About It's 5 Artisan Distillery

In 1920, rumor had it there was profitable work to be done in the apple orchards of Washington State's Wenatchee Valley. Unfortunately, North Dakotans Marie Resner Hecht and her brothers didn't have money to travel. So, to earn cash for the trip, the trio sold whiskey made from milk whey. Their westward trek took them to a Dryden orchard, where they settled and eventually brought in 52 harvests.

Today, Carol Levi pays homage to Grandma Marie’s industrious spirit, by combining her family’s history of fruit harvesting and liquor distilling at It’s 5 Artisan Distillery. Here, owner Colin Levi helms the process, making each batch using fruits and grains grown in Washington state. Those ingredients yield spirits such as brandy, grappa, whiskey, fruit liqueur, and, most notably, a gin that Heather Larson of Discover Washington State described as having a blend of botanicals including coriander, star anise, and lavender “not found in any other gin.”