It would be hard to find a more fitting business than a gin distillery built in the junipers of Redmond, yet Gompers Distillery does just this — and offers good times in a Roaring 1920s-themed setting.

Gin, which gets its herbal and floral taste from juniper berries, is almost always used in mixed drinks and rarely served by itself, said Michael Hart, who owns the distillery with his wife Jessica. This was problematic.

“I always liked the final depth and complexity of gins,” Michael said. “But I never found one I could do anything I want with.”

Options from popular brands like Tanqueray or Beefeater were missing something, and none were versatile enough for what the Harts wanted.

“One gin was good with a gimlet and one with a martini, but I never found one that I could drink neat or on the rocks and not have my eyes rolling back to my head,” Michael said.

A decade ago, as the couple decided on a drink for the night, Jessica Hart wondered what it would be like to create their own. Michael laughed for about 15 seconds, then realized it might actually work.

They knew exactly what they wanted in a gin. The difficulty was creating it — especially with zero knowledge of distillation or the spirits industry.

Michael said he and Jessica surrounded themselves with people who knew the industry and got to work, spending about two years getting the taste just right and passing all the bureaucratic red tape. Part of that time was spent coming up with the spirit, he said, while the other part was spent refining it to make sure it had a beautiful, almost roller coaster-like quality.

“You get the juniper, you get the lavender,” he said. “So it’s complex but it’s straightforward.”

This complex taste comes from the juniper berries picked from the Harts’ farm outside Bend, where they also grow lavender for the gin — which gives the spirit a peppery finish thanks to the volcanic soil of the area. The golden pears they source from Hood River lend it a smoother feature.

Whatever someone tries to do with their gin, Michael said, they’ll be complimenting it rather than trying to cover up the local flavors.

These local accents are all the more important as breweries and distilleries have boomed in popularity across the United States in the last decade. Since the beginning, however, Michael and Jessica knew they wanted the distillery to be in Redmond and for it to be the city’s first.

“We love the people in Redmond,” Jessica said. “We love how people are more easygoing here.”

In 2015, they hoped to locate the distillery at the First National Bank in downtown Redmond, but those plans fell through. Then, Jessica found out she was pregnant with the couple’s first child.

Four years later, they found their current building in the Jackpine Industrial Complex in northeast Redmond. They opened in April 2019.

“That ended up being perfect for it,” Jessica said. “It was just being built so we were able to customize it the way we needed it.”

The space and distillery take inspiration from Jessica’s grandfather, Herman Gompers, who was forced into hiding after Hitler invaded the Netherlands in World War II. He was captured by the Nazis twice and escaped twice, eventually fighting in Israel’s War of Independence as a demolitions expert. After running a bakery business in Israel, Herman and his wife, Deborah, moved to Los Angeles where they started a popular bakery and served celebrities like Frank Sinatra.

The 1920s-inspired interior is decorated with objects from Herman’s past, such as some of his clock collection and pictures of him refereeing renowned Brazilian soccer player Pelé.

Like many businesses, however, sourcing has been a thorn in their side since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply chain and meddled with their ambitions to produce more as supplies such as bottles became scarce.

“Being a small, family-owned, handcrafted distillery … we don’t have the money like other big distilleries that can just be like ‘I’ll buy up all this glass,’” Jessica said. “It’s getting better, but hopefully it will be a lot smoother than it has been the past two years.”

Despite supply-chain hiccups, the Harts are already working on future spirits in addition to their Gompers Estate Gin, Gompers Old Tom Style Gin and Gompers Vodka. Residents of Redmond can expect a navy strength gin — meaning gin with 114 proof or 57 percent alcohol content — and a whiskey bourbon. However, they’re still testing the whiskey.

“I always feel like you can’t release anything until it’s what you want to drink,” Jessica said. “It’s not quite there.”

Additionally, they offer a daily free drink to veterans and first responders to acknowledge and appreciate their service. There is also a secret room on site for Gompers club members. They’re working on creating a members-only game room upstairs where they will host events such as a corn hole competition. Membership costs $125 per year on a rolling basis.

“We’re trying to make it as fun as we can,” Michael said.