Tenino distillery kicks off second season of Whiskey Nights concert series

You’ve probably heard of winery concerts, such as the popular ones at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, but how about concerts at a distillery?

Saturday, Sandstone Distillery in Tenino opens its second season of Whiskey Nights: Music at the Stills with a performance by Tacoma neo-soul band Cody Ray & the New Favorites.

The series continues through September and includes such attention-getting local and regional artists as Olympia native Ethan Tucker, whose first studio album, “Misunderstood,” was released last year, and Derik Nelson, who was the guitarist on Fox Television’s “Glee.”

With the concerts held in the distillery, the music will be made right in front of the stills.

“We have our finishing stills in one corner,” said John Bourdon, who owns Sandstone with wife, Jenni. “We repurposed some soup kettles off a Navy ship and made them into stills. Those are the backdrop for the music. We leave a section open for dancing and put chairs in the rest of it.”

The atmosphere is definitely part of the appeal, Jenni Bourdon said.

“What we heard a lot from people who attended last year is that by the time you make the drive out, by the time you wind up our road, it’s like decompression.

“It’s a very relaxed and laid-back atmosphere,” she said. “The property is very green. You can sit in the grass and have a picnic. It’s not like being in a bar.”

The distillery can accommodate an audience of about 50, making for an intimate venue for hearing regionally known artists on their way up.

“Our spirits and our distillery are very local,” Jenni Bourdon said. “We’re very invested in Thurston County.

“We felt like it was important to connect with locals who are on their way to a national platform, which we hope to be as well.”

Tucker, who played last year at the Stills, is definitely on his way up. He has had help from fellow singer-songwriter Michael Franti, who sings and plays on “Crazy,” one of the tracks on “Misunderstood.” Tucker also has opened for the Steve Miller Band and legendary reggae artist Jimmy Cliff.

“Ethan is going to be a perennial artist for a lifetime of music,” Franti has said, according to Tucker’s website, ethantuckermusic.com. “He is going to be an artist … like Ben Harper or Jack Johnson or even John Lee Hooker. An artist who plays music until he can’t play anymore.”

As for the whiskey, it’s not just in the concerts’ name. And as the name “Whiskey Nights” suggests, the whiskey — and other spirits — will be part of the event, with a tasting included in the ticket price.

Concertgoers will have the opportunity to taste Sandstone’s vodka, two gins and a white whiskey, with other spirits available on request — including bacon whiskey.

There’ll be cocktail samples available, including a lemon-basil gimlet; the Jennifer Rosemary, made with rosemary vodka, lime and fresh rosemary; and a vojito, a vodka variant on the mojito.

And for those who just can’t get enough bacon, there’s a bacon cocktail, too, featuring the bacon whiskey and a housemade apple-cinnamon shrub.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 3:24 AM with the headline "Tenino distillery kicks off second season of Whiskey Nights concert series."