meet our distiller

Alex moved from Arizona to Seattle in 2004 and started working at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in the room service department. In this position, he would pick up drink orders at the bar and see the bartenders preparing cocktails and socializing with patrons. He fell in love. A few years later, after numerous serving positions Alex landed a morning bartending position at the Sorrento Hotel, not his favorite shift, but he had his foot in the door. Over the next few months, he was promoted to night shift leader and was entrusted with writing the cocktail menu. Equipped with his prior experience, Alex moved on to other bar positions throughout the city and acquired a love for spirits. He educated himself on production methods for different spirits and landed a position as Bar Manager at Essex. He would go on to develop a house made program of bitters, liquors, shrubs and infusions, which led to his desire to make spirits. Alex attended Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans in 2014, where he took classes led by influential people in the industry. There he met Ben Capdevielle, the founder and then owner of Big Gin, and was offered a part time job working in the distillery and filling in where needed. Over the last seven years Alex has absorbed everything he could about distilling and running a distillery. Now owned and operated by Hood River Distillers, Alex carries on Ben’s legacy, adding his own expertise to Big Gin’s curiously crafted expressions, like Bourbon Barreled Big Gin, Peat Barreled Big Gin, and other single-barrel releases.

“What influences me as a distiller is Kaizen, which is a Japanese concept that you are always improving, finding small but positive ways to perfect your craft in a big way.” – Alex Myers