On Sunday, we celebrated our friend Sam's birthday. His wife set up a great day out for those of us who drink. Instead of the usual dinner-out get together, she planned a trip to St. George Spirits. St. George is a distiller located in Alameda (St. George Spirits). They have tours on the weekends. There is only one tour per day and they start at 1:00. Our guide was entertaining and very knowledgeable about the process and the manufacturing of alcohol. Most importantly, St. George was the first distiller to produce absinthe after the ban was lifted in in 2007.
For $10 we were able to sample their Eau de Vie (pear and raspberry), vodkas (straight, Buddha's hand [citron], Kaffir lime, and others), single malt whiskey (very good and so smooth), infused liqueurs (pear and raspberry, raspberry was like drinking jam--so delicious) and two other beverages they called Qi. For and extra $5 we also tasted the absinthe--the flavors cam through beautifully (anise, fennel and wormwood). Contrary to popular myth, absinthe is NOT poured over sugar cubes. The green-tan liquor is poured into a glass and then ice was added. When the alcohol content dropped and the beverage chilled, the clear liquor became cloudy as the oils settled out of solution. It was marvelous. I was also able to taste their "tequilas" they call Agua Azul.