I recently happened upon St. George Spirits at Canard, one of my favorite craft cocktail bars. As I often do, I look at a bar’s gin selection and see if there’s any I haven’t tasted. In this case, I was excited to find out they actually had three gins from St. George. (Spoiler alert:St. George actually makes four gins, which luckily I found out before writing this post.) Fast forward a few weeks, and I tried the gins again with a friend of mine, and then tasted them again at the Texas Tailgate and Craft Roadshow, where I got to talk with a representative from the distillery.
St. George Spirits is located in Alameda, California, right across the bay from San Francisco. The 65,000 sq ft distillery, in business since 1982, is housed in an airplane hangar, part of a former naval air station. I’m really intrigued by this company and their line of products – there’s a lot of distilleries out there doing New American/New Western gins, but (1) St. George is making four of them, (2) they’ve
been distilling for much longer than most American distillers, and (3) in a crowded, creative marketplace, they’re still doing something that stands out – in a good way.
St. George Terroir Gin
My first thought about tasting this gin was that I had a giant tree in my mouth. A big, green, fresh-cut, woodsy, earthy, Christmas tree. The main ingredients, both indigenous to California, are Douglas fir and bay laurel. Add in sage, another primary component, and 10 additional botanicals (including juniper, of course!), and, boy, do you have Terroir. This is a fascinating, not-quite-sure-what-to-think- of it gin, but I’m totally intrigued. I tried it neat, but the distillers recommend it in a martini or in a Collins garnished with fresh fennel or a bay leaf. I’m pretty excited to try it in an Aromatherapy as well. Caution: if you’re one of those “gin tastes like Pine-Sol” people, move along. (Psst…try the gin below.)
St. George Botanivore Gin
I love the name Botanivore – witty and
totally fitting for this gin. It reminds one a bit of the London dry style as it’s crisp and clean, but chock full of 19 botanicals all fighting to be first in line, but somehow still keeping the peace. What are the 19, you ask? Angelica root, bay laurel, bergamot peel,
black peppercorn, caraway, cardamom, cilantro, cinnamon, citra hops, coriander, dill seed, fennel seed, ginger, juniper
berries, lemon peel, lime peel, orris root, Seville orange peel, and star anise (whew). Those of you who like your gin, but are scared of big fat juicy juniper? You have found your home, my friends. And at 45 ABV, Botanivore has a nice little kick. Ready for a fun tidbit? Part of the distillation process involves a wok. Yep, you read that right. Botanivore is pretty darn perfect in a martini (clean, classy, elegant) and a Southside (minty, fresh, perfect patio or poolside cocktail).
St. George Dry Rye Gin
I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to use the word intrigued again. I feel like I need a thesaurus for this post, but it’s not my fault. I blame Lance Winters, the master distiller at St. George, for crafting a line of such unique products.
If y
ou’ve been paying attention, you know that most gins use corn or wheat for their neutral spirit, the base of the product. And indeed, Terroir and Botanivore are born from 100% non-GMO corn. But, St. George decided to get funky and make a gin from a rye base. So, what does that mean? You get a gin that smells yeasty and malty, and has a wholly different mouthfeel, adding a new complexity to your cocktail. Now, it’s still gin because it’s a juniper based spirit – and this one’s full of juniper. To my juniper-phobes: don’t let that scare you. The malty-ness of this gin really balances out the juniper, as do the other botanicals, namely black peppercorn, caraway, coriander, grapefruit peel, and lime peel. The Dry Rye smells stronger than it tastes – it is clean, peppery, with some nice sweetness on the back end. This gin elevates the martini, making it just a little more “adult.” I think it would be delicious in a negroni as well (paired with St. George’s new amaro, Bruto Americano, an woodsier, less sweet alternative to Campari).
St. George Dry Rye Reposado Gin
I have to admit I giggled a bit in glee when Paul, the rep from the distillery told me they had a fourth gin. Aging gins seems to be the new hot thing, and the Dry Rye Reposado is an aged product. However, instead of aging it in bourbon or virgin barrels, this gin is aged in wine barrels – syrah, granache, tennat barrels, to be exact. The wine adds a whole new dimension too the rye gin, and this limited release is definitely fun to taste.
All of the above gins retail for around $30. Which one(s) is your favorite, and what’s your favorite cocktail to drink it in? Happy exploring!
