Our Story

Founded in 2016, Branch Point is a small independent distillery that chooses to focus exclusively on grain to glass whiskey and on the premise whiskey should reflect its place of origin.

By establishing our distillery and tasting room in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, we have the opportunity to work closely with local farmers. This area is home to many family-owned farms that grow more than just grapes.

Branch Point celebrates the idea that the decision to take a different path in life is rewarded with new discoveries and unexpected adventures.

Our co-founder and distiller Steven approaches whiskey production as a creative expression of his education in biochemistry and organic chemistry, foundations of his career as a physician. Branch Point whiskeys are created to be enjoyed with others and we are happy to contribute to gatherings of friends and family.

We utilize traditional methods of production such as grain-in fermentation, distillers malt, open top fermenters, double pot distillation, low barrel entry proofs, and non-chill filtration. With each step of production, choices are made to maximize flavor for the creation of delicious whiskeys found nowhere else.

It All begins with a delivery of grain from local Oregon farmers. We’ve carefully selected the best small farmers to work with that focus on the quality of their product. These relationships help to build a better Oregon whiskey.

Our mash bills (i.e. grain recipes) are original to Branch Point and are designed to showcase the unique flavors of each grain. We use traditional North American processes like distillers malt which naturally converts the starches of grains to sugars, grain-in fermentation, and open top fermenters. Fermentation is temperature controlled and relatively slow by industry standards to avoid yeast stress and prevent off flavors.

We use simple, traditional copper pot stills custom made for us by Vendome in Louisville, Kentucky which allow us to capture the rich flavors created during fermentation. All of our whiskeys are double distilled, and in the spirit run we make narrow cuts and collect only the best of spirit for barrel maturation.

Our whiskeys are matured in new, charred American oak barrels with a lower entry proof of 110, which results in a less harsh extraction of flavors from the wood. Aging barrels are stored in a non-temperature controlled warehouse which allows the whiskey to be affected by the unique temperate and rainy climate of the Pacific Northwest.

After selecting and dumping barrels, the whiskey is hand bottled. All our whiskeys are bottled at a minimum of 46% ABV (92 Proof). This allows us to avoid the process of chill filtering. Although the whiskey is filtered to remove barrel particulates, we've chosen not to chill filter so that we don't remove the unique flavor and mouthfeel components that we have painstakingly developed.