Brandy, Barrels and a Christmas Cookie Old Fashioned: Mastrogiannis Distillery in North Bend

Photos courtesy of Mastrogiannis Distillery.

Ilias Mastrogiannis has been making brandy in Lakewood for years, and about a year ago he opened something new: a tasting room in downtown North Bend, on North Bend Way at Bendigo Boulevard, with Mount Si out the window. Scott sat down with him there, four or five years after their first conversation during COVID.

The cocktail that flopped

Before the tasting room, there were pop ups, and Ilias treated every one as market research: which drinks sell, which names stick, which towns show up. Hazy Bubbles turned into one of the best sellers almost by accident. A Christmas special did not. He infused a traditional Greek Christmas cookie into brandy for a couple of days and built an old fashioned around it. He loved it. It sold, in his words, “probably under 10.”

What a craft distillery can pour

It looks like a bar, but under Washington’s rules it is an extension of the distillery, so most of what it pours has to be its own. Ilias leaned into that. The cocktail menu is built to show off the brandy, with a short list of supporting bottles from distillers he knows personally, like an orange liqueur and an espresso liqueur from Bellingham. Scott asks how brandy is made from fruit to barrel, and they spend a good stretch on barrels, how charring and toasting change a spirit, and on why Ilias likes collaborating with local breweries.

What to order

Ilias’s pick from the classics is a Manhattan. On his own menu, the Army and Navy is brandy, almond syrup and fresh lemon, three ingredients, a little sour and a little sweet. There is a pumpkin spice espresso martini for the season, with the syrup made in house, and a new baklava made with the distillery’s honey infused brandy by one of the servers, a former chef.

Ilias’s North Bend picks

For coffee, Hardwood, right across the street: an iced Americano with extra ice. For lunch, Rio Bravo, two blocks away, for the carne asada tacos. Most of the people coming through his door are locals, and he says North Bend has welcomed the tasting room.

Before you go

• Mastrogiannis Distillery & Winery tasting room: 201 W North Bend Way #100, North Bend.
• Open Wednesday and Thursday 4 to 8 PM, Friday 4 to 9 PM, Saturday 2 to 9 PM, Sunday 2 to 6 PM. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
• 21 and over. Hours change, so check the distillery’s tasting room page before you drive.
• Make a day of it: our North Bend guide has the hikes, the food and where to stay.

Chapters

• 00:00 The Christmas cookie old fashioned that sold “probably under 10”
• 00:48 Back in North Bend: the new tasting room
• 03:10 Pop ups as market research, Hazy Bubbles and the cocktail that flopped
• 10:10 The Sunset Garage building on North Bend Way
• 13:54 Why the distillery moved into retail
• 17:55 Washington craft distillery rules and how brandy is made
• 28:59 Barrels, and collaborating with local breweries
• 40:44 The menu, the baklava and what is next
• 50:06 North Bend picks: coffee, lunch, cake or pie