Westland Open House Tonight And More Weekend Fun

Don’t miss out – there are loads of fun, tasty, and even charitable drinking and eating events coming up this week, weekend and through the rest of the month. Read the below with a calendar in hand.

Westland Named World Craft Producer, Plus Open House Tonight: SoDo’s Westland Distillery was recently named the World’s Craft Producer of the Year at the 2016 World Whiskies Awards, and it’s throwing a party tonight to celebrate! The distillery is hosting an open house with free tours and tastings, commemorative bottles of American Oak, Peated, and Sherry Wood single malt whiskies, and specialty cocktails (for the first time at the distillery). Plus, the Skillet truck will be there for food. It runs from 5 to 8 p.m.

Northwest Tequila Fest This Weekend: The fourth annual local tequila celebration is this weekend, at the Fremont Foundry, with both indoor and outdoor fun happening on April 22, from 6 to 9 p.m. (VIP access at 5 p.m.) and April 23 from 4 to 8 p.m. (VIP access at 3 p.m.). There will be 140 tequilas, mezcals and sotols for tasting, as well as beer and cocktails – and food from local restaurants for balance – plus mariachi music, educational seminars, and more agave-related awesomeness. The highlight of the event, though is the local bartender competition! There are tickets for both days at three levels, from $49 to $99, though they’re selling out fast so don’t wait around.

Drink More with John Howie, Help a Good Cause: Throughout the month of April (and there’s still a lot left), John Howie and John Howie Restaurants are supporting buildOn’s construction of a school in Malawi. Each of the John Howie restaurants are donating $1 from the sale of specialty cocktails, with the proceeds going to construction materials for the new school being built in September. This is the second school that the Howie group has helped build with buildOn. Be sure to check all the restaurants to see how you can drink well and help support (my top pick: Beardslee Public House’s Peach Julep; Seastar, Sport, and JH Steak are also taking part).

Celebrate Passover at Golden Beetle: From April 20-30, star chef Maria Hines is serving up a special spin on a traditional Passover menu. It’s a five-course affair ($50 per person), each crafted to match what you’d find in a Passover meal, where everything on a Seder plate is there to symbolically retell the story of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt to freedom. It starts with a fried soft boiled egg with asparagus, harissa aioli, and fried shallot and goes on deliciously from there. Be sure to opt in to the optional Kosher wine pairing, for $25, too.