St. George Spirits

St. George Spirits is an independent American craft distillery based in Alameda, California. Founded in 1982 by Jörg Rupf, the company began as an eau de vie producer, making clear fruit brandies in a style associated with European distilling traditions. Its early identity was therefore different from that of a conventional American whiskey or vodka company: the emphasis was on aromatic fruit, careful fermentation, and distillation intended to preserve the character of the raw ingredient. A major transition came in 1996, when Rupf hired Lance Winters, a brewer and former nuclear scientist, as a distiller. Rupf and Winters subsequently began developing and aging a single malt whiskey in 1997. That whiskey was released commercially in 2000 and helped establish St. George as one of the American distilleries willing to work seriously with categories that were not yet central to the modern craft-spirits movement. The company later broadened its portfolio beyond eau de vie and whiskey to include gin, vodka, absinthe, liqueurs, rum-related projects, and other experimental products. In 2004, St. George moved to a 65,000-square-foot former aircraft hangar at the historic Alameda Naval Air Station. The facility gave the distillery room for larger-scale production while retaining an artisanal, hands-on identity. The site became closely associated with the brand’s Bay Area character and provided space for multiple stills, aging operations, blending, and product development. The company received particular attention in 2009 with the release of St. George Absinthe Verte. It was described as the first commercially available American absinthe released after the lifting of the federal prohibition on making the spirit. The product was the result of an unusually long development process, with the recipe reportedly refined for approximately eleven years before launch. Its release positioned St. George as a historically minded but experimental distiller and connected the brand to the revival of absinthe in the United States. Rupf retired as master distiller in 2010, leaving Winters as the leading technical and creative figure associated with the distillery. That year St. George sold its Hangar One Vodka line to Proximo Spirits. The transaction allowed St. George to concentrate on other projects while the Hangar One brand continued under new ownership and production arrangements. St. George subsequently focused on a more varied portfolio that included gin, liqueurs, malt whiskey, agricole rum, and the Breaking & Entering American whiskey line. The portfolio continued to evolve during the 2010s. The company introduced three new vodkas in 2015 and released Bruto Americano, a California interpretation of an Italian-style amaro, in 2016. Other products have included Terroir Gin, Botanivore Gin, Dry Rye Gin, Baller Single Malt Whiskey, fruit brandies, coffee and fruit liqueurs, California Shochu, and Aqua Perfecta Basil Eau de Vie. These products reflect a positioning built around unusual ingredients, category experimentation, and a willingness to reinterpret established spirits through a distinctly Californian lens. St. George has also developed an international distribution footprint. Maverick Drinks began distributing the brand in the United Kingdom in 2013, and by 2018 its products were reported as available through distributors in numerous markets across Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, and other regions. Despite this international reach, the company remains identified primarily with craft production in Alameda rather than with mass-market global spirits ownership. Its current brand proposition is a broad, exploratory range of distilled beverages made under the direction and influence of an experienced American distilling team.

