San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Lou Bustamante’s recommended Northern California whiskeys
market. Even an outstanding whiskey like St. George’s single malt, at $ 100 a bottle, can’t compete against companies that use inexpensive ingredients but still charge high prices for their whiskeys.
The high cost of doing business in the Bay Area has a lot to do with that. The startup expenses for whiskey production are substantial. Wright & Brown, which makes whiskey exclusively, had to wait over 2 ½ years after starting its first batch before it could recoup any income.
Aging is an important part of whiskey production, since part of the flavor comes from the wood it rests in. To release a whiskey more quickly, Brown initially used a shortcut: putting his spirit in small casks, which have a greater ratio of wood to spirit volume. It’s not an exact replica of what you get from whiskey aged in standard 53gallon barrels, but the whiskey still shows some of the vanilla and caramel flavors, and the softening, filtration, color and aroma effects that come from the caramelized wood.
Using smaller barrels is not an uncommon workaround for small distilleries that need to get whiskeys ready faster, but it is expensive. Brown estimates that a fullsize 53gallon oak barrel costs about
Lou Bustamante is a Bay Area freelance writer. Email: food@ sfchronicle. com Twitter: @ thevillagedrunk
All of these whiskeys are distilled, aged and bottled by craft distilleries in the Bay Area and surrounding counties. Most of these distilleries make several types of whiskeys, but we’ve highlighted just one per producer to reflect our favorites.
Old Potrero Straight Rye Single Malt ($ 64.99/ 750ml, 48.5% ABV; Hotaling & Co., San Francisco): This is one of the first rye whiskeys that master distiller Bruce Joseph made at Hotaling, back when it was called Anchor Distilling and was part of Anchor Brewing, in 1994. It was one of the first of a new wave that used 100% rye. The rye is malted, a process that Joseph finds adds depth and complexity to the whiskey. It is aged in charred new American white oak barrels for 4 ½ years, which adds vanilla, baking spices and a coffee bitterness. Rye whiskeys are known for their big, bold flavors, and this one delivers black- pepperlike bite and spicy intensity. It is concentrated at almost 100 proof, yet easily sipped neat, though a splash of water allows it to bloom with peach sweetness and a gingersnap jolt.
St. George Single MaltWhiskey, Lot 20 ($ 100/ 750ml, 43% ABV; St. George Spirits, Alameda): The 20th release from St. George Spirits master distiller LanceWinters is made from tworow pale malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt, black patent and Bamberg malt, which is smoked over alder and beechwood. That distillate is then aged in a variety of barrels, including barrels that previously held bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, Port wine and apple brandy. This is perhaps the superpower of St. George Spirits: It has a vast library of single malts of various ages, stretching back 20 years, which it draws from to create this one. The whiskeys in this single malt range in age from 4 ½ to 21 years, each adding a layer of concentration, oak and complexity without masking the malt. Dark chocolate, dried cherries, savory mushroom and caramelized apple tart with a touch of burnt sugar bitterness accent the rich malt flavors.
Whiskey R5 ($ 60/ 750ml, 49.5% ABV; Charbay Distillery, Ukiah): Even if you’re not a fan of hoppy beer, you’ll find plenty to enjoy in this whiskey from Charbay master distiller Marko Karakasevic. It’s made by distilling pint- ready Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic Brewing Co. in a copper alambic charentais pot still, aged for five years in French oak barrels and bottled at close to 100 proof. The hops show up with delicate woodsy, earthy and herbal flavors. They aren’t upstaging the malt, spices and delicate sweetness of this whiskey.
Wright & Brown Bottled- in- Bond American Single Malt ($ 100/ 750ml, 50% ABV; Wright & Brown Distilling Co., Oakland): “Bottled in bond” is a term for spirits that have been aged for at least four years, bottled at 100 proof and made in one distillery by one distiller in a six- month season. The latter is perhaps the most interesting part, since most whiskeys are often blended with barrels of different ages, so here you have the potential to get a snapshot of that distillery at that moment in time. This 100% barley single malt from Earl Brown and DanWright is an interesting twist, since this description is most often used for bourbon. Aged in American oak barrels for 4 ½ years, the whiskey has cinnamon, herbal menthol and vanilla from the oak. The malt recalls brown sugar, with pineapple, a soft texture and sweetness.
Alley 6 Single Malt ($ 60/ 750ml, 43% ABV; Alley 6 Craft Distillery, Healdsburg): Krystle and Jason Jorgensen, the husband- and- wife team behind Alley 6, began working on their distillery in 2012 but waited until their first whiskey was fully aged in 2015 to release their first product. This single malt made from 100% malted barley is distilled on an open- flame- fired alambic still, then aged for 18 months in small American oak barrels. Its relative youth doesn’t seem to be a problem; it feels like a precocious kid who skipped a grade. It has most of what you want in a whiskey, which is plenty of malt, apple, some cinnamon earthiness and floral characteristics, and hints of peach. Cherrywood RyeWhiskey ($ 49.99/ 750ml, 47.8% ABV; Sonoma Distilling Co., Rohnert Park): One of the few distilleries that make only whiskey, Sonoma Distilling Co. makes traditional American whiskeys like bourbon and rye but also has some creative takes like this smoked rye whiskey. Distiller Adam Spiegel includes a small amount of wheat and cherrywood- smoked malted barley in this 80% rye recipe, but a light touch of smoke is there, along with hay, coffee, vanilla and cherry. Aged for two years in American oak, it’s a little drier than you’d expect, making it a good choice for those who enjoy an old- fashioned.
