Brixeur Spirits

James Frey had been making wine at Trisaetum for years when he developed an equal passion for spirits. His own framing: he has serious trouble only doing one of anything. Founding a distillery stayed a dormant second dream until his daughter Tatum began showing her own interest in distilling. Once she did, winemakers turned distillers became something they had to do.

Brixeur launched in 2020, with Tatum Harloff-Frey and her husband Jackson Harloff as co-lead distillers. The two studied at the University of Oregon and moved back to a 120-year-old white farmhouse at the bottom of Trisaetum’s Coast Range vineyard. They still break distilling operations for two months every year to work the crush.

The original goal was to make a sensational gin. They quickly realized vodka had to come first. That vodka is now distilled from three separate base spirits — estate Trisaetum grapes, French wheat, and Polish potatoes — where nearly every distiller uses one. The four gins are built on locally foraged botanicals alongside ingredients from further afield; the Willamette Valley Gin uses seventeen, drawn from the estate vineyards and Brixeur’s own botanical farm. The whiskeys age in repurposed Pinot Noir, Cabernet, and Riesling casks from the winery.

There are eleven spirits in the lineup, and every one connects back to the winery or the valley.

Tastings happen at the Brixeur Cottage, a small building set down among the vines. The interior is dark and moody with a genuine speakeasy feel — a sharp contrast to the light-filled gallery tasting room up the hill. Groups are capped at four, and three flight options are offered: gin and vodka, brown spirits, or a mix.