Bendistillery increases production

Published 12:00 am Saturday, July 26, 2014

Bendistillery Inc. has hired six employees and added a night shift to keep up with an increase in demand for its gins, vodkas and rye whiskey, according to a news release issued Friday.

The distillery, located on Pinehurst Road, northwest of Bend, expanded into four new states this year: Connecticut, New Jersey, Nevada and Tennessee, said Alan Dietrich, CEO.

“We’re projecting, depending on how sales go for the rest of 2014, as much as a 45 percent increase in sales for the entire year,” he said.

With the new employees, the distillery now employs 32 people, the news release states.

Dietrich attributes the growth to the maturity of Bendistillery’s brand, an increase in private-label distilling — making products for other people to sell — and an overall increase in awareness of craft spirits.

“Craft spirits are definitely a force within the industry,” he said. “It’s not a novelty any longer. It’s a real market niche.”

— From staff reports