Savage Boar Spirits creates vodka that starts off with wheat coming in from local farmers in the West Plains area. The distillery is located in Airway Heights and sells vodka on site.
It has been three years in the making, but there is a unique business in Airway Heights that people may not even realize is there. Savage Boar Spirits, located at 11902 West 21st Ave., makes vodka with wheat from local farms in the West Plains.
Ironically, the operators of the business, John Barrom, along with wife and husband Alex and Brenda Wilbur, didn't know how to make alcohol before going into this career field. Alex Wilbur left a teaching job at Gonzaga University to pursue this option instead.
The reason behind it was because he knew somebody from Gonzaga that started the Iron Goat Brewery in Spokane. It made him interested in how to make alcohol and thought hard liquor would be the most interesting.
"It was kind of a jump and go," Alex Wilbur said. "But that is the fun of it. The learning process is just so much fun because every day we learn something new. I never really understood how much energy a piece of wheat can produce."
All the equipment at their site has been used by different farms or bought off Craigslist.
"Everywhere you look there is a story there," Brenda Wilbur said.
The couple lives in the West Plains area and had been watching Airway Heights grow throughout the years, making it an ideal place to start the company.
"Airway Heights seemed to be pro-business," Brenda Wilbur said. "It was really good to see. We just felt like Airway was the right place to be."
There were other factors. A liquor distillery had to be zoned as a "light industry" and the city had worked with the owners to get the job done. They also thought that being near two casinos would be a plus.
Currently the business makes a variety of flavors of vodka, ranging from coffee, jalapeño or tea. They offer tastings to try the different flavors so they can determine which ones are received well or not. Even though the tastings are free, they can only offer two ounce servings and only four-and-a-half servings at a time.
They are also in the process of making whiskey, which is sitting in oak barrels in their shop and have been in the same spot "brewing" for a couple years now.
Eventually the owners would like to get a distributor's license and be able to have their alcohol sold in local markets. Right now, bottles of their vodka can be bought on site and they will gladly give customers a tour of their setup.
As for the name Savage Boar Spirits?
The couple came up with it because of the pig in the book, "Charlotte's Web" is named Wilbur and the rest is history.
Grace Pohl can be reached at [email protected].
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