((Left) Newberry Caldera’s natural spring water and local lava rock are integral to Badland’s distilling process (still machinery is shown in photo) | Photo courtesy of Badlands Artisan Distillery. (Right) | Photo by Andrea Hine)
“My mind is always firing,” said Trevor Mayfield, co-owner of Badlands Artisan Distillery, “and looking two to three years ahead in the production of our current specialty spirits — Cucumber Gin, Plum & Sloe Berry Vodka, Wine Cask Vodka and Double-Barrel Rye Whiskey — and the development of new liquors like cherry vodka, American single-malt whiskey, and a brandy derived from a local vineyard’s grapes.”
And that’s not counting a retail venue that he manages with Mckenzie Nokes, his partner in life, which is praised by customers for its “great ambience,” “fantastic food and drinks,” and “incredible attention to detail.”
“I do the booze, and McKenzie runs everything else, including the kitchen and coming up with food specials,” said Mayfield in explaining the couple’s division of responsibilities. “We also regularly create different styles of select cocktails to change it up for our customers.”
In making Badlands’ hand-crafted, award-winning products (its Double-Barrel Rye was awarded Best of Category and a Gold Medal at the ADI International Spirits Competition, while the distillery’s Wine-Cask Vodka took a Bronze), Mayfield sources ingredients from local farmers throughout Oregon, and never adds any artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. (The liquors are also gluten-free.)
As examples of this emphasis on fresh, local ingredients, Mayfield cited “our Cucumber Gin, which is made from 500 pounds of locally sourced and hand-peeled fresh cucumbers; and our Plum & Sloe Berry Vodka that incorporates a quarter ton of locally sourced European purple plums, as well as sloe berries to create a balanced taste.”
Mayfield and his business partner, Russ Scott, chose La Pine for Badlands Artisan Distillery, which is located in Scott’s family logging mill, as “Newberry Caldera’s natural spring water and local lava rock are integral to our distilling process, specifically in the filtering,” Mayfield said.
“The filtering is done a minimum of 20 times before aging our spirits in American oak barrels for at least six months and as long as four years, depending on the specific liquor.”
Mayfield uses only oak barrels, “as I like how it influences the taste, smoothness, and aroma of the finished product. I also perform tests throughout the aging process, blending the product down with water before bottling to achieve the right balance of flavor and alcohol content.”
As Mayfield noted, “The longer the aging, the more mellow and complex the taste. An example of the opposite approach is white lightning liquor, known as moonshine, a high-proof spirit that comes right from the still with no aging involved, and a resultant harsher taste. In contrast, our gin, vodka and rye whiskey are so smooth that you can drink them on the rocks,” he claimed.
As one of six distilleries in Central Oregon (as opposed to 30 breweries with 46 locations), Badlands Artisan Distillery has carved out a niche for consistently producing high-quality, small-batch spirits. At the same time, the bistro side of the operation has become “a gathering spot where people enjoy food, drink, and entertainment together,” in Mayfield’s words.
As a sixth-generation Oregonian who comes from a family of entrepreneurs, he and McKenzie Nokes said that “we’re trying to strike a balance between food and liquor in the face of outside factors such as the tough economy and changing consumer habits — and our business model is holding strong.”
Badlands Artisan Distillery is located at 51500 U.S. 97 in La Pine.
