Heritage Distilling Company

On the edge of Puget Sound, where the Pacific Northwest's evergreen ridges meet salt water, Gig Harbor cradles a distillery born from military precision and family ambition. Heritage Distilling Company emerged in 2011 when two Army veteran couples—Justin and Jennifer Stiefel alongside Drew and Sara Kellerman—traded their service uniforms for distiller's aprons, carrying forward a different kind of mission.

The timing mattered. America's craft distilling renaissance was gathering steam, but the Pacific Northwest still belonged to brewers and vintners. These four veterans saw opportunity in Washington's pristine water and the region's abundance of grains, establishing their operation where maritime air meets the fertile valleys that stretch inland toward the Cascades.

What began as ambition in a harbor town grew into something unprecedented. For ten consecutive years, the American Distilling Institute named Heritage the most awarded craft distillery in North America—a recognition that carries weight when measured against nearly three thousand craft operations nationwide. The achievement speaks to more than recipes; it reflects the methodical approach these veterans brought from military service to the ancient art of fermentation and distillation.

The distillery operates as both family enterprise and testament to changing American traditions. Majority women-owned in an industry historically dominated by men, Heritage has grown to become Washington's largest independently owned craft distillery while maintaining its founding principles. Local ingredients flow through their stills—Washington grains transformed by Puget Sound's soft water into whiskeys that carry the terroir of their maritime home.

Their copper stills work overtime, producing not just whiskeys but vodkas, gins, and rums, each drawing from the same commitment to local sourcing and sustainable practices. Multiple tasting rooms now extend their reach, but the heart remains in Gig Harbor, where the sound of fermentation mingles with harbor bells.

Standing in their stillhouse today, steam rising from copper surfaces while the Sound glimmers beyond, one senses the convergence of American craft distilling's future with its entrepreneurial past. Here, military discipline meets Pacific Northwest terroir, creating spirits that honor both tradition and innovation in equal measure.