St. George Spirits

One of the joys of living along the Oakland Estuary is easy access to the old Alameda Naval Base whose hangars were repurposed decades ago into the home of now showcase distilleries, wineries, and microbreweries. And St George Spirits sits as one of the crowning gems of these establishments. I was first lured into the enormous, old hangar/headquarters of St George many years ago by their world famous absinthe. IYKYK. But this weekend I was on a mission to procure some coffee liquor for holiday White Russians. Sure, you could settle for kahlua. But then you would be missing all the amazing possibilities of coffee flavor mellowed by chicory in this New Orleans recipe. The coffee meets some high proof spirits and makes magic in every bottle. St George finishes this liquor to 25% ABV, so while it packs a punch, it's not so high powered as to prevent you from sipping it straight. As always, St George has a convenient bottle shop open adjacent to their tasting room. Service has never been problematic. Always friendly and fast. And if you make plans in advance online, you can still tour the facility where the spirits are distilled or find a slot in the tasting room. Back before the pandemic closed St George's tasting room for over a year, this place was the spot for sampling a sip of all the amazing offerings that rotate with the seasons or trying a spirit in some new, delicious cocktail. Their tasting room is slowly coming back from that period of dormancy, but I don't mind if it's a little quieter than it used to be. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Spirits Alley consists of artisan distilleries, breweries and tasting rooms at Alameda Point that were once historic buildings and hangars of the Old Naval Air Station. The area has become a popular destination for locals and tourists. Prior to a Bandaloop performance at Alameda Point, we registered for a tour and tasting at St George's Spirits. To accommodate the Bandaloop event, the tour and tasting experience was a shortened version of their standard tour. We started at the bar and were poured their Valley Gin. Then we were poured The Baller, their single malt whiskey and we were led to the distillery area and were given an introduction to the history of St. George's Spirits and of their distillery process. We then returned to the bar for a pour of the Spiced Pear Liqueur to end the tour and tasting experience. Since I'm not really a gin drinker, I preferred the Baller and the Spiced Pear Liqueur. A nice whiskey and liqueur. It was a nice experience, though abbreviated. I would probably be back for a full experience to see more of the production area and to taste more of their offerings.

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 before we really understood their closing time protocol, but a distillery rep has helped reassure me that how we were communicated with should not happen again in future visits. I appreciate the level of communication from the distillery rep, and her responsiveness to our experience.One thing visitors should know, which I don't think is apparent from their website (and which led to confusion and frustration on my part upon leaving)... When they say they close at 6:00 pm on Sunday, they actually mean that they close and lock their parking lot gate shortly after 6:00pm, so all visitors need to drive away by 6:00pm (or whatever the posted closing time is). If you have the last reservation time slot of the day, just be aware of that when you go in, and you should have a great time! If this is something that can be somehow communicated to visitors who have each day's final reservation time slot, then I'd easily edit this review to give them 5-stars.I look forward to going back, especially once the cocktail menu is switched up, so we can try out some of their other creative inventions!

Tour and tasting. This experience is really fun and worth it! You'll learn about how gin is made and how the brand evolved by the knowledgeable guide who gave us lots of cultural information and backstories. .We really enjoyed that the tasting took place in a separate room that was beautifully set up.

This is such a fun stop if you are in the area! We dropped in to do a tasting but ended up doing a taster menu instead. The service was friendly and everyone was very knowledgeable. You get great views here and it's definitely a fun date spot! There's also lots of seating both indoor and outside.

Made reservations online, St. George is located on an old naval base. What I enjoyed most about the testing is they gave you history about about each spirit and why it aaa made a particular way. We had a new employee who has been there for about 2 to 3 weeks, she was very knowledgeable and patient answered the questions and made sure our water was refilled the coffee liquor is a must and well as the pear brandy!! This is a very laid back distillery, everyone is super nice, I told the young lady how my BF was not going to make me breakfast tomorrow and I was right!! lol.

If you have ever wanted a store that had about every beverage in the world, alcoholic or not, this is your place. They even have things that stir, round ice cube makers, etc. You will be amazed. I guarantee you. I don't drink alcohol, but I left the store with a bottle of alcohol free Gin! Can you beat that?

Great tasting experience. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Enjoyed the diversity included in the tasting. Highly recommend!

We had scheduled a spirit tasting at St. George Spirits on a sunny Saturday. We arrived a little later, but they were friendly in helping accomodate our timing. The woman who guided us through the tasting menu was a great story teller, and was very engaged with our party of seven. We greatly enjoyed listening to her describe each of the drinks. Our surrounding was clean and industrial in feel, with glass doors allowing you to look through to the distillery rooms. The interior was neat and clean, with room for seating large gatherings of people. We greatly enjoyed out visit, and left with a few of our favorite St. George Spirits.

What a fun tour! Staff are friendly and extrememly knowledgeable.There is groundbreaking work being produced at St George Spririts. The history is great but the future looks even better. Come because of the Gin and leave with an appreciation for all things distilled. American Single Malt Whiskey, Valley Gin, Absinthe, just a few amazing products at this California gem of a distiller.