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8 a . m . justin and jennifer stiefel :
Heritage Distilling Company
Justin and Jennifer Stiefel , a husband-and wife-team , own Heritage Distilling Company . They have three children .
The idea for the business venture was hatched in 2011 around a campfire with stogies and whiskey .
Graduates of the University of Idaho , the Stiefels opened Heritage Distilling Company ’ s flagship operation in Gig Harbor in November 2012 .
Justin has a degree in chemical engineering and a law degree and Jennifer comes from a family of small-business owners . It was the perfect combination , they believed , to open their craft spirits business .
It ’ s a dream Justin has had since he distilled his first batch of spirits for a seventh-grade science project in Spokane . The project was inspired by an episode of the hit show M . A . S . H ., where he noticed the tubes and pipes of a contraption and a fellow holding a martini glass .
“ I wondered , ‘ What is that machine and why is it in the middle of the Korea ?’ So , I did my research and made a still as my chemistry class project . I got an ‘ A ’ on the project . My teacher liked it very much ,” Justin recalled .
Starting out with initial investments from family and friends , Heritage Distilling Company has expanded to include stores and tasting rooms in downtown Gig Harbor , Eugene , Ore ., and , most recently , Roslyn .
At A Glance
Justin and Jennifer Stiefel : A husband-and-wife team that owns Heritage Distilling Company , which opened its flagship distillery in Gig Harbor , in 2012 . The company now has operations in Roslyn , Kittitas County , and Eugene , Ore . They have three children .
Allison and Chad Budvarson : A husband-and-wife team that owns Out of the Box Manufacturing in Renton . They have three children .
Ben Marsh and Mark Estep : Co-founders and owners of cloud-based Scout Systems in Kent . Mark has two children .
The business owners opened their doors and their lives to AWB Staff Writer Bobbi Cussins and Digital Media Coordinator Brian Temple this summer .
9 a . m .
the day to day : divide and conquer
Justin arrives at the flagship distillery in Gig Harbor between 6 and 7 a . m ., McDonalds coffee in hand , but that doesn ’ t take into account his daily 4 a . m . start — working from home .
Jennifer arrives around 9 a . m ., after getting the couple ’ s three kids ready for school and off to the bus stop .
Justin does the rounds , checking the imported still named Nonna , which means “ grandmother ” in Italian — a name he chose to pay homage to his family roots . At the end of the still is a catchment system for what is a single-malt whiskey . He runs his finger under the spigot that offers a whisper of a taste . “ That ’ s going to be the best batch yet ,” he says . He checks the production line that is putting out minibottles of the distillery ’ s Batch 12 — a shout-out to Seahawks fans — and stops to fix a slight malfunction that has the bottles falling off the conveyor belt .
Meanwhile , Jennifer is up in the main office , which is roughly 30 square-feet and packed with two tables , two desks and four staffers going over logistics and staffing for several July events where Heritage libations will be featured . They also run through the logistics to deliver inventory for the opening of the new location in Roslyn .
Who will be here and there ? What ’ s the weather like ? Pack the nice rain coats . Oh , and don ’ t forget bags and a stapler for Taste of Tacoma .
