Gompers Distillery has applied for a liquor license to open a tasting room at 426 SW Broadway in Portland, taking over a space that had been home to the Hood River Distillers Tasting Outpost. Michael and Jessica Gompers founded the company in 2013, and this new spot would extend their brand well beyond Central Oregon for the first time. The application was approved, according to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s licensing activity records, and no opening date has been set.
The distillery is named after Jessica’s grandfather, Herman Gompers, a Holocaust survivor from Holland who went on to become a well-known baker in Los Angeles, serving clients like John Wayne. The couple built their original tasting room around his story, framing it as a Prohibition-era speakeasy filled with roaring twenties-style decor.
Gompers built its name on small-batch gin, made with Oregon juniper berries, golden pears from Hood River and lavender grown in Central Oregon. The lineup has grown to include vodka and barrel-finished gin aged in Pinot Noir barrels from the Willamette Valley. At the Redmond location, guests can get tours, tasting flights and craft cocktails built around the brand’s spirits, along with distillery merchandise.
