I’d like for our Simple Goodness planning team to take credit for this, for bringing brown spirit lovers together at our restaurant in historic Wilkeson, Washington to drink whiskey, get cocktail inspired ink from Electric Beauty tattoo pop up, and for bringing in Washington’s premier country music artist Aaron Crawford to entertain the crowd. Or, for providing a savvy VIP experience, or the all-too-important detail of securing tents at the last minute when the weather turned to a drizzling rain. But, while all of these made for a very solid day of entertainment and cocktail tastings, drizzle and all, the deciding factor of perfection can’t be accredited to us. The one thing that really put it over the edge was a last minute addition, one we contributed little to beyond the basic permission to be there: it was the puppies.

The 2024 Old Fashioned Fest at the Simple Goodness Soda Shop not only featured Pacific Northwest craft distillers pairing their whiskey with our farm to bar syrups and bitters for attendees to taste their way through, it featured my uncle’s litter of 9 week old bird hunting puppies looking for socialization and new homes. Looking into their deep, chocolate eyes and cuddling the soft bundles in their arms as they visited tasting tents left attendees even warmer than the whiskey.  Half the litter found new homes that day, with their new parents taking home more than just the cocktail syrups, bitters, glassware, and Old Fashioned doughnuts they’d planned on shopping for.

Will the pups be back next year? Who knows, but you can bet that Old Fashioned Fest 2025 will be bigger and better than ever. We sold out of tickets to the festival early this year, and with all of the interest, we’re brainstorming ways to open the event to a bigger crowd and ever more distilleries. First to sell out this year was the brand-new VIP ticketed option, with swag bags, charcuterie boards, additional tasting tickets, and reserved seating in our speakeasy room.

We were pleased to welcome a stellar line up of all local distilleries, including Nightside Distillery, Monson Ranch Distillers, Curtson Distillery, Heritage Distilling, Pursuit Distilling, and 2 Bar Spirits to the yard for tastings and whiskey education for attendees. This event stands apart as unique in the Pacific Northwest spirits industry because of this direct access to the brands in an uncrowded environment, with plenty of chances to nerd out with the brand reps and fellow whiskey geeks over mash bills, barrel specs and grain sources.

The distilleries’ resulting drink recipes varied widely, swinging between higher and lower proofs, a range of Simple Goodness syrup flavors, and bitters to complement and bring balance. Some tents took the challenge further, with aromatic sprays of charred orange to finish the drink, and garnishes like chocolate covered oranges, cocktail cherries, and candied ginger.  Each distillery presented an Old Fashioned that was entirely new and unique, while staying under the general umbrella of the time honored cocktail.

A winning recipe was chosen by popular vote of the crowd from each session. The afternoon session chose Nightside Distilling’s bourbon and Orange Vanilla syrup as their winner, while the evening session favored Monson Ranch Distilling’s rye whiskey and Nordic Coffee syrup recipe. Each of these recipes will find a home on the Simple Goodness Soda Shop featured menu in the coming months.