Expanding Fruit Market with Liqueurs

Expanding Fruit Market with Liqueurs. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report.

A new industry is growing up here in the Pacific Northwest and it just may be a boon to specialty fruit growers. Ryan Hembree, instructor and award winning distiller with Skip Rock Distillery says liqueurs are really a hot item.

HEMBREE: I definitely see that there's a lot of opportunities, like you just said, the specialty fruit growers. The big distilleries that are out there they really don't play in the small batch game so if you've got access to something unique, say an apricot, some of the big brands do it but they're more out of, like France. Like even for us we do nocino, which is a walnut liqueur. It gives new options what to do for that product.

In conjunction with the Northwest Agriculture Business Center, Hembree is giving a workshop on "The Art of Liqueurs". He says definitely people who are starting distilleries should attend.

HEMBREE: But I also see those that are wanting to make the liqueurs at home and then even farmers that are those specialty crop growers because then they kind of know the process. They know what distillers and folks are looking for and you can actually make liqueurs or a type of liqueurs without a distillery license if you have like a winery license as well.

To get details on the workshop visit the NABC's website at agbizcenter.org. It's another great option for berry and small fruit producers.

HEMBREE: They can work with the distiller and make sure you have a good avenue for product, getting that to market if you will. We've found they do really well in sales, the liqueurs do when people are looking for something unique

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.