Last Sunday, Hangar One/St. George Spirits (aka The Best Damn Booze Company Ever) held their annual Holiday Open House. My friend E and I headed over after an alcohol-absorbing brunch at Luka's, and as usual, I was floored by the generosity of this amazing group of artisans, and their partners in culinary crime.
A $25 ticket bought you a full tasting of all their assorted spirits, three drink tickets for highly inventive cocktails, PLUS all manner of delicious nibblings from local artisans.
Michael Recchiuti was there, sampling his Qi and St. George Whiskey chocolates. I adored the former, but really couldn't taste the whiskey in the latter. He was also doling out cups of hot chocolate spiked (if one chose) with either of the aforementioned spirits. I couldn't escape, of course, without a box of Fleur de Sel Caramels, which I proceeded to share with everyone I knew (and many I didn't).
Living Room Events supplied tasty tidbits, including charcuterie from Fatted Calf, prosciutto-wrapped arugula and itty-bitty "slider sandwiches" of roasted duck. And just in case Mr. Recchiutti's confections weren't enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, the good folks from Whiskie Bits Bakeshop were on hand to sample their fall flavors, including a few that were infused with the distillery's own goodness.
Soon after we arrived, we caught sight of the Mad Scientist, and headed on over to say hello. Who IS the Mad Scientