Old World Spirits

You've probably seen Blade Gin or Rusty Blade Gin around the Bay. These two gins (and more) are produced by Old World Spirits which operates out of a garage in an industrial park in Belmont.Don't judge just because it's an industrial park, this place is a tight, efficient operation and makes great use of it's space. It's got a huge copper still that makes everything from gin to rye whiskey to brandies to absinthe.On Friday nights you can get a tour and tasting for $15. Because of California law, spirits cannot be sold at the distillery, except wine/grape based brandies.The Blade gin is a citrusy gin with a lot of complexity but not much strong juniper flavor that turns most people off. The Rusty Blade is the same Blade gin that is aged in barrels which brings out more cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. It's very much a winter spirit in my opinion. The pear eau de vie brandy really packs a punch with a lot of great pear flavor and though I'm not really a fan of eau de vies this one is a great one. Also, make sure you try the walnut liqueur, based on a Croatian family recipe, for something different. Finally, yes, absinthe, real absinthe, is now legal in the US and you can taste La Sorcière here. It's a great traditional absinthe with a lot of anise flavor.The distiller who gave us the tour and the tasting was really nice and knowledgable. It was a great experience and I encourage everyone to visit once.

Our group had a reservation for my friend's bachelor party. My friend who organized the whiskey tasting paid and confirmed the appointment with them. The day of, they simply never showed up. Can you imagine showing up, pumped about your friend's bachelor party, and then the shitty feeling that follows because this place was too unprofessional to get their shit together? My friend contacted the manager Davorion, who at first was accommodating and offered us a free tasting to make up for their mistake. Told us they had us down for Saturday, not Friday. Then suddenly he got back to her a few days later, said that she had never paid and there was no confirmation. Funny, then why did they have us down for Saturday if they had no confirmation. My friend sent him a screenshot of THEIR confirmation email for the Friday appointment, so he went back to saying he'd give us a free tasting.Well, it's been weeks now and he won't respond to our emails to set up the appointment. Lousy customer service, they don't deserve anyone's business.

I love trying Distillery's as they are creating great new spirits. Per the website for Old World Spirits you had to make a reservation and pay $16 a per person for a tour and tasting. We arrived a little early for our "tour". There was a large group of people there for a tasting so we were told to join the current group. There was no tour, just a tasting. John (I believe that was his name) was a bit overwhelmed with the large group of people. He was there by himself. He was great with our group and answered our questions about the different spirits we tried. The gin was decent (I enjoy Bourbon/Whiskey more but enjoyed trying the absinthe. The tasting area is pretty small so can't hold too many people all at once. Met some nice people while tasting. Not sure about paying $16 to taste since there was no tour but John did a great job with dealing with our group and another large group that was coming in after us.

In order for you to enjoy a tasting here, you need to enjoy straight liquor old school style. Seeing that I drink just about the peatiest Scotches out of Islay, this was no issue for me. For some of my friends, not so much :)Tried the following:-Pear Brandy- 2 different Peach Brandies-Blade Gin-2 Absinthe-Framboise liquor-126 Proof Brandynow the last two weren't on the flight list but the owners were such nice guys that they started pulling stuff out of the reserves to entertain us. That is good hospitality. I suggest you patronize them on the service alone and it's nice that they make some solid products to boot. The crowd was much rowdier than I had expected but then I realized that Devil's Canyon event happened at the same time so I'm sure you're getting some of that crowd too. Though I guess it was interesting and good people watching to see what is normally straight, boring Belmont turn into a raucous party.

A Local Distillery up the road from our LoveNest? Awesome. We love bringing our friends in to do tastings on the last Friday of each month! It's $15 for a flight and you get a personalized group tour through each spirit. If it weren't for tasting 6 types of their 94 proof on avg spirits I'm sure I could tell you the names of the guys we had the pleasure of meeting! haha We met the creator of all the fine spirits! He was very laid back and eager to tell us about the processes and flavors he added to his unique creations. Blade Gin was my gateway into being a Gin Lover. I love Blade chilled with a touch of zest of lemon. Another interesting Gin we got to try is his new AGED Gin called Rusty Blade. It's an amber color and tastes like Christmas in a glass! It most certainly warms you from the inside out. I had to shake my head pretty hard to get back to reality after that one. The Absinthe is another wonderful and favored experience. If you're nice they will even let you FAIRIE up your own glass. I love watching my Faeries clouding up the glass. Then that special touch of Lemon Zest again and I'm on Cloud 9. We bought a few bottles this time to give as festive Christmas gifts. Our guests even surprised us with a bottle of Blade (SNEAKY THEY ARE!!) that night when we got back to our place. Apparently I had raved enough about it that they just knew it would make a great host gift as Thankyou for their stay with us over the Holiday weekend. We love going here and will certainly return again over and over. I've never stopped in on a Saturday, but I just might have to check it out. Perhaps the VIP service I already feel like we get there when it's crowded might just put the experience right over the top? Old World Spirits can enter my temple anytime...

