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Portland Distilleries

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Here in Portland we love our alcohol, distilleries are no different! Most people know Portland for our IPA’s or for our pinot noir, but we also make some incredible liquor! Sorted by location, here are some of the places we think you should visit! As a bonus, these distilleries are all a part of Portland’s distillery row, you can buy a passport and have many of the tasting fees waived, or get other fun perks! You can see all the details over on the website.

Freeland Spirits

  • 12-6 pm daily
  • 2671 NW Vaughn St
  • Women owned and operated
  • Gins and Bourbon

New Deal Distillery

  • 12-6 pm daily
  • 900 SE Salmon St

Vodka, whiskey, gin, rum, liqueurs, pre-made cocktails.

Westward Whiskey

  • 12-7 pm Thursday – Monday
  • 65 SE Washington St

A variety of whiskeys

Straightaway Cocktails

  • Hours vary, visit website for details
  • 901 SE Hawthorne Blvd

premixed cocktails made with various liquors

Stone Barn Brandyworks

  • 11-5 pm Monday – Friday, 12-5 Saturday and Sunday.
  • 3315 SE 19th Ave B

Brandy, Whiskey, Liqueurs

503 Distilling

  • 3-9 pm Thursday – Sunday
  • 4784 SE 17th Ave

Cocktails in a can!

Shine Distilling

  • 4-10 pm Wednesday – Sunday
  • 4232 N Williams Ave
  • LGBTQ owned and operated
  • Vodka, Gin, Whiskey

Wild Roots Spirits

  • 12-6 pm daily
  • 77 NE Grand Ave

Vodka, Gin, Vodka sodas

Aimsir Distilling

  • 4-10 pm Wednesday – Sunday
  • 2117 NE Oregon St

Gin, Whiskey, Bourbon

Aria Portland Dry Gin

  • 12-6 pm Daily
  • 2304 NW Savier St

Gin

Bull Run Distilling

  • 12 – 6 pm Wednesday – Sunday
  • 2259 NW Quimby St

Whiskey and Vodka

Did we miss anywhere that you love? Let us know in the comments!

Year End Market Update

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The year end numbers are out for the Portland market for 2021. The year was absolutely insane in many ways, so lets dive into the numbers!

year end review
Appreciation

Firstly, if you bought a house more than a year ago, you averaged a 15.8% appreciation. To put that into perspective a $500,000 house is now worth, on average, $580,000. Some areas are even seeing much higher numbers. For example, Oregon City and Troutdale both saw an average appreciation of over 19%. The rural areas around Mt. Hood are up over 30%. If Covid has taught us anything, it’s that people wanted more space. So rural areas had really aggressive bidding wars and some serious price jumps.

Average Home Price

The average home price in the Portland metro is now at $582,000. I know many people are waiting on the market to drop and this simply isn’t going to happen. It will cool down, especially as climbing interest rates push people out of the market, but prices will continue to climb and affordability will continue to be an issue. We predict that 2022 will be just as competitive as 2021 was. We are still seeing houses get bid up to 100k over list price in many instances, and almost everything is still getting multiple offers. If you are on the fence, now would be a good time to get off of it.

Average Days on Market

The average days on market dropped yet again to the lowest numbers on record. We had just over 2 weeks of inventory for the month of December. This isn’t surprising because it’s December, there are a lot of holidays, and not many people want to move during this time. We have seen a lot of houses coming on the market in the last couple weeks and that number will start to tick back up.

We hope these numbers help you to get a pulse on what is going on in and around Portland! If you want specific numbers for your neighborhood, let us know and we will happily send them over. If you need anything else real estate related, feel free to submit the form below and we will get right back to you!

Ready to jump in but want to know more about us? You can read about Jessica or Tekela! Also, if you need a lender, you can find some that we love HERE

Montelupo

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Hot Spot of the week is very cool Italian Market and
Restaurant, Montelupo! This great NE spot has a very neat business plan and something for every one of your needs. In the mornings, they have coffee and pastries, at night they have dine-in (and heated patio) delicious dinner, and throughout the day they have an excellent grab ‘n go market with wine and wonderful pantry goods. Recently, we took advantage of the heated dining tent and sampled a whole bunch of Montelupo’s dinner service and it was delish!

To start, of course, we tried a cocktail. I opted for the Daisy Chain, a bright and citrusy gin concoction that was too good not to down in about 3 minutes. To follow we ordered a bottle of prosecco, which was pleasantly crisp and complemented the rich food very well.

