Craft spirits scene growing in San Luis Obispo County

Newly formed nonprofit Distillers of San Luis Obispo County will host its inaugural event Saturday — a cocktail reception for nearly 200 called Fire & Ice. The group aims to promote the local growing craft spirits scene.

Eight local distillers will showcase their handcrafted spirits at the event, which complements the recent launch of the Paso Robles Distillery Trail. Saturday’s event sold out after increasing capacity because of demand.

The event will be held at the Paso Robles Inn Grand Ballroom.

Amanda Diefenderfer, owner of Big Red Marketing, which handled the event’s marketing and coordination, said a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Cancer Support Community — California Central Coast.

Distillers of San Luis Obispo County, which formed around the middle of last year, aim to make it an annual event, Diefenderfer said.

The group includes Azeo Distillery, Bethel Rd. Distillery, KROBĀR Craft Distillery, Opolo Distillery, Pendray’s Distillery, Re:Find Distillery, Red Soles Stillhouse and Wine Shine Distillery. Five of the distilleries have regular tasting hours.

Bethel Rd. Distillery, an offshoot of Paso Robles-based winery Castoro Cellars, will debut its spirits at Saturday’s event. The Udsen family, owners of Castoro Cellars, obtained a permit to distill more than 15 years ago. However, the family only started producing spirits over the past few years, said Luke Udsen, co-owner and marketing manager of Bethel Rd. Distillery and Castoro Cellars.

The family wasn’t initially sure if the distillery would be incorporated into Castoro Cellars, or become its own entity, Udsen said. They purchased property across the road from the winery to create Bethel Rd. Distillery in August 2014. The property was formerly occupied by Veris Cellars.

The Udsens are retrofitting a 2,500-square-foot building at 1266 Bethel Road to use as a distillery and tasting room. The space is still under construction without a set completion date. Udsen said he hopes the building will be completed within the year. He declined to disclose financial information.

Bethel Rd. Distillery will produce grappa and fruit-based brandies, Udsen said. The family plans to have a small wine production in the space as well once the distillery is established, at which point the business will be Bethel Rd. Distillery & Winery.

Castoro Cellars, which has a staff of 45 full-time employees, will likely be hiring about four or five more employees for the distillery, Udsen said.

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Craft spirits scene growing in San Luis Obispo County."