St. George Spirits — Local services in Alameda

The tour is awesome and they were extremely accommodating to me and my horrible sense of time. I changed my tour time 3 times over the course of the week, each to a later hour... and still showed up late :(.

However, there's a great brewery with delicious beers and BBQ chicken nachos down the street (while we waited for the 6pm tour) and the tour was definitely worth the wait. Everything they described was spot on and even an alcohol neophyte like myself could taste them (typically, I canNOT taste the "cigarettes" or the "apricot" in wines... but these distilled liquors did a fantastic job of capturing the essential oils of what they're made from).

My favorites: Basic vodka: I didn't think I'd like it but it has a wonderful sweet aftertaste that I've never tasted before in a vodka (probably because I'm usually trying to get the shot over with... and because I buy cheap vodka that comes in paper bags) Peppery vodka (forgot its name): peppery but doesn't burn your mouth. If you like peppers, this is delicious. Terroir gin: Tastes like fermented pine cone and Christmas. I grew up surrounded by pine trees, so somehow this tasted very nostalgic. Coffee liquor: My husband thought he'd hate this but it was not super syrupy sweet like other coffee liquors. It tastes more like the famous irish coffee down at Buena Vista cafe in San Francisco.

Unfortunately, we biked so we didn't have a convenient way to bring back the alcohol....

There was such creativity in how the cocktails were compiled, and I really enjoyed getting to nerd out with the bartender, Daniel, who was amazing, and who answered all of my questions about various things distilling and Chemistry. The spirits themselves, at least the ones we got to try, were so cool, unique, and complex (I have never really been into vodkas, for example, but the Green Chile Vodka made a drink that tasted like I was smelling a lush tomato plant... it was wild, and delicious). I want to try everything they have, getting a bottle and just experimenting to see what I can do. I should say, I also asked another employee (Spencer) a question about the distilling room, and he was really friendly and helpful too.

We did have an issue toward the end of our stay, where we felt rushed out right at 6pm, but a distillery rep has helped reassure me that how we were communicated with should not happen again in future visits, and that no visitor should ever feel rushed out. I appreciate the level of communication from the distillery rep, and her responsiveness to our experience.

We look forward to going back, especially once the cocktail menu is switched up, so we can try out some of their other...

For vodka and gin fans, I can't think of a better distillery around. However, for fans of darker liquor, I'd keep looking.

Stationed in the middle of an abandoned industrial district, you'll find St. George's. Though shoddy on the outside, it's modern and chic on the inside. If you're planning a visit, take the tour. For $15 it's not a bad deal and it comes with tastings! The staff were friendly and upbeat, making the tour fun despite the facility not being hugely impressive.

Though I'm not naturally inclined to vodka and gin, the tasting of these spirits were enjoyable. The staff member explained each in great detail, appreciating the finer points and differences. However, beyond those two spirits, there isn't much else. The whisky is average, but the absinthe is awful. It has a licorice taste that I simply wasn't able to consume more than a sip. Not sure who, or on what occasion one would drink this. Expensive bottles, but certainly worth buying a shot glass on...