Urban Wild Spirits, a new craft distillery and tasting room, is coming to 928 SE 9th Ave. in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District. Owner CP and distiller Anna Mantheakis told What Now Portland they are aiming to open in spring 2027, though timing for a new distillery is always complicated.
The business is built around a simple idea: spirits made with wild plants in the middle of the city. The name comes from that mix of the wild and the urban. Mantheakis plans to make whiskey, gin and other spirits that feature wild-crafted ingredients, blending traditional distilling with unusual botanicals.
“I grew up in a rural part of Southern Oregon on the edge of undeveloped land, and I really love the smell of being outside. And I look for ingredients that bring that to spirits.” Mantheakis told What Now Portland.
Among the first spirits she’s most excited about are a gin featuring wild-crafted ingredients and a coffee liqueur made with distilled tree bark. The space will be an intimate tasting room, serving small bites and cocktails made with the distillery’s own spirits.
The location is part of the concept. The Central Eastside is home to a wide range of makers, including art collectors, tea and coffee producers, a cheese monger who imports cheese from around the world and chocolate makers. Urban Wild Spirits plans collaborations with several of them on products, so visitors will be able to taste spirits made with local partners.
Mantheakis brings deep experience to the project. She was lead distiller in technical development at Westward Whiskey, the Portland maker of American single malt, and she did research and development for Four Corners Gin, which won best new spirit at the American Distilling Institute in 2024. She is also a distiller with synesthesia, a condition in which the senses blend, and she says she uses it in her work. The tasting room will have some synesthesia-inspired experiences, though the details are still being worked out.
“We are here to help serve the community. We’re open to everybody. We are a local company using local ingredients, and we want to be part of Portland’s sustainable future and help bring life to the neighborhood and the community.” CP told What Now.
