01/02/2022
We are sad to share that Salish Sea Organic Liqueurs has permanently closed on December 31, 2021. The passing of our founder and creative force, Sam Desner, at the age of 31 from seizure complications leaves no other choice. We greatly appreciate all the support and love we have received from our community over the last eight years, and especially during these most difficult of years.
Sam read a book and taught himself how to make liqueurs when he had just turned 21. In 2013, at the age of 24, with the support of a group of local northwest investors, Sam started Salish Sea Organic Liqueurs with the goal of producing the highest quality certified organic liqueurs created with real herbs, flowers and fruits. Our distillery space was leased in February 2014, and Salish opened to the public in January 2015 with sixteen different certified organic liqueurs. Over the next seven years, Salish released twenty-three different certified organic liqueurs, twenty-one flavors that were currently in production. None of this could have been accomplished without the incredible group of employees that became the Salish family. In 2018, Salish expanded sales into California and in 2019 into Colorado. Pre-pandemic, Salish’s products were served in over 185 restaurants and bars, and Salish garnered over sixty National and International Awards for its liqueurs.
Sam had an absolute commitment to creating products of the highest quality the natural world could provide. All of Salish’s liqueurs were designed to his palate and captured the essence of that individual herb, flower or fruit. The pleasure he received from those that used Salish’s products to create community and positive social interaction drove his life. Few are able to ever turn their dreams into reality. Sam’s journey may have been short, but he spent a third of his life pursuing his passion to create pleasure and community for many. He was the heart of Salish Sea Organic Liqueurs and he is sorely missed. While we are still hopeful that someone with integrity and passion will come forward to carry on Sam’s legacy, in closing, as Sam would say:
In good spirits,
Sandy & Laura Desner & The Salish Family
