Try craft spirits at San Tan’s tasting room
Arizona’s largest craft brewer SanTan Brewing Company is, understandably, known for one thing: beer.
But with the debut of a new line of distilled spirits and opening of a new Chandler tasting room, that might be about to change.
Spirit House, located directly behind SanTan’s Chandler pub, is a small space where patrons can sip on SanTan spirits and craft cocktails highlighting SanTan’s varieties of vodka, whiskey and gin.
SanTan Brewing and Spirit House owner Anthony Canecchia has been brewing beer for 25 years and decided more recently to make the leap into the world of spirits.
“All spirits start as beers,” Canecchia says. “They are a fermented grain product, so now we are just evolving it past that.”
Why SanTan started making spirits
Canecchia and the SanTan team started distilling spirits four and a half years ago. They focused initially on his favorite, single malt whiskey.
“Malt just means barley,” Canecchia says, “And we are brewers, we work with barley every day, so it was just a logical progression.”
From there, the spirit collection grew to include vodka, botanical spirits, whiskey — single malt, bourbon and rye — and gin.
The company’s spirits are split into three categories. Saint Anne’s is the umbrella name for all the white spirits in
cluding London Dry Gin, Kashmir Spice Gin and their Citrus Rosé Botanical Spirit. The whiskeys are labeled under the name Sacred Stave, while the company’s vodka carries the original SanTan brand name.
How SanTan makes its whiskey
After a 25-year career brewing beer, Canecchia had a fair idea of where he wanted to go with his spirits. But the journey from idea to drink was a team effort.
Scottish whiskey most often is distilled inside used American bourbon barrels made out of American white oak. Canecchia, however, wanted to make SanTan’s whiskey inside French oak barrels, which are known for their depth of flavor and, consequently, high price.
But Canecchia didn’t want to have to charge more than $100 per bottle of finished whiskey, so he scoured Arizona wineries for used French oak barrels and was eventually given a few by friend Todd Bostick of Dos Cabezas WineWorks in Sonoita.
The whiskey made in the used barrels proved why the SanTan team decided to use French oak. Canecchia says the wine doesn’t get very far into the wood. But spirits can work their way considerably deeper, unearthing more of the vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and pepper flavors for which French oak is known.
“We are not buying them for the wine flavors, although the color it gives is nice, but we are trying to get into the French oak,” Canecchia says.
Due to demand, SanTan now gets its single-use red wine French oak barrels from wineries in California.
“When that truck opens it’s like someone poured Cabernet all over your face, it’s beautiful,” Canecchia says. “That Napa air hits you and we fill them right away.”
‘Whiskey really taught us some patience’
Many spirits are traditionally distilled by filling barrels and then setting them aside for years to gather cobwebs. Canecchia refuses to sit on his hands, however, so he uses the French winemaking process known as elevage to distill his spirits.
“Being in beer, two weeks later it’s ready,” Canecchia says. “Whiskey really taught us some patience.”
The elevage process involves testing the spirits as they distill, taking small samples and checking alcohol content, smell and development levels, so that the aging process can be tweaked as you go. Slight differences in temperature between the barrel on the bottom of the rack versus one eight racks up and inconsistencies in the wood of the barrels themselves all impact how the ingredients react as they age.
“The process of elevage is one of my favorite things to do,” Canecchia says. “I love starting my morning playing with the barrels.”
An intimate Spirit House Tasting Room
A small space that seats a mere 49 guests, SanTan’s new tasting room Spirit House offers an intimate setting where guests can learn about spirits and cocktails.
Lead by bar manager Christopher Landry, the tasting room offers 16 classic cocktails, flights of single-ounce servings, SanTan beer, Dos Cabezas wine and food.
While the focus is heavily on drinks, hungry guests can choose menu options such as tartines and shareable small plates.
About every two weeks, the bar team comes up with specialty cocktails for those looking to try something not-so-classic. The current rotation includes Star Wars-inspired Blue Milk and a mango cocktail named “Holla at Chamoy.”
Guests also can try the rotating barrel-aged cocktail of the month, for which the only information provided is a name.
“It’s a jump off a high dive into shallow water,” Landry laughs. “You either like it or you don’t.”
If you can’t find something that looks interesting on the menu, the bar will also mix up something just for you.
“Your experience isn’t what I like,” Landry says. “People have a palate and it’s our job to make something they like.”
What’s next for SanTan Spirits?
So far, Canecchia and his team at SanTan have eight bottled spirits ready to go. But they’re not done yet.
“We have a couple of barrels of rum aging in the warehouse, we haven’t released it, we don’t plan on releasing it, it’s not ready,” Canecchia said, expanding on his trial-and-error experimentation process.
He also is intrigued by the idea of making an agave spirit in the future, potentially collaborating with Mezcal Carreño. Currently, Spirit House carries only one outside spirit, mezcal from the Carreños, an Arizona family that has been producing mezcal for more than 100 years.
When asked what spirits he wants to make next, Canecchia says he’s open to just about anything. But don’t worry, San Tan beers will still be as carefully produced as ever.
“Beer is still my first love,” Canecchia says, “Spirits are just my new love.”
Details: Spirit House Tasting Room & Cocktails, 8 S. San Marcos Place, Chandler. 480-306-4587, spirithouseaz.com.