St. George Spirits was established in 1982 in California by Jörg Rupf as a distillery specializing in eau de vie, the clear fruit brandies traditionally associated with Central European distilling. The company’s founding approach emphasized the transformation of fruit into concentrated, aromatic spirits rather than the production of a single mainstream liquor category. In 1996, Rupf hired Lance Winters, whose background included brewing and work as a nuclear scientist. Winters brought a technically oriented and experimental perspective to the distillery. The two began producing and aging a single malt whiskey in 1997, an important move for a young American craft distillery at a time when independent producers were increasingly exploring whiskey made outside the established Kentucky and Tennessee traditions. St. George released the whiskey in 2000. The company moved in 2004 to a 65,000-square-foot former airplane hangar at the Alameda Naval Air Station. The facility became the center of the distillery’s operations and supported an increasingly broad production program. St. George expanded into gin, vodka, liqueurs, absinthe, and other specialty spirits while retaining its original interest in fruit-based distillation. One of the company’s most prominent projects was St. George Absinthe Verte, released in December 2009. The product followed the lifting of the United States ban on making absinthe and was presented as the first commercially available American absinthe after that change. Development had reportedly begun roughly eleven years earlier, allowing the distillery to refine the recipe before the product could be sold commercially. Rupf retired as master distiller in 2010. In the same year, St. George sold its Hangar One Vodka line to Proximo Spirits. The sale marked a strategic shift: rather than continuing to center the business on its best-known vodka line, St. George directed more attention toward gin, liqueurs, malt whiskey, agricole rum, and the Breaking & Entering American whiskey project. Hangar One subsequently continued under Proximo’s control. International distribution expanded during the following decade. Maverick Drinks began distributing St. George products in the United Kingdom in 2013. By 2018, the brand was reported as distributed in a wide group of countries, including Canada, several European markets, China, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bermuda, and Panama. Product development remained central to the company’s identity. In 2015, St. George introduced three vodkas. In 2016, it released Bruto Americano, an amaro inspired by Italian bitter liqueurs but presented as a California interpretation. Other products in the portfolio have included Terroir Gin, Botanivore Gin, Dry Rye Gin, Dry Rye Reposado Gin, St. George Single Malt Whiskey, Baller Single Malt Whiskey, fruit brandies, fruit liqueurs, NOLA Coffee Liqueur, California Shochu, and Aqua Perfecta Basil Eau de Vie. The resulting portfolio spans traditional and experimental categories, reinforcing St. George’s position as a broad-based craft distiller rather than a single-product specialist.

• 2016

  Bruto Americano launched

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  St. George introduced Bruto Americano, its California-style amaro.

• 2015

  New vodka line introduced

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  The company released a new range of three vodkas.

• 2013

  United Kingdom distribution begins

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  Maverick Drinks began distributing St. George Spirits products in the United Kingdom.

• 2010

  Founder retires and Hangar One is sold

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  Jörg Rupf retired as master distiller, and St. George sold Hangar One Vodka to Proximo Spirits.

• 2009

  Absinthe Verte released

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  St. George launched Absinthe Verte following the end of the federal prohibition on making absinthe.

• 2004

  Move to Alameda hangar

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  The distillery moved into a 65,000-square-foot former aircraft hangar at the Alameda Naval Air Station.

• 2000

  First single malt whiskey released

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  St. George brought its single malt whiskey to market.

• 1997

  Single malt whiskey development begins

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  Rupf and Winters began distilling and aging the company’s single malt whiskey.

• 1996

  Lance Winters joins the company

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  Brewer and former nuclear scientist Lance Winters joined St. George as a distiller.

• 1982

  Distillery founded

  [1]St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org

  Jörg Rupf founded St. George Spirits in California as an eau de vie distillery.

An independent American craft distillery positioned around ingredient-driven experimentation, European-inspired distilling traditions, and reinterpretations of established spirits categories through a California lens.

• Gin

  Terroir Gin

  A botanical gin representing St. George’s ingredient-focused approach to distilling. It is one of the company’s core gin expressions and forms part of a portfolio that explores regional botanicals and different flavor structures.

• Gin

  Botanivore Gin

  A botanical-forward gin designed to emphasize a broad range of plant ingredients. It illustrates the distillery’s preference for layered, exploratory flavor profiles rather than a narrowly traditional London dry presentation.

• Gin

  Dry Rye Gin

  A gin made with rye as part of its base or flavor architecture. The expression connects whiskey-related grain character with gin botanicals and demonstrates St. George’s interest in crossing category boundaries.

• Gin

  Dry Rye Reposado Gin

  A reposado-style variation on the Dry Rye Gin concept. Its maturation-oriented presentation gives the gin range an additional point of distinction and reflects the company’s willingness to apply techniques associated with aged spirits to gin.

• Whiskey · 2000

  St. George Single Malt Whiskey

  The distillery’s foundational American single malt project. Development began in 1997 under Jörg Rupf and Lance Winters, with the first release arriving in 2000. It helped establish St. George as an experimental American whiskey producer.

