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
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
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