We wanted to try so many things on the menu that even after a lengthy ‘paring-down’ debate, we still definitely over-ordered. We were not sad about that however, as we got to have Montelupo lunch the next day! To start we went with the Dos Hermanos pull-apart bread, which is a must have in order to mop up sauces as well as eat plain with EVOO. We also got the burrata, which was delicious and fresh, served with olive, tomato aioli, and greens. We also had the arancini, stuffes with rice, bay shrimp, and cheese. Finally, we tried the roasted and carrot with sunchokes (a new favorite) accompanied by tahini and gremolata. The starters were all wonderful and also quite filling.

Even though we were practically stuffed at this point, you can’t go to an Italian restaurant and not try the pasta! We went for the pappardelle, prepared with braised pork ragu and a broccollini-basil pesto for one. For our second choice we tried the fusilli with wild mushrooms, parsnips and cream. The pastas were both well-prepared and the ingredients did not overwhelm with flavor, instead letting the noodles shine.

Too full to even think about dessert, we grabbed an extra bottle of bubbles to go from the market inside and headed home to sip and plan out our next visit. Want to check out Montelupo Italian Market? You can head right over Here.

Do you know a Hot Spot that we should checkout next? Let us know in the comments below!

Sandwich Shops

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Portland excels in many types of cuisine, from fine dining to food carts, but did you know we also have some really phenomenal sandwich shops? Whether you are grabbing a mid-day work meal or packing up a picnic to take to the woods (or coast or mountains) here are some of Portland’s best sandwich shops.

Bodega PDX

6231 SE Foster Rd, Portland, OR 97206

Open Mon-Sat 10am- 11pm, Sunday 9:30am-10pm

Check them out Here.

Devil’s Dill

1711 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

Open Sat-Tues 12pm-11pm, Weds-Fri 12pm-1am

Take a look at those sandos Here.

EastSide Deli

4626 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215

4823 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203

Open Every Day 11am-6pm

Tasty Menu Here.

Lardo

1212 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

1205 SW Washington St, Portland, OR 97205

4025 Mercantile Dr, Lake Oswego, OR 97035

Portland Locations Open Every Day 11am-10pm

Lake Oswego Every Day 11am-9pm

Check em all out Here.

Tails and Trotters

525 NE 24th Ave, Portland, OR 97232

Open Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-4pm

Get some Deliciousness Here.

Taste Tickler

1704 NE 14th Ave, Portland, OR 97212

Open Daily 11am-7pm.

See Some Great Sammies Here.

Which of these awesome sandwich shops will be your next stop? Let us know in the comments below! Is there a Portland’s Best List you really want to see? Let us know and we’ll make it happen!

Steeplejack Brewery

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Portland has a ton of breweries, some amazing, some mediocre, so when a new one opens up, everyone gets very excited! The most striking thing about Steeplejack is it’s location. The brewery is on the corner of 24th and NE Broadway in a 110 year old church. The owners kept the stunning architecture that you find in churches, from soaring wooden beams to bright stained glass. The space is really warm and inviting and makes you want to hang out for hours.

Steeplejack bar That Portland Life

Steeplejack is aiming to please and has something on their menu that anyone can enjoy. I wanted to try as many things as possible, so I opted to do the taster sized pours. I tried the Witbier, Travers, Amelia (A smoked beer), and Fletcher. The smoked beer wasn’t for me, but others at the table loved it! The other beers were smooth, true to their style and really delivered on flavor.

steeplejack beers

They also have a full menu, and kids menu, that you can order from. We only popped in for a quick drink, but after looking it over, we will definitely be going back! You can find things like burgers and sweet potato fries, or tacos and avocado toast. They also have a killer looking brunch menu if that is more your speed.

I know we will be going back again and again to see what these awesome brewers are putting together!

steeplejack brewery

Wild Thing

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This week’s Hot Spot is brand new plant-based build-a-bowl restaurant Wild Thing! This delicious Alberta outpost is brought to us by alum from two of our PDX faves, Arden and Tusk. We could not be more excited to have a new grab-n-go option that is not only healthy, but also a nice alternative to the typical rice and bean joints.

Wild Thing’s concept is pretty simple, but done in an elevated way. You start with options for the base, tri-color quinoa, brown rice, or mixed greens, or even a combo. Then you have many options of fun vegetable toppings to choose from. One of my favorite things about Wild Thing is that they made the flavors really diverse – sumac, turmeric, urfa chili – but also made sure that you can easily mix and match and have all of the flavors complement each other.