I like gin, and generally have a gin and tonic on occasion. But the Rusty Blade gin is a nice sipping gin with some wonderful flavors from the cask it was stored in (yes, this is an unusual process). And their absinthe rocks too.They have tastings on Fridays that you can go to if you schedule this in advance. It is a very cozy distillery (but what else would you expect in BELMONT). And if you taste a little too much there is a nice/casual mexican restaurant across the street--before you hop in your car. How convenient.And by the way, making a reservation before you come is a very good idea, particularly if you are going out of your way to get here.

It looks like a small warehouse. Not really where you would expect a tasting room. I only got to try the Pear brandy, Walnut liqueur, clear Absinthe and Blade gin. 4 different kinds of alcohol, I wonder why the reviews said they got to try more. I was hoping I can get something new for my mixing experiments but I think they only pull out more products if you're female or something. The pours were around 1 ounce, it didn't take more than 15 minutes for the entire tasting and there was only one couple doing the tasting.The only reason I was there is to try out Blade gin anyway for mixing and it is quite fragrant with the scent of citrus oils, peels and definitely a good substitute for gin based drinks since a lot of people don't go for the juniper heavy gin. Kind of a bummer since they don't sell this here due to some constraints. I'll stick to Hendricks gin. I hope they have more products for tastings in the future, other than that, I don't see a reason to go here when you have bigger venues and more products in places like St George Spirits in Alameda.

I visited the distillery in a rainy Friday and had a "private" tasting with a friend. Lots of love are put In the making of these spirits and the Rusty Blade gin tastes like nothing I've had before. Great for sipping or in a cocktail.

I was introduced to this place by some friends, and we decided to try one of their Friday tastings -- I'm glad I went!We did the flight which included five different tasting, including a pear brandy, their Blade brand gin, a clear absinthe, and a walnut liqueur.I ended up buying a bottle of the pear brandy to diversify my drinks at home a bit, and the owner/master distiller was kind enough to autograph the bottle for me -- very cool! The place is run by family/friends, and it definitely shows through in their excellent service and hospitality. It's also super cool that they source local ingredients for all their spirits.The staff was very courteous, explained each of the drinks, and were generous with the pours. We also got to try a few things not on the tasting menu, including a cocktail containing the walnut liqueur and a brandy, as well as the 'regular' (non clear) absinthe. I preferred the normal absinthe to the clear -- it had a lot more anise flavor. The clear is still good though, especially if you aren't a fan of the strong herbal flavor usually found in absinthe.Overall, just a fantastic place to meet up and hang out at after a long day at work. I was really impressed with the experience and can't wait to go back again!

Tucked away in an industrial complex in Belmont you will find "Old World Spirits". It's not really well known, but the complex itself has slowly been taken over by various beverage companies.... Devils Canyon- Plenty of Yelp Reviews on them- The best beer around! Golden Star Tea Company (You can get it at whole foods) - No retail or tasting shop, but it is made here.. I've tried it a few times... Tasty Mayfield Brewing Company- They do a thing where they age their beer in wine barrels for a very unique taste. And most recently, Old World Spirits... The last Beer Friday at Devil's Canyon, I walked over and was introduced to the folks at Old World Spirits. What a great group of people! Not knowing much about how to distill various spirits, they not only provided a tasting of their various products, but educated me on how its made and the various nuances of their products. It appears they are still getting off the ground as a new company, but I'm sure they will start to show up at your local bar and retailer. The next time your at Beer Friday, walk on over and get to know the folks at Old World Spirits.... Their Absinthe (sp) is good stuff!