Woodinville Whiskey recently tapped Lynden’s LTI, Inc. to haul its award-winning whiskey from Woodinville WA to its aging and bottling facility in Quincy WA.
LTI drivers also are picking up mash byproduct from the whiskey distilling process and delivering it to a farm near Monroe, WA.
Lynden said LTI had never previously hauled whiskey in its food-grade liquid tank trailers. But because the 140-proof alcohol is flammable, it qualifies as a hazmat, food-grade load, which is one of LTI’s specialties.
“The project really is a good fit for our strengths as a carrier,” said Al Hartgraves, business development manager.
Hartgraves said the new project came about through company teamwork.
While LTI driver Cesar Cortez was delivering a load to one of the wineries next door to Woodinville Whiskey, he was approached by one of the owners. He asked Cortez if LTI could provide the same pickup and delivery service for his company to Eastern Washington. Cortez passed the request to dispatcher Eric Bordynoski, who contacted Hartgraves, and soon a contract was underway.
“LTI, Inc. has never hauled whiskey before, so specific equipment needed to be sourced and drivers trained for this type of hazmat transport,” Hartgraves said. The maintenance team of Dave Seaman and Jerry Crisp secured the highly specialized DOT 407 food-grade hazmat trailers needed for the project. Although the whiskey is picked up in Woodinville and delivered to Quincy, the run begins and ends at LTI’s Sunnyside location due to the wash facilities there.
Sunnyside driver Brandon Weaver was the first driver to haul the whiskey this fall, and he said it is a nice change from his usual route. “It’s a lot of responsibility, too, though,” he added. “Hazmat loads require an endorsement and intense focus, so safety is always on my mind.” Driver Ed Flores also is hauling whiskey for the project.
The second part of the project is hauling spent mash, which is grain left over from the distillation process. A full load is picked up each day from the distillery and delivered to a farm facility near Monroe where it is used to produce electricity for Qualco Energy. “The whole process is full circle and something we have not been involved in before,” Hartgraves said. “It’s an exciting new project for us to fully support the efforts of Woodinville Whiskey, and we will be bringing on more qualified drivers with this type of hazmat endorsement early in the year.”