Today we’re tasting and sharing Freeland Spirits Geneva Gin. Join us for a quick peek into this craft distillery and to hear what we think about this spirit…
About Freeland Spirits Geneva Gin
“Inspired by genever, the Dutch grandmother of gin, Freeland’s Geneva showcases Oregon grown rye with an array of sultry and savory botanicals. A rich grain backbone heightened by peaks of alluring spice and hints of Willamette Valley hazelnut. Enjoy neat or stirred into a classic whiskey cocktail. Geneva is handcrafted grain to glass in Portland, Oregon.”
Buy Freeland Spirits Geneva Gin Now!
Meemaw Freeland (That’s what they call grandmas in Texas) was founder Jill Kuehler’s grandmother and the inspiration behind Freeland Spirits. A fiercely independent woman, Meemaw didn’t care much for limits—or shortcuts. Ironically, she didn’t care much for booze either.
1. All good things come from scratch. Meemaw Freeland figured that if you’re going to do a thing, you might as well take the time to do it right. We couldn’t agree more. Our process doesn’t start in the distillery—it starts in the farms and forests of Oregon, where we source the freshest ingredients nature has to offer. Just as Meemaw loved preserving the harvest from her abundant garden each season, we do the same with our spirits, capturing the essence of each botanical when it’s at its peak of flavor.
2. Women can do—and be—any damn thing they want. Yeah, craft distilling is a male-dominated industry. But we’re not about to let that stop us. As one of the very few women-owned and run distilleries in history, we’re kicking ass and taking names one bottle at a time. Bucking tradition clearly runs in the family—back when women weren’t supposed to be the primary breadwinner, Meemaw built a thriving career. By staking our claim in a male-dominated industry, we’re just following her lead.
About Your Hosts
The Crafty Cask celebrates and supports craft alcohol makers through engaging consumer content, events, virtual tastings, and online education. We help craft enthusiasts drink better and craft makers market their brands better to build thriving small businesses that keep #TipplerNation drinking well!
Your hosts for this event, alongside the featured maker, are Suzanne Henricksen, Founder of The Crafty Cask and Evan Rothrock, sommelier, certified cider professional, mixologist, and bespoke wine tour guide.
Read the transcript
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Hello hello
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I’m Suzanne and this is Evan from The Crafty Cask
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and we are here to talk to you about Freeland Spirits
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Geneva Gin uh
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Geneva gin is designed after Genever
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which is kind of precursor to gin
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the one main difference
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is that Genever has to be made from grain
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instead of any other kind of based spirit
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for the distillate
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this particular one is made from rye grown in Oregon
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yes it’s a female founded
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operated and distilled distillery
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so cheers to that um
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some uh some really nice kind of aromatic notes to this
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I feel like
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uh this is made from seven different botanicals
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and on the nose I mean
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I get some salinity
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I get some like
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savoryness and saltiness which
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yeah I’m getting some kind of pink grapefruit
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um maybe a little bit of Graham cracker um
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maybe Graham cracker could be associated with the rye
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that it’s short to to
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to make yeah
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should we give it a try yeah
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hmm I immediately
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the minute I taste this I am like
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this would make a killer martini
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like it just screams martini to me
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um especially with that salinity
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I tend to like dirty martinis
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so I feel like this would just shine in that
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yeah the spice of the rye comes through
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I think on the palate
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um this could also be great in place of whiskey
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in a lot of classic whiskey cocktails
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yeah many people say that Genever is kind of the cross
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of gin and whiskey
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because it is grain based like a whiskey would be
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but it has the botanicals
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of course just one
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particularly with the use of rye
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which I think is a little bit more prominent when
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using whiskey as well
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maybe something like a perfect Manhattan
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substituting
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yeah and it’s really fun story
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Freeland Spirits
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was named after the founder’s grandmother
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who she says you know
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taught her in the Geneva
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no it was not Freeland Spirits
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Freeland was her last name
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yes and so um
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she says that her grandmother taught her
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that anything good is always made from scratch
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and that women can do anything they want to
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probably so
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cheers to that again
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and you know
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if you’re enjoying freeling spirits
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or you wanna check it out please do
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look at this beautiful bottle you’ll get as a bonus
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that’s you know
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it’s a beautiful bottle that you could use at the vase
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or anything else afterwards
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but on the plus side
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stuff inside it is quite pretty delicious
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so cheers cheers
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