St. George Spirits

St. George Spirits
Private
Founded Jorg Rupf, (January 4, 1982)
Headquarters Alameda, California, USA
Key people
 Jorg Rupf, Lance Winters, Dave Smith
Products Vodka, Gin, Absinthe, Liqueur, Rum, Whiskey, Brandy
Website St. George Spirits

St. George Spirits is an artisanal distillery located in Alameda, California that produces a range of alcoholic beverages under the direction of Master Distiller Lance Winters.[1][2] They are known for producing vodka, absinthe, whiskey, rum, gin, brandy, liqueurs, and a range of exotic spirits.

History

Founded in 1982 by Jorg Rupf, a pioneer in what has become the craft distilling movement.[3] Originally founded as an eau de vie distillery, St. George Spirits has steadily expanded their portfolio to include about a dozen spirits.[4]

In 1996, Jorg Ruph hired Lance Winters, a brewer and former nuclear scientist. One year later Jorg and Lance began distilling and aging their single malt whiskey, which was first released in 2000. In 2004 St. George Spirits moved into its current location, a 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) airplane hangar on the former Alameda naval air station.[5]

In December 2007, the company produced the first commercially available American Absinthe, St. George Absinthe Verte, since the lifting of the 1912 ban on making the spirit.[6] Since then St. George has continued to experiment with a number of spirits. Some of them have entered regular production like their California Agricole Rum, while other "flights of fancy" like their oyster, dungeness Crab, kombu seaweed, and Christmas tree spirits have remained experiments.[7]

In 2010, Jorg Ruph retired from his 28 year career as master distiller of St. George Spirits. That same year St. George sold their popular Hangar One Vodka line to Proximo Spirits so that they could focus their attention on new projects, like their agricole rum, gin line, and Breaking & Entering Bourbon.[8]

Products

Current Spirits

Discontinued spirits

References

  1. ↑ Heather Bourbeau (Oct 26, 2008). "Spirited Away".
  2. ↑ http://www.foodgps.com/qa-with-distiller-lance-winters/
  3. ↑ "Timeline". St. George Spirits. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Spirits". St. George Spirits. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Spirits". St. George Spirits. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. ↑ A Liquor of Legend Makes a Comeback
  7. ↑ "Flights of Fancy". St. George Spirits. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Pape, Allie (1 May 2014). "Hangar One and St. George Spirits are Part Ways". Eater SF. Retrieved 9 February 2015.

External links