On our recent visit I went with smoky paprika cauliflower, sumac cabbage, lemony brussel sprouts, roasted delicata squash, and sesame broccoli. Then you get to add some crunch and I definitely went crispy garlic. The sauces are wonderful as well, with options like hazelnut romesco or tahini miso. Again, all of the flavors meld so well! If you want to bulk your bowl up a smidge you can also do add-ons, of which I highly recommend the lentil tempeh ‘chicken’ salad. I am generally not a big fan of tempeh, and this scoop was a game-changer!

Wild Thing also has their own branded cans of wine, a light chilled red and a crisp white, plus kombucha, cold brew, and other tasty options. Open Weds- Sat 11-7 with a happy hour from 3-5. Check them out next time you are looking for a delicious and hearty bowl in NE Portland! Visit virtually Here.

Where should we check out for our next Hot Spot? Let us know in the comments!

Deadshot

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Our Hot Spot of the week this week is outstanding SE cocktail spot Deadshot! We had been hearing about this one for ages, in particular from one of our favorite cocktail-loving friends, so it was time for a pop in. Long story short, it was awesome.

We headed in for happy hour and grabbed a spot on the patio. Like many Portland establishments, they have an extended outdoor dining plaza currently, and we sure do hope those stick around! We started off with the happy hour cocktail of the day, an Americano, in part because Campari is delicious and in part because it was going to take a LOT more time to make our decisions. Deadshot is dangerous, as basically every single thing on both the food and cocktail menus sounds amazing.

Once our thirst had been quenched, we moved on to the slightly higher proof Tom and Artemis. This one was a super delicious blend of Old Tom gin, Genepy (an herbal, Alpine liqueur) lime, and absinthe served over a king cube. It was very spirit forward, but also crisp, bright, and drinkable. We also decided to get some tasty snacks and started with the Cha Gio from the happy hour menu. The description of these as ‘crispy pork and shrimp spring rolls did not prepare us for how delicious they were. We honestly considered immediately ordering a second portion. They were crispy, but also tender, and positively juicy inside. The dipping sauce was a great balance of spicy and sweet and the pickled carrots and daikon on the side was a fresh and tangy complement.

Instead, we decided to try out more things from the menu. We went with the Crying Tiger, which was a nicely grilled bone-in slab of short rib, and the Dragon Dumplings. The dumplings were recommended by our server and were outstanding. Ground pork and shrimp stuffed into some nicely toothsome dumplings were tossed in a delicious sauce with grilled long beans and crunchy peanuts. The bowl was nearly clean when it returned to the kitchen. Along with this round of food, we also tested out the Heart of Cyn, a tamarind take on a Whiskey sour that had us puckering but pleased.

We are definitely excited to head back to Deadshot and try out everything else on the menus. Their cocktails are creative and the food is wonderful and we just want more! If you haven’t been yet, check them out Here. If you want to check out our other Hot Spots, you can find them Here. Where should we go next? Let us know in the comments!

June 2021

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The latest market update is out for June of 2021. Inventory is starting to creep back up and the buying frenzy is starting to calm down. This is really good news for buyers that are still in the market. We are seeing homes get a couple of offers instead of 20 and houses selling for 100K over list price are becoming increasingly rare. If you are a seller, there is still a good market out there and plenty of buyers, it just isn’t the feeding frenzy it was back in March. If you want to get into the details, continue on below!

The first things we notice is the average sales price. We haven’t quite hit 600k as our average to live in Portland proper, but we will by next month. This is over a 20% increase from last year and a 2% increase from just last month. I know we say this a lot, but if you are on the fence about buying, get off of it. Things are going to continue to climb and gain equity, so waiting is only making it harder to buy.

The other big stat that jumps out is the amount that things are selling over the list price. Earlier I mentioned that things were starting to cool off. That is true though this number doesn’t show it. The thing to remember is that 13% average is from homes that went pending in May and closed in June. May was one of our busiest months. Things have settled back down between 8-10% over as of recently.

The other bit of good news for buyers is that listings are finally starting to climb up above the closed sales. Things are still selling quickly, but at least everyone has multiple options when they are deciding what to buy. If you are a seller, make sure you are situating yourself with the right listing agent, the right price, and the right marketing so you can stand out among the crowd.

If you want to chat about specifics whether it is buying or selling, we are happy to do so! Just call or email us and we would love to talk with you about your unique situation! You can also look for homes HERE if you are ready to get started.