• Whiskey

  Breaking & Entering American Whiskey

  An American whiskey line developed as part of St. George’s post-Hangar One portfolio. It represents the company’s continued interest in whiskey while allowing it to explore a style distinct from its single malt releases.

• Whiskey

  Baller Single Malt Whiskey

  A contemporary single malt expression in the St. George whiskey portfolio. It extends the distillery’s American single malt work with a separate identity from the original St. George Single Malt Whiskey.

• Vodka · 2015

  St. George All Purpose Vodka

  A vodka intended for general use in cocktails and mixed drinks. It forms part of the vodka range introduced after the sale of the Hangar One line to Proximo Spirits.

• Vodka · 2015

  St. George California Citrus Vodka

  A citrus-focused vodka that expresses the distillery’s California identity through a bright fruit profile. It is one of the flavored vodkas in the company’s later vodka range.

• Vodka · 2015

  St. George Green Chile Vodka

  A savory and spicy flavored vodka built around green chile character. The product exemplifies St. George’s preference for distinctive botanical and culinary flavor concepts.

• Absinthe · 2009

  St. George Absinthe Verte

  An absinthe released in 2009 after the end of the United States prohibition on making the spirit. Its long development period and historical timing made it one of St. George’s best-known products.

• Brandy · 1982

  Fruit Brandies

  A group of eau de vie and brandy products including pear, raspberry, and Reserve Apple expressions. Fruit brandy is central to the company’s original identity and remains an important link to its European-inspired beginnings.

• Liqueur

  Fruit Liqueurs

  Fruit-based liqueurs including raspberry and spiced pear expressions. These products extend the distillery’s fruit expertise into sweeter, cocktail-oriented formats.

• Liqueur

  NOLA Coffee Liqueur

  A coffee liqueur that broadens the portfolio beyond fruit, gin, and whiskey. It is designed for use in cocktails and other drinks requiring roasted coffee flavor.

• Amaro · 2016

  Bruto Americano

  A California interpretation of Italian-style amaro, launched in 2016. Bruto Americano brings bitter, aperitivo-oriented flavor traditions into St. George’s broader experimental portfolio.

• Shochu-style spirit

  St. George California Shochu

  A product inspired by Japanese shochu and adapted to the distillery’s American craft context. It reflects the company’s interest in international spirit traditions and category reinterpretation.

• Eau de vie

  Aqua Perfecta Basil Eau de Vie

  A basil-based eau de vie that demonstrates the distillery’s use of unusual botanical ingredients in clear, aromatic spirits. It extends the traditional eau de vie format beyond familiar orchard fruits.

• Vodka

  Hangar One Vodka

  A former St. George Spirits vodka line named after the Alameda hangar associated with the distillery. St. George sold the brand to Proximo Spirits in 2010, and it has since been produced under Proximo’s ownership.

• 2016

  Launch of Bruto AmericanoProduct launch

  Background

  The American craft-spirit market was increasingly exploring bitter aperitifs and amaro-style products rooted in European traditions.

  Action taken

  St. George introduced Bruto Americano as a California interpretation of Italian-style amaro.

  Aftermath

  The launch expanded the company’s presence beyond its established gin, whiskey, vodka, brandy, and liqueur categories.

  Source

• 2010

  Sale of Hangar One VodkaM&A

  Background

  Hangar One had become a prominent vodka line associated with St. George Spirits, but the distillery was also developing products across gin, whiskey, liqueurs, rum, and other categories.

  Action taken

  St. George Spirits sold the Hangar One Vodka line to Proximo Spirits and redirected its attention toward new and diversified craft-spirit projects.

  Aftermath

  Hangar One continued under Proximo’s ownership, while St. George concentrated on a broader portfolio of independently developed spirits.

  Source

1. 1St. George Spiritsen.wikipedia.org