St. George Spirits

Alameda, CA · $$

Inebrious

Beverage Program Score

Editorial review: 2026-08-18

Editor: Micah Rousey

How we score

The editorial take

St. George Spirits is the East Bay distillery that helped invent American craft distillation, founded in 1982 by Jörg Rupf and run today with master distiller Lance Winters and head distiller Dave Smith from its Alameda home on the bay. What you're really here for is the tasting room and bottle shop, where the whole current lineup is on offer: the three flagship gins (the 19-botanical Botanivore, the forest-and-bay Terroir, and Valley), the American single malt whiskey in its annual Lot series with Lot 25 on pour at 43% ABV, the umeshu-finished Baller single malt at 47% and a 40th Anniversary Edition, spiced pear and NOLA coffee liqueurs, all-purpose, California citrus and green chile vodkas, pear and apple brandies, and a mixellany shelf that includes the still-iconic 60% Absinthe Verte — the first legal American absinthe after the 2007 ban lifted — and the bitter, ruby-red Bruto Americano. Summer hours run Wednesday through Friday 2-6pm and weekend afternoons noon-6pm, tastings and tours by reservation with walk-ins when space allows, and everything distilled on site is sold at the door.

What should I order?: Begin with a tasting or tour rather than guessing at a single bottle, since at a working distillery the pour of the moment is the one being made in the room. A structured tasting should let you work across the house: start with the clear spirits (All Purpose or California Citrus vodka) to calibrate your palate, move through the gins with Botanivore as the reference and Terroir as the wild-card, then the single malts, where the lot 25 is the house statement and Baller shows the signature umeshu finish. If you're chasing something more collectible, check the bottle shop for the 40th Anniversary Edition or the pear and apple brandies, and if you're a fan of anise, close with a small pour of Absinthe Verte served the way the distillery recommends — over a single large ice cube.
Who will enjoy this place?: People who want to taste America's craft-distilling history in one room: the gin curious, single-malt collectors chasing the annual Lot releases, absinthe devotees who remember when St. George was the name on the first legal American bottle after the 2007 repeal, and cocktail home-builders stocking a working bar with vodka, gin, whiskey, brandy, coffee and pear liqueurs and a bitter aperitivo all from one cellar. It's also for the visitor who prefers the closer, more personal feel of a distillery tasting room and bottle shop over a crowded cocktail bar.
When should I go?: Go on a weekend afternoon (noon-6pm) or a weekday late afternoon (Wednesday-Friday 2-6pm) when the tasting room and bottle shop are open under the current summer hours. Because tastings and tours are reservation-based, with walk-ins accepted only when space and staffing allow, book ahead to guarantee a seat on the day you want, especially on a sunny Saturday when the room fills. Early in the window tends to be quieter for talking through the pours; later gets livelier as the room hits its stride. Any time is a good time to walk out with bottles to go.
What should I expect to spend?: The distillery's visit page keeps the tasting and tour booking fee unpublished — tastings and tours are reserved directly, so the exact per-person price is whatever the booking page shows when you reserve. Bottle-shop and online-store retail are set per spirit on the site's shop and at the door, and they vary by expression: the standard gins, vodkas, Absinthe Verte and Bruto Americano sit in the everyday craft-spirits range, while the single-malt Lots, Baller, the 40th Anniversary Edition and the brandies run higher. In practice a tasting plus a bottle or two lands mid-range for the category. Confirm the tasting fee at reservation, since no per-flight dollar figure is published on the visit page.
What makes the beverage program distinctive?: One of the original American craft distilleries, founded by Jörg Rupf in 1982 and now run with master distiller Lance Winters (a Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame inductee) and head distiller Dave Smith, St. George built its reputation on the eau de vie ethos of starting with the best raw fruit and botanicals — a philosophy that produced landmark spirits like the first legal American absinthe after the 2007 repeal, the annual single-malt Lot series first laid down in 1997, and a gin range built around the juniper-forward, 19-botanical Botanivore. It stands apart because a single visit can tour the working distillery and taste across nearly the whole five-family lineup — gin, whiskey, vodka, liqueur, brandy and a bar-savvy mixellany shelf — then buy bottles at the door to prove what you just tasted.

Beverage categories

We only score what a venue sets out to do. Categories a venue doesn't attempt are left unscored rather than penalized.

Spirits

A category-defining American distillery tasting room covering all five spirit families — three flagship gins including the 19-botanical Botanivore, an American single malt in an annual Lot series plus the umeshu-finished Baller and a 40th Anniversary Edition, all-purpose, California citrus and green chile vodkas, spiced pear and NOLA coffee liqueurs, pear and apple brandies, and a mixellany shelf with the 60% Absinthe Verte and the bitter Bruto Americano — poured in a reservation-based tasting room and sold at the on-site bottle shop.

Menu strengths

— A genuinely historic American craft distillery (founded 1982) whose tasting room and bottle shop serve nearly its whole working portfolio, from the flagship gins through the annual single-malt Lot series
— Landmark spirits in the lineup itself: the first legal American absinthe after the 2007 repeal (Absinthe Verte, 60% ABV), the umeshu-finished Baller single malt (47%), and the 19-botanical Botanivore gin
— A coherent eau-de-vie philosophy carried across five spirit families by a renowned maker team (founder Jörg Rupf, master distiller Lance Winters, head distiller Dave Smith), with everything available to buy at the on-site bottle shop

Standout selections

— Lot 25 — St. George American Single Malt Whiskey, the current annual Lot release at 43% ABV, blended by head distiller Dave Smith as the house single-malt statement
— Baller American Single Malt — 47% ABV, aged at least four years and finished in house-made umeshu casks for a tropical, sherry-like character
— Absinthe Verte — 60% ABV, the first legal American absinthe after the 2007 repeal, built on wormwood, fennel and star anise with a secondary herbal infusion
— Botanivore Gin — 45% ABV, the juniper-forward 19-botanical flagship (angelica, bay laurel, bergamot, Malabar pepper, cilantro, cardamom, star anise and more)
— Bruto Americano — 24% ABV bitter aperitivo built around gentian, California Seville orange, balsam fir and cascara, naturally ruby-red from cochineal

Pricing: Tastings and tours are reservation-based with the per-person fee itemized at booking rather than published on the visit page; bottle-shop and online-store retail are set per spirit (the standard gins, vodkas, Absinthe Verte and Bruto Americano in the everyday craft-spirits range, with the single-malt Lots, Baller, the 40th Anniversary Edition and the brandies and liqueurs priced higher).

How it sits with the food

A distillery tasting room is about the spirit first, so treat food as an accent rather than a course. The clean gins and the all-purpose and citrus vodkas are the most versatile with light, salty, pickled or herbal snacks; Terroir's forest-and-bay character wants something grassy or charred; the single malts, especially the umeshu-finished Baller, reward little more than a few nuts or a piece of dark chocolate so the fruit comes through; and Absinthe Verte is best left to stand alone rather than pushed against a dish. If you're building cocktails at home, the brandies and the NOLA Coffee liqueur pair most naturally with rich, espresso-forward pours.

Inebrious does not score kitchens, food or the restaurant overall. We review the beverage program only.

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