Largest Delivery of Hood River Distillers' Pendleton Whisky Slated Aug. 22 for Pendleton Liquor Store

23/08/07 From Louisiana bull riders to East Coast urban cowboys with a fascination for rodeos, the Pendleton Liquor Store is preparing to greet them all during the Pendleton Round-Up and sell a record number of bottles of Hood River Distillers' Pendleton Whisky during the week-long event.

In preparation for the September 8-15 Round-Up, the largest-ever delivery of Pendleton Whisky will be made at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, at the Pendleton Liquor Store, 237 S.W. Emigrant Ave. Then the unloading will begin -- 950 cases, or 8,160 bottles.

On hand to celebrate the occasion will be Pendleton's mayor, Philip W. Houk, Butch Thurman, 2007 president of the Pendleton Round-Up board of directors, and representatives of Hood River Distillers.

The liquor store's owner, Greg Roland, said he wanted to have plenty of the $26.95-a-bottle Pendleton in stock, not only for the Round-Up, but also for the hundreds of people who want to take it home -- by the single bottle or several cases -- in a car trunk, pickup truck or even a horse trailer.

"For those of you who remember it, Pendleton Whisky has some of the same cache Coors beer had many years ago. People will drive hundreds of miles to buy it," he said of the product, which was introduced in 2003.

Last year, a Wyoming rancher wrote a check for $11,000 and purchased every single bottle of a commemorative 20-year-old Pendleton Whisky at $75 per bottle, making it the largest single purchase -- dollar-wise -- in Pendleton Liquor Store's history.

Roland said consumers seem to think when they buy it in Pendleton, "It's from the source, but actually it is a very popular product imported and marketed by Hood River Distillers of Hood River, Oregon," he noted.