Ben Capdevielle, Holly Robinson, and Todd Leabman, the trio behind the newly-opened small batch gin distillery, Captive Spirits, have a lofty goal: to make a world-class gin, comparable to Bombay, Tanqueray and the other "big boys".

"I have lots of respect for the big boys but want to be competitive with them. If there's only room for three bottles on the shelve, we want to be up there," said distiller Capdevielle.

But in order to go big, you have to start small. Located on 15th Avenue NW and NW 52nd Street, Captive Spirits Distillery is a small but welcoming space that smells of juniper bushes.

"We're starting small, growing large," said Capdevielle. "To make money is a challenge so we try to be as efficient as possible and take the Apple approach: if we can use the same cork twice, we should."

"Craigslist has been our friend," added fiance Holly, "As well as goodwill and the Re-Store."

So far Captive Spirits has only released a limited amount of bottles of their Big Gin but they hope to put bottles in a dozen more bars by the time this story hits the newsstands. In June, the trio will start selling their Big Gin bottles from their distillery where the main attraction is a copper 100 gallon still, custom-made by Rob Sherman of Vendome Copper and Brass Works.

"These are really hard to get," Capdevielle said. "Rob is like a rockstar to me. He builds the best stills in the country. And he's on my speed-dial! I always get a little shy calling him. I can't believe it. "

The process of opening a distillery all started four years ago when Capdevielle developed an interest in gin distilling.

"We found that there is a big gap in robust gin flavored gins," he said. "I guess it's also in the family. My grandpa was one of the distillers behind Templeton Rye, and both Holly and I have worked behind the bar for years."

A Midwest transplant, Capdevielle has worked behind the bar at places like Ballard's King's Hardware, Collins Pub, and La Isla ever since coming to Seattle 13 years ago. Holly is currently a manager at Bastille.

"It has allowed me to live a very fun lifestyle with lots of time off," Capdevielle said. "It is also a big advantage for us to get bottles on the shelves. At least locally, we are the only people in the industry that have gone into distilling."

Distilling gin and opening a distillery was a lengthy process. Capdevielle spent a lot of time traveling, visiting distilleries all over the country to learn what others were doing, what ingredients to use, how distilleries are surviving the economy, and familiarizing themselves with Initiative 1183.

"There is hardly any literature on making gin. Many of it are trade secrets," said Capdevielle. "We have tasted our way through dozens and dozens of gins."

Capdevielle explained that some gins use only one spice while others use up to 19 botanicals.

Big Gin is somewhere in the middle with nine botanicals, each thoroughly researched and of high quality.

"No flowers or cucumbers were harmed in making this gin," Capdevielle joked.
Perfecting a recipe took many small batch runs.

"Making a world-class product is a huge challenge but we have had less disasters and more breakthroughs," Capdevielle said. "I am very confident in our recipe."

Everything in and about Big Gin was hand-selected, from the botanicals right down to the cork.

"It has to have the right sound," Capdevielle explained. "Seeking out corks was such a huge part of my life for a few months."

But he ultimately found them in Portugal.

Once filled and corked, all the bottles are hand-labeled and hand-numbered.
"We want people to know that we are actually handling each and every one of these bottles," Capdevielle said.

Capdevielle said they're excited to have come to the fun part; bringing their product to people.

"We knew we would get where we are now but it was stressful," said Holly, while rocking their baby Stella. "But we managed to do it all without a babysitter so far."

"It's our job, dream, and destiny," added Capdevielle. "I have butterflies everyday."

The ultimate goal is to sell their product world-wide and outgrowing their small space.

"But you need to sell a lot of booze to do that. We just need to figure out how to get some [Big in Snoop Dogg's hands and get them rapping about our gin," said Capdevielle.

But for now, Holly said they are very thankful to be situated in Ballard and for all the support they have received from friends and family.

Big Gin is currently available at Two Bit Saloon and Bastille, and it will have its first real test in going head-to-head against "the big boys" at Seattle Gin Scoiety's Ginvitational on April 21.

"I'm ready to find people who don't enjoy it, but so far reviews have been all good," said Capdevielle.

Learn more about Captive Spirits at www.CaptiveSpiritsDistilling.com.