St. George Spirits
Our Story
St. George Spirits was the first small American distillery since Prohibition, founded in 1982 when fewer than 20 distilleries existed in the entire country. What started in a small shed in Emeryville has grown into a 65,000-square-foot former airplane hangar at the old Alameda Naval Air Station. Along the way St. George pioneered American absinthe (releasing Absinthe Verte in 2007, the first legal American absinthe since the 1912 ban), helped launch the American single malt whiskey category under Master Distiller Lance Winters, and helped countless other distillers, including Clear Creek, Bonnie Doon, Westford Hill, and Cap Rock, launch their own operations. Whether it's whiskey, gin, vodka, or something further off the beaten path, St. George approaches every spirit with the mindset of an eau de vie distiller.
The Founders
Founder Jörg Rupf drew on Old World distilling methods he learned from his family growing up in Germany's Black Forest. He opened St. George Spirits in 1982, and one of his first releases, St. George Poire William pear brandy, won the prestigious Destillata blind tasting in Austria in the distillery's early years. Jörg retired in 2010 after 28 years at the helm, handing the distillery over to Lance Winters, who'd joined as Master Distiller in 1996.
How We Make It
St. George approaches every spirit, whiskey, gin, vodka, or otherwise, with the mindset of an eau de vie distiller: small batches, whole fruit and real botanicals, and pot-distillation on copper stills (including a 250-liter still still in service from 1982).
Details
- Location
- Alameda, CA
- Founded
- 1982
- Website
- stgeorgespirits.com/
- @stgeorgespirits
Gallery
Meet the Team
Jörg Rupf
Founder
Founded St. George Spirits in 1982, drawing on Old World distilling methods learned from his family in Germany's Black Forest. Retired in 2010 after 28 years.
Lance Winters
Master Distiller
A former nuclear scientist and brewer who joined St. George in 1996 with a bottle of homemade whiskey as his resume. Became Master Distiller after Jörg Rupf's retirement in 2010 and is a Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame indu…
Dave Smith
Head Distiller
Started as a day job while pursuing graduate school and became St. George's head distiller. Created the NOLA Coffee Liqueur as a tribute to New Orleans, the city where he fell in love.
Our Spirits
19 expressions
Aqua Perfecta Basil Eau de Vie
St. George California Shochu
Bruto Americano
St. George Absinthe Verte
St. George California Reserve Apple Brandy
St. George Pear Brandy
St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
St. George Green Chile Vodka
