5 Question Friday With Tacoma Alcohol Consortium's Todd Buckley

I first met Todd Buckley a few weeks ago when he organized a tour of Tacoma Brewing Company. He was a gracious and enthusiastic host with plenty of knowledge and passion for alcohol. Up until then, I’d never heard of the Tacoma Alcohol Consortium. By the end of the tour I decided that everyone in Tacoma with an interest in drinking should know about it.

I contact Todd and he was more than happy to participate in 5 Question Friday this week. Here’s Todd:

1. What is the Tacoma Alcohol Consortium?

Tacoma Alcohol Consortium was designed to elevate the importance of locally crafted alcohol, because there is an urgency for awareness, education, and enjoyment of, what I believe to be, Tacoma's second renaissance (the first being the art/museum scene).

The mission of TAC is: Sharing Enjoyment Through Imbibing Locally Crafted Alcohols. The mantra is: Drink Smarter.

2. How did it get started?

I have been pursing my dream of opening Tacoma's first distillery since late 2009. I started to put my resources and energy into the distillery business in 2010 and since then I have been doing my best to figure out creative ways to get this business financed and open to the public. The concept of Tacoma Alcohol Consortium actually came to me during morning meditation. I had these thought of "a rising tide lifts all boats". Then the question for me became, how can I accomplish that goal, not just for my distillery, but for everyone making alcohol within the greater Tacoma area. Tacoma has a chance to be a destination place on the map nationally if we all work together and seize our destiny. Tacoma was once the largest alcohol producer on the West Coast. There is no reason that cannot happen again.

3. How can people participate with the Tacoma Alcohol Consortium?

First, if you are on Facebook, click the 'like' button on our Facebook Page. Secondly, start reading and get engaged. This community can only thrive if people have passion and deep interest in the topic of locally produced alcohol. Frequent restaurants and stores that promote and sell locally made alcohol. When you see your friends drinking a fancy import, ask them if they've tried the fancy local beer, wine, or spirit. When you go to a restaurant or store and you don't see local alcohol for sale mention it to the manager.

4. What are some of your favorite Tacoma places to imbibe?

Tacoma is a drinking town. There are too many places to list, but my heart is about cocktails and I would be most overjoyed when I would sit at the bar at the original Hilltop apothecary, 1022 South, with Chris Keil. Now I spend a lot of time at Tacoma Cabana. Jason Alexander is doing great things with Rum. There are numerous breweries that I enjoy like, Wingman, E9, The Harmon, and Tacoma Brewing Company, as well as locally produced wine at 21 Cellars and Stina's Cellars.

5. What is your ultimate goal for the Tacoma Alcohol Consortium?

There are approximately 200,000 people in Tacoma and almost 2/3rds of those people are of legal drinking age (about half the American population doesn't consume alcohol - a fact I found amazing), but that still leaves a lot of potential influencers to support a thriving ecosystem of locally made alcohol. I would like to see Tacoma create a healthy culture around producing and consuming alcohol which would make the City of Destiny a destination spot for people all over the world to come and enjoy. Plus, 50,000 Facebook Fans for TAC wouldn't be bad either.

I’d like to thank Todd Buckley for taking the time to join me for 5 Question Friday. If you or anyone you know would like to participate in 5 Question Friday, write me at tacomastories@gmail.com