Wayward RyeWhiskey ($ 52/ 750ml, 46% ABV; Venus Spirits, Santa Cruz): Distiller Sean Venus’ career began in high school with an applied science experiment on fermentation. After bouncing around Eugene, Ore., breweries, Venus arrived in the Bay Area for a six- year run working for Gordon Biersch Brewing in San Jose. He began producing spirits at his own distillery in 2014. This certifiedorganic rye whiskey is made with 60% rye with the remainder corn, wheat and barley. It’s aged in 30
and 53- gallon charred American oak barrels for two years. The flavors are earthy, with coffee, bramble, raspberries, vanilla and coastal grass.
Seven Stills ChocasmokeWhiskey ($ 50/ 750ml, 47% ABV; Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery, San Francisco): Seven Stills distills whiskey from its own craft beer, and it places the flavors of the beer front and center, with oak aging used as mere accents. It’s an interesting approach that creates punk- rock- style whiskeys that make no apologies. Their Chocasmoke was made from a smoky chocolate oatmeal stout, whose recipe includes chocolate malt, crystal malt, peatsmoked malt and oats. It features dark chocolate, cinnamon, hoppy bitterness and a smoky flavor more like a dark- roasted coffee than like peat. There is no age statement, but it is aged in small 5- gallon charred American oak barrels.
SpiritWorks Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($ 50/ 750ml, 45% ABV; SpiritWorks Distillery, Sebastopol): This distillery, owned by husband- and- wife team Timo and Ashby Marshall, former merchant marines who worked with environmental nonprofits, opened in the Barlow complex of Sebastopol in 2012. Whiskey was always a goal for the distillery, and upon opening, the Marshalls began laying down whiskey in 53gallon barrels. This bourbon from SpiritWorks’ head distiller Krystal Goulart was first released in April 2020, as it took a few years to source the organic California- grown corn that is essential to bourbon. Aged four years in new American oak, this bourbon has the classic flavors of cherry, orange and herbal menthol typical in the style, buttressed with more grain flavor in the form of whole- grain toast with honey and light floral aromas.
Low Gap Blended RyeWhiskey ($ 100/ 750ml, 44.6% ABV; Tamar Distillery, Redwood Valley): The term blended whiskey commonly it refers to an aged spirit mixed with neutral grain spirits, but that is not the case here. Rather, Low Gap is a combination of malted rye whiskeys distilled in 2013 and 2014 with malted wheat whiskey distilled from 2010- 12. After combining those lots ( 93% rye and 7% wheat), the whiskey was aged three more years. If that sounds complex and unusual for a whiskey, it’s worth noting that co- founders Crispin Cain and Tamar Kaye worked with Hubert GermainRobin, the famous California brandy producer, and are applying a brandy- style approach to whiskey making. By using an alambic charentais pot still from Cognac, and creating a whiskey cellar to draw on, they are developing some interesting approaches to whiskey at their Ukiah ( Mendocino County) distillery. The whiskey has that earthy grassiness of rye, light sweetness of wheat, but also rich honey, coffee, chocolate and cinnamon with a dry mineral presence.
10th Street Peated Single Malt American Whisky ($ 65/ 750ml, 46% ABV; 10th Street Distillery, San Jose): This single- malt- focused distillery, opened by engineers Virag Saksena and Vishal Gauri, specializes in Scottish- style whiskeys, both peated and unpeated. They source their peat- smoked malt from Scotland, distilling the spirits in pot stills and aging them in used 53- gallon bourbon barrels, as is common in Scotland. This first release, aged for one year, while a little lean, has all of the characteristics you would want in a single- malt scotch: earthiness, honey, coastal grass, burnt hay and medicinal herbs. Most interesting of all, it encapsulates the freedom that Bay Area whiskey producers have to take inspiration from other styles and put their own spin on it.
Moylan’s American Cask Strength Port Barrel Finish Single- Malt Whisky ($ 60/ 750ml, 55.9% ABV; Moylan’s Distilling Co., Petaluma): This distillery, also known as Stillwater Spirits, has been distilling in the Foundry Wharf near the Petaluma River since 2004. This powerful single malt by distiller TimWelch is made from 100% malted two- row barley, pot distilled, then aged twice, first in brand- new American oak barrels for five years, then in used Port barrels. It is bottled at cask strength with nothing added. The Port makes it dessert- appropriate but not sweet, with malted milk chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and candied cherry flavors.
Merced RyeWhiskey ($ 50/ 750ml, 45% ABV; Corbin Cash Distillery, Atwater): This estate whiskey is made from a drought- resistant variety of rye that is grown as a cover crop at the farmbased distillery. Corbin Cash’s 100- year- old farm, near Merced, grows sweet potatoes, and the team originally began distilling as a way to utilize excess crop. The rye is part of the crop rotation program and ended up being used for whiskey, which gets aged up to six years in charred American oak barrels. There’s lots of baking spice and vanilla flavor, along with brown sugar sweetness and dried fruit characteristic.