Freeland Spirits has leveled up its Portland International Airport presence from a small 2024 kiosk to a full-on tasting room in the North Concession Hall, giving flyers a new spot for cocktail flights and Portland-made gifts before they even see their gate. The expanded setup turns Freeland’s gin, bourbon and canned cocktails into a standing preflight option, with early, daily hours aimed squarely at ticketed travelers looking to sip something local on the way out of town.
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, the tasting room quietly opened on May 22 and is pouring tasting flights and mini cocktails alongside souvenirs and products from other Portland companies. The paper reports flights that start at $9 for a gin lineup and top out at $22 for an Old Fashioned flight, and quotes founder Jill Kuehler on why PDX matters for the brand, noting she sees the airport as a distribution hub and pointing out that “there are like 20 million people flying through this airport.”
Freeland’s own visit page lists the airport outpost in the North Concession Hall at Gates D/E, with posted daily hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a focus on mini cocktails, tasting flights and curated gifts from Portland makers. The same page also steers travelers toward the distillery’s Portland tasting room and its events calendar for those who want a deeper dive once they are back on the ground. Freeland Spirits' website
Port of Portland planning materials slot Freeland into the Phase 2 wave of concession openings tied to the ongoing main-terminal refresh, part of a broader rollout that the port says will bring more local Oregon brands into the airport mix. The packet maps out north-hall openings through May and June as temporary bypasses are removed and new access points come online for travelers. Port of Portland documents
What to Try
For anyone just looking to taste the highlights between security and boarding, the gin flight is the budget-friendly way in, while bottles to go and small-format cocktails are on hand for travelers who prefer committing to a single pour. Coverage from The Oregonian/OregonLive also points to martini and combined gin-and-bourbon flights, giving preflight drinkers a few different paths through the menu.
Why It Matters for Freeland and PDX
Freeland has been steadily widening its footprint and raising money to keep the growth going. A late-2025 Wefunder campaign described the new airport spot as a flagship buildout for the brand and tied the project to a broader distribution push into multiple states. As Wine Industry Advisor noted, the PDX tasting room doubles as a high-visibility marketing channel for the bottled lineup.
The tasting room sits post-security in the North Concession Hall at Gates D/E, so only ticketed passengers can wander in for a flight. Travelers will want to factor TSA wait times into any plans to linger over cocktails. The Port of Portland packet also highlights recent terminal improvements and evolving access routes that are intended to make the north hall easier to reach for departing passengers. Port of Portland
For the latest menus, seasonal pours and the broader distillery event schedule, Freeland directs visitors to its online visit page. Public documents from the port outline the wider concession strategy and timing for the rest of the north-hall openings at PDX. Freeland Spirits' website
