Entrance, way down driveway

How easy is it to find someone to go vodka tasting in the middle of the day on a Wednesday?

Pretty dang easy as I found out this afternoon. “Would you be up for a trip to Hangar One for a vodka tasting sometime soon?”, I direct messaged my friend J. a few weeks ago. He was the perfect choice to join me on this expedition as he is currently on a break from work, lives close by in Alameda, and he loves the liquid spirits.

Who wouldn’t want an excuse to drink alcohol in the middle of the week, just after lunch and well before happy hour?!

But we weren’t really going to drink copious amounts of distilled alcohol. We were instead going to taste, to wet our lips, to discover new flavors and ways to enjoy a centuries old drink.

St. George’s Spirits is housed in an airplane hangar on the old, somewhat abandoned but not quite, Naval Air Station on the island of Alameda, just off the west coast of Oakland. This is an ex-military base devoid of people with only the occasional tree and wild shrub, but with a lot of concrete, open space, and views. The buildings on the base are in various stages of construction and deconstruction, decay and toxicity, ie: a photographer’s delight.

Hangar 1

Hangar 1 is on the far northwest side of the base, with a spectacular view of San Francisco. We were greeted by Andie when we walked in the door and she immediately set us at ease by welcoming us and telling us how the system works, $10 per person for the standard tasting or $15 per person with an absinthe tasting at the end, and then handing us the day’s tasting menu.

For somewhere that is not on the beaten path, or really, on any path, it was surprising that the bar was full of tasters. J. and I pulled up to the last two spots at the end of the bar. On today’s menu there were two Aqua Perfecta fruit brandies, five Hangar One vodkas (six actually – there was a surprise addition), a St. George Single Malt Whiskey, and four liqueurs – two Qi Spirits and two Aqua Perfecta, and of course, we both opted in for the St. George Absinthe.

The Green Fairy, St. George’s Absinthe

St. George’s Spirits was founded by Jörg Rupf in 1982. Rupf originally came from Freiburg, Germany to Berkeley to do post-doctoral research. But for a number of generations his family had been brewers and distillers of eau-de-vie (fruit brandies) and while living in California he realized the opportunity that the abundance of fresh fruit and the lack of fruit distillers in the US might bring.

Rupf used old-world methods for distilling his brandies. He first worked with distiller Bill Mannshardt and when he retired, Rupf began working with Lance Winters. The first St. George Malt Whiskey was released in 2000, and the first in the line of Hangar One vodkas was released in 2002.

Between the two of us there was an opportunity to like everything on the menu. And by looking at the menu it was hard to decide whether our hosts were Mad Scientists, Distillery Heroes, or just good at what they do. They are constantly working in the lab, making up, or designing, new recipes. Our hostess at the bar, Erin, was well versed in the qualities of each drink, and gave us ample time to form our own thoughts about each bottle we were tasting. All of the drinks went through phases of tastes, so sitting with them for a moment was important to catch the full flavor of each one.

One of the distinct characteristics of Hangar One vodkas is their lightness and they are often described as smoothe. My preferences were the more citrus-y flavors of the Hangar One Buddha’s Hand Citron and the Kaffir Lime vodkas. The Buddha’s Hand Citron was pure citrus and the real flavor popped at the end of the taste, after subtly moving through its various phases. The Kaffir Lime was true to the flavor of of the kaffir lime leaf. It is an exotic, and somehow a more adult version of lime, different from the flavor of the fruit. Straight over ice or with just a shot of tonic, I could picture sitting on beach under a palm tree somewhere.

Our surprise bottle was a Hangar One Chipotle Vodka, an unexpected hot and peppery drink. My immediate thought was how would I drink it? Erin seemed to read my mind, or maybe I did ask outloud, and she replied “hot chocolate” or “subtly added to the top of a margarita”. Good answers. But later as I was looking through their web site I discovered that it was designed with the Bloody Mary in mind.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the St. George Single Malt Whiskey – a very smoothe, very sophisticated, woody, nutty drink, full of complexity. It immediately brought to mind a leather chair and a cigar which faded to a picture of sitting around an after dinner table with a group of friends, sipping in, and enjoying the experience of, silence.

But the other surprises of the day were the two Qi Tea Liqueurs, one made from White Tea and the other from Black Tea with two very distinctive flavors. The White Tea Liqueur was sweet, with hints of citrus and bergamot. The flavor of the Black Tea Liqueur was a jaw dropping surprise, as the front and foremost flavor was the smoke from the Lapsang Souching tea that it is made from.

We ended our tasting with the St. George’s Absinthe. The liquid within the bottle is more of a mossy green color, rather than the bright phosphorescent green seen in the Czech bottles. This is because all of the ingredients within the St. George’s Absinthe are natural herbs like wormwood, star anise, mint, lemon balm, tarragon, basil, … with nothing added to change color. Erin served the absinthe in our little tasting glasses with only a few ice cubes, no sugar or water added. As the ice melted the mysterious fennel cloud formed and we drank.

St. George’s Spirits Tasting Room is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from noon to 7pm and Sundays from noon to 6pm. Distillery tours are on Saturdays and Sundays only, at 1pm. You need a reservation for groups larger than 8 people.

It is highly recommended to eat before going to the tasting. There are picnic tables and ample parking, so feel free to make a day of it and bring a picnic to eat outside.

St George’s Spirits | Hangar One
2601 Monarch St, Alameda, CA 94501
Tasting Room: 510.864.0635