When Port Chilkoot Distillery owners Heather Shade and husband Sean Copeland starting making vodka, gin and whiskey in 2013, they knew their business’s growth had a major legal roadblock.
Distilleries in Alaska were not allowed to sell their spirits on-site. So Shade and Copeland set a goal: they would lobby to change the law in the next three years. It only took one.
“I just can’t believe we made it happen,” Shade says. “I thought it would take at least another year.”
Shade coordinated with other Alaska distilleries, along with tourism groups and local chambers of commerce. The Haines distillery is the only one in Southeast, and one of five in Alaska.
House Bill 309 passed earlier this year. A few weeks after the law went into effect, Port Chilkoot Distillery opened its newly legal tasting room.
“Every step of the way when we were testifying in the committees and working with people to explain importance of this bill, it kind of felt like it was just going to die every step of the way,” Shade said. “And so when it passed unanimously through the Senate floor two days before the end of the legislative session, it just kind of felt surreal.”
Distilleries in Alaska can now sell limited amounts of their own products on location, just like wineries and breweries have done for years.