Jennifer has it all organized in a complex matrix that
32 association of washington business
washington business 8 a.m. justin and jennifer stiefel: Heritage Distilling Company Justin and Jennifer Stiefel, a husband-and wife-team, own Heritage Distilling Company. They have three children. The idea for the business venture was hatched in 2011 around a campfire with stogies and whiskey. Graduates of the University of Idaho, the Stiefels opened Heritage Distilling Company’s flagship operation in Gig Harbor in November 2012. Justin has a degree in chemical engineering and a law degree and Jennifer comes from a family of small-business owners. It was the perfect combination, they believed, to open their craft spirits business. It’s a dream Justin has had since he distilled his first batch of spirits for a seventh-grade science project in Spokane. The project was inspired by an episode of the hit show M.A.S.H., where he noticed the tubes and pipes of a contraption and a fellow holding a martini glass. “I wondered, ‘What is that machine and why is it in the middle of the Korea?’ So, I did my research and made a still as my chemistry class project. I got an ‘A’ on the project. My teacher liked it very much,” Justin recalled. Starting out with initial investments from family and friends, Heritage Distilling Company has expanded to include stores and tasting rooms in downtown Gig Harbor, Eugene, Ore., and, most recently, Roslyn. At A Glance Just �������)������ȁMѥ�����)���͉��������ݥ���ѕ���ѡ�Ё�ݹ́!�ɥх�����ѥ�����) �����䰁ݡ�������������́����͡������ѥ����䁥�����!�ɉ�Ȱ)������ȸ�Q���������䁹�܁��́���Ʌѥ��́���I�ͱ帰�-��ѥх�) �չ�䰁����՝�����=ɔ��Q��䁡�ٔ�ѡɕ�������ɕ��)���ͽ������ ���� Ցم�ͽ��)���͉��������ݥ���ѕ���ѡ�Ё�ݹ́=�Ё���ѡ�� ��)5��ՙ����ɥ������I��ѽ���Q��䁡�ٔ�ѡɕ�������ɕ��) ���5��͠�����5�ɬ��ѕ��) ����չ���́�����ݹ��́������Ր���͕��M���ЁM��ѕ��)���-��и�5�ɬ���́�ݼ������ɕ��)Q�����ͥ���́�ݹ��́�������ѡ��ȁ����́����ѡ��ȁ��ٕ́Ѽ)]�Mх���]ɥѕȁ ����� ��ͥ�́�������х��5����� ��ɑ���ѽ�) ɥ���Q������ѡ�́�յ��ȸ(�ȁ��ͽ���ѥ������݅͡���ѽ����ͥ����(䁄���)ѡ�����Ѽ����聑�٥�����������Օ�))��ѥ����ɥٕ́�Ёѡ������͡������ѥ����䁥�����!�ɉ�ȁ���ݕ��(؁����܁������5������́������������������Ёѡ�Ё���ͻ�eЁх��)��Ѽ�����չЁ��́�����Ё������х�Ѓ�P�ݽɭ�����ɽ�������($�)������ȁ��ɥٕ́�ɽչ��䁄�������ѕȁ���ѥ���ѡ���������e�)ѡɕ�����́ɕ��䁙�ȁ͍�������������Ѽ�ѡ����́�ѽ��($�)��ѥ�����́ѡ��ɽչ�̰����������ѡ�������ѕ���ѥ��)������9������ݡ��������̃�q�Ʌ����ѡ�ˊt����%х������P��)�����������͔�Ѽ���䁡������Ѽ���́������ɽ��̸�Ёѡ�����)���ѡ���ѥ����́����э����Ё���ѕ����ȁݡ�Ё�́��ͥ���������)ݡ�ͭ�丁!���չ́��́�����ȁչ��ȁѡ�������Ёѡ�Ё�����́�)ݡ����ȁ�����х�є�($��qQ��ӊé������Ѽ����ѡ�����Ё��э���г�t����ͅ�̸($�!�������́ѡ���ɽ�Սѥ��������ѡ�Ё�́���ѥ�����Ё�����)���ѱ�́���ѡ�����ѥ�����é �э���ȃ�P���͡��е��ЁѼ�M����ݭ�)���̃�P������ѽ�́Ѽ�������ͱ���Ё����չ�ѥ���ѡ�Ё��́ѡ�)���ѱ�́������������ѡ�����ٕ�ȁ���и($�5���ݡ�����)������ȁ�́������ѡ���������������ݡ������)ɽ՝��������Յɔ����Ё�����������ݥѠ��ݼ�х���̰��ݼ)��ͭ́�������ȁ�х����́�������ٕȁ�����ѥ�́�����х�����)��ȁ͕ٕɅ��)ձ䁕ٕ��́ݡ�ɔ�!�ɥх�������ѥ��́ݥ�����)�����ɕ���Q��䁅�ͼ��ո�ѡɽ՝��ѡ�������ѥ�́Ѽ�����ٕ�)��ٕ�ѽ�䁙�ȁѡ�������������ѡ����܁����ѥ������I�ͱ常($�]���ݥ��������ɔ�����ѡ�ɔ��]��ӊéѡ��ݕ�ѡ�ȁ�����)A����ѡ�������Ʌ�������̸�=�����������eЁ��ɝ�Ё���́�����)�х���ȁ��ȁQ��є����Q������($�)������ȁ��́�Ё�����ɝ���镐�����������������ɥ��ѡ��