Everett Distillery’s Wizard Akvavit At $250.00 A Bottle

Wizard Akvavit will become available to a limited number of folks this Saturday at a special event at Bluewater Organic Distilling on the Everett waterfront. Last October we told you the story of the special barrel loaded aboard Captain Keith Colburn’s F/V Wizard. Now the barrel is back and the Wizard Akavit is being bottled in a very special batch. Here’s more from John Lundin at Bluewater…

Bluewater Organic Distilling is excited to release our Wizard Akvavit ::
The Bering Sea Barrel Expedition 2015/2016, in partnership with Captain Keith Colburn from the Deadliest Catch. This Collector’s Edition release captures one of the greatest challenges that any oak barrel has endured.

The adventure began one year ago, when Bluewater distiller John Lundin met Captain Keith Colburn at an event. Through their conversation and mutual love for the sea, the idea was hatched to ship a barrel of spirits to the Bering Sea aboard Captain Keith’s fishing vessel Wizard, of Deadliest Catch fame.

To prepare the barrel for the voyage, John set out designing and welding a steel cage to contain the barrel in the heaving vessel. The barrel was set in place within the cage, then strapped in and filled with Bluewater’s “Nordsjön” Akvavit recipe, crafted at the distillery.

The first stop for the barrel was delivering it to the F/V Brenna A at Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle so Captain Sean Dwyer could transport it to Dutch Harbor, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. Once in Dutch, the barrel was transferred aboard the Wizard, which was already fishing the Bering Sea.

Through the ensuing Winter months, the Akvavit barrel was thrashed in the forward cargo hold of the Wizard’s bow. Keith reports that the barrel endured numerous winter storms, as the crew labored through the King Crab and Bairdi Crab fishing seasons. With no precedent for these extreme conditions, there was no certainty that the barrel would even survive the voyage.

Only 250 cask-strength bottles are expected from the barrel, with each bottle individually packaged in American-Made glass, positioned in a decorated steel surround with an oak base and ship’s rope detailing. The unique packaging pays tribute to the adventurous voyage that the barrel has endured. Each bottle will be hand-numbered, and signed by both Distiller John Lundin and Captain Keith Colburn.

Bluewater has great appreciation and thanks to give to the many people involved in the logistics and handling of this barrel, the many hands who helped drag the heavy beast across decks of boats. Special thanks of course to Captain Keith Colburn, whose enthusiasm and support made this project a real success.

From the bottle sales, a donation will be made to the Fisherman’s Memorial fund to support their important work in the Pacific Northwest fishing industry.

Visit Bluewater Distilling for purchasing information.