Hood River Distillers, the Northwest’s oldest and largest importer, distiller, producer, bottler, and marketer of distilled spirits, is pleased to announce promotions for its two lead distillers. Joe O’Sullivan has been promoted to Master Distiller for the entire Hood River Distillers portfolio, and Caitlin Bartlemay has been elevated to Head Distiller of Clear Creek Distillery. Both represent the world class distillery, capabilities, and talent that the Hood River Distillers team continues to focus on creating and nurturing to support its future growth.
“These promotions are well deserved, and we are proud of Joe and Caitlin. They are dedicated to their craft, which is evident in the great spirits they make, and we are happy they make those exceptional spirits for Hood River Distillers,” said David Ballew, President, Hood River Distillers. “Innovation is part of our DNA, and we are excited to see where Joe and Caitlin’s creativity and imagination helps take our portfolio. At Hood River Distillers, our best days are in front of us, and these two will play a large part in getting us there!”
In his new role, O’Sullivan is now responsible for the planning, management and oversight of all aspects of liquid production at Hood River Distillers, Clear Creek Distillery and Big Gin Distillery. O’Sullivan will leverage his extensive distilling, blending, and barrel aging experience to lead new product development, facility development, and drive new liquid product development. O’Sullivan is bolstered by a long history in Pacific Northwest distilling, starting his career at Clear Creek in 2005. He studied under Master Distiller, Steve McCarthy, learning the craft of distillation and wood management. From 2005 to 2010, O’Sullivan worked his way up through various roles at the distillery, and in 2010, he struck out on his own on the East Coast launching a start-up beverage consultancy. After seven years, O’Sullivan moved back to Oregon and rejoined Clear Creek Distillery, where he was named Head Distiller in May 2017. He subsequently added leading distillation and product innovation efforts for all of Hood River Distillers, which he continues to head up today.
Bartlemay, one of the few female distillers at this level in the region and the country, will oversee the production of Clear Creek’s portfolio of products and is in charge of barrel aging, fermentation and distillation. A fourth generation wheat farmer from Eastern Oregon, her family decided to diversify and start a winery and vineyard when she was 11 years old, giving her the opportunity to learn viticulture, enology, and small business ownership first hand. With a taste for fermentation, Bartlemay attended Oregon State University and acquired a B.S. in Food Science with an option in Fermentation and Minor in Chemistry. Upon graduation, she secured a position at Clear Creek Distillery, and now, over 10 years later, her dedication to creating high quality spirits remains unchanged.
The extensive Hood River Distillers spirits portfolio includes Big Gin, Batanga Tequila, Trail’s End Bourbon Whiskey, McCarthy’s Single Malt Whiskey, Clear Creek fruit brandies and many others. The company also began producing one of the highest outputs of hand sanitizer in the region with the onset of COVID-19.
About Hood River Distillers
Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Hood River, Ore., Hood River Distillers is the Northwest’s largest and oldest importer, distiller, producer, bottler, and marketer of distilled spirits. Trail’s End® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished with Oregon Oak, Lucid® Absinthe Supérieure, Sinfire® Cinnamon Whiskies, Double Mountain® Hopped Whiskey, Easy Rider® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Batanga Tequila, Lewis and Clark® Premium, ULLR® Nordic Libation, Yazi® Ginger Vodka, HRD® Vodka, the complete line of Monarch® distilled spirits, Big Gin®, and the Clear Creek Distillery portfolio are distributed across the country.
For More Information:
https://www.hrdspirits.com