Homegrown Booze at Hangar One

On a weirdly desolate ex-military corner of Alameda, an island floating off on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, there is a magical place where a hardworking crew of booze aficionados craft small batches of carefully made spirits. Starting in 1982 as the side experiment of a German hobbyist distiller, St George Spirits has undergone a series of growth spurts in size and popularity, beginning with what has since become their biggest seller, Hangar One Vodka, first launched in 2002.  Their offerings have now expanded to include a number of fruit and spice infused vodkas, eaux-de-vie, and a handful of new experiments like single malt whiskies and absinthe.


This wasn't my first trip to the Hangar, but upon learning that an arriving out-of-town guest was interested in paying a visit, I was eager to check in for an update on their latest adventures. I can happily report that innovation is chugging along at full speed, certainly not confined to their core competency of vodka. St. George's distillers appear to be working their way through the entire catalog of distilled spirit categories. On this visit, I saw that their don't-call-it-tequila-because-it-isn't-from-Tequila, an agave spirit called Agua Azul, is available in a couple of varieties, including something already worthy of being called Anejo. Their St. George single malt whiskey is already in two varieties: an 8-year and an 11-year were being poured during today's tasting. Both were clearly more than simple experiments; these are serious contenders in their respective categories. Devoid of the shackles of regional heritage, these West Coast pioneers are subtle, complex, and poised to set a benchmark by which any future such endeavors will be judged.


Their Absinthe Verte, a headline grabber when it was released last year, has graduated from its first initial small batch, and remains complex and nuanced in the face of the crowd of bland competitors that have hit the market. Several of the other bottles in this category are merely hangers-on to the Hangar One, lacking the oily and herbal notes that this historical recreation embodies.

The hangar, with stills on display and New Year's decorations in place

The happiest gift shop on Alameda

A locals-only bar - stocked with spirits made literally 150 feet away

Absinthe, sublimely undergoing sublimation

Lastly, and possibly of the most interest to me because it wasn't available today, is something called Eurydice, a rum also being persuaded from these hallowed copper stills. It's made from California sugar cane, and has been produced in a highly limited release specifically for Smuggler's Cove, a new chapel of rum owned by Martin Case in San Francisco's Hayes Valley. Even polite prodding to the barstaff produced nothing more than acknowledgement of the arrangement, but sadly, no rum in my glass. Word is that St. George is working on a rum of their own, for possible release later in 2010. Sounds like I'll be paying another visit across the bay sometime in the new year...