We're back in the distillery after an amazing week in Denver, hosted by the American Distilling Institute. Ashby and Timo have been attending this annual conference of artisan distillers from across the nation for the past several years, and are amazed to see how much the community has grown. As a first-timer, I was incredibly inspired by the passion and commitment of so many people across the country who make handcrafted spirits.

A big thank you to everyone we met who was interested in hearing our story and were willing to share theirs. The microdistilling industry is filled with some brilliant and very talented people, and we look forward to visiting you all in your home states - come visit us, too!

As we gear up to bottle our first gin in these next few weeks, here’s a look at how we make our spirits by hand - batch by batch, grain to glass.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about the pending arrival of our still. Timo and I have spent a long time thinking about it and focusing on the minute details of its design.

Our copper pot/hybrid still was handmade by CARL Distilleries, Germany’s oldest still producers and a small, family-run business since 1869. It will be absolutely stunning--but the practical side of making great spirits is what we’re really after. We've designed something that combines a very traditional style with modern engineering, which will allow us to produce spirits with exceptional precision and control.

Our still is referred to as a hybrid because of the different ways in which we can configure it, allowing us to distill using multiple techniques. It’s made up essentially of an 800 liter copper pot still (the main chamber) and has two columns set up along side it called rectifying columns. The first, shorter column has 5 rectification plates and the second column has 21 rectification plates (and is 28 feet high!) forcing the alcohol to higher and higher proof as it travels through each successive plate, allowing us to create a neutral spirit at just over 95% abv. This spirit will be the base of our gin.

Traditionally, gin stills were often made from re-appropriated, old whiskey stills. We’ve designed ours based a lot on this history and its undeniable results. One of the more obvious whiskey-like features we’ve added is the style of neck. It’s called a swan’s neck and it allows the spirit vapor to touch more surface of the copper as it leaves the pot, creating the amount of reflux we’re after. We’ll also be able to hang a basket off a specially designed hook inside the lower half of the neck, so that some of the botanicals we add to the gin only touch vapor, while the rest are infused directly into the alcohol in the still. This will allow us a special level of control, ensuring that we distill what we intend to be the crown jewel of handmade gins.  

We won’t have whiskey available for a few years because it needs time to mature in barrels. But during these next couple of years, our still will be working hard to make that, too. This process is a little less complicated than gin, but again, the design of the still allows us to configure it in such a way that production will be very precise.

In the meantime, the pictures below show our pot kettle and part of one of the columns at the factory in Germany—your first glimpse at what will soon be the center of our distillery! The line drawing above is a simple schematic of the still. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

-- Ashby

(Above: rectifying column parts)

   Pretty much every time Ashby and I get to hang out with friends, we tend to get asked "where's the gin?". We've been working on getting to that stage for three years now, so the question makes sense. The answer is quite complicated really, but we're feeling very positive about our progress. It has to do with several factors which, honestly, often feels a bit like we're juggling ferrets. Currently, we are working on our building permit process, the build-out phase (any modifications that need to happen to our building), our Federal Distillery license, finalizing our bottle design (which is way too exciting), waiting to receive our hybrid pot/rectification still (being built for us in Germany), tracking down the rest of the equipment we are going to need from day one, and learning to play the banjo. At the same time, we are focusing on raw material suppliers, insurance, taxes and accounting, sample room design, steam boiler permits,  transport, Romy (our inimitable marketing guru, although quite a handful) and making sure we keep our fingers on the pulse of the cocktail scene on the west coast while we are at it. I love it. If all this comes together appropriately, we should start being able to finalize our product development in early autumn, to ensure we are hitting the right notes with our new equipment and then finally, we should have some bottles on the shelf by the end of the year. So. Where's the gin? It'll be available in a few months time. I promise. And it will be well worth the wait.  - Timo

       Hello and welcome to the making of Spirit Works Distillery! We’re a small family run business, working to set up what we plan to be one of the best craft distilleries in the country. Our family consists of Timo, Ashby, and most importantly, Bandit—probably the cutest Boston Terrier in the world.

We’re incredibly excited to have you join us through this process, as we begin building our distillery and eventually bottle our first spirits early next year. We’re starting this blog so you can join in on the adventure, every step of the way.

Before this journey began, we spent 10+ years working together at various environmental non-profits and this experience has fueled our passion to create a product made with great care and attention to detail. All of our spirits will be made in the 'grain to glass' method: we’ll start with organic California whole grain and then mill, mash, ferment, distill, and finally bottle—entirely on-site by hand. This unique process allows us to ensure that our spirits reflect the truly delicious characteristics of the grain, and we know you'll be pleasantly surprised by the difference between our spirits and big name brands.

Over the last 3 years, we’ve traveled around the US, studying and apprenticing at various different microdistilleries, honing our distilling skills, recipes, and even designing our very own handcrafted still. Most recently, we’ve spent the last 9 months seeking out the perfect location to establish ourselves, and we’re happy to announce that we are only a few months away from moving into our distillery site, right in the heart of Sonoma County. We're very excited to get started in Sebastopol, a funky little town with a great community and yet smack in the middle of wine country—really the perfect combination for us!  

We hope to have our first gin released by the end of the year and we will be putting as much whiskey down to rest in barrels as we can, so that in a few years time you'll be able to enjoy that, too. We hope that you’ll subscribe to this blog to get the latest news from us, as we begin building out our space, installing our equipment, and finally distilling spirits for you to come in and sample. We look forward to sharing our story, and our passion for great independent spirits, with you for many years to come. 

- Ashby, Timo, and Bandit