged. However, they have come to produce an aged variety, which brings forth hints of oak, yet maintains the mellow honey flavor throughout the process of distillation and aging.
From the flagship, they then began to produce other locally themed spirits, such as their Cutthroat Rum, which is actually not a rum, but what they call a ‘brum.” Instead of utilizing molasses and sugar cane as the primary sugar in fermentation, their spirit utilizes sugar beets and honey, hence the name, brum. Their rum alternative has similar qualities, yet tastes distinct from a rum. The flavor is warm, crisp, full of vanilla and according to them, makes for a great and unique Montana take on a mojito.
Their other spirits include a Lost Trail Rye Vodka, which is a “Polish” inspired flavorful take on the classic, as well as a Merchants American Dry Gin and a Timber Cruiser Rye Whiskey, among several others, including combinations of various spirits they produce.
Westslope Distillery takes pride in their spirits’ “versatility” in cocktails, or even on ice. In each purchase they include an informational card about the spirit, with recipes for the cocktails they create in-house on the back.
Will got his start distilling recently, learning through online forums and experimentation. He often is harsher on his cuts than many distillers, prioritizing quality over quantity. He sticks mainly with the “hearts,” which is one of several sections of separation known in the distilling world as “cuts.” This is where the distiller will separate out spirits as they come off the still during a run, allowing control of the flavor in the final product, as well as qualities. Often, the “heads,” or first cuts that come off the still, are thrown out. This is to prevent toxic methanol because it evaporates first, at a lower temperature, during distillation. Earlier cuts will also retain some negative qualities, such as harshness.
According to Will, by sticking to the hearts, which are often the best cuts for flavor and ease of drinking, he can create a superior spirit both in taste and after-effects. “The end product is key,” said Will. By striking a good balance, some of their spirits, including their flagship, have gotten awards in their perspective classes. Will also believes this is why they have gotten such a strong local fanbase. “It’s nice having a local dedicated following,” said Will. They also believe much of their success has come from their drive to include and participate with the community and other local businesses. According to Susan, when you team up with other groups, “you get to be creative and work off each other.”
For them, a big part of their love for the area is fishing, and they prominently feature fly fishing in much of their artwork and design around their business. In fact, fishing inspires a lot of the names of their products, and the business overall is named after the westslope cutthroat trout. Along with this love of the natural beauty and the outdoors, the distillery also wants to bring in other aspects of the area that they love.
Susan and Will want Westslope Distillery to be seen as a “community space,” where “everyone is welcome,” said Susan.
They also want to do what they can for the area and “give back to the community.” Westslope Distillery works on collaborations with other businesses, like their honey spirit in partnership with Hidden Legend Winery. They also partner with local flower shops and organizations to do demonstrations and group activities at the distillery. They host history lectures on Montana and the surrounding areas, where they partner with local experts to meet and speak there at the duo’s distillery. “We are trying to bring the community together and be an asset,” said Susan. This is likely how they got involved with the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce, which awarded them New Business of the Year.
Their location includes an in-house bar, where they mix various original cocktails utilizing their spirits. They also have an outside seating area for customers and groups to enjoy. A food truck, Roots and Bitters, serves customers every Friday.
Westslope Distillery is located at 172 S. 2nd in downtown Hamilton, and they can be contacted by calling (406) 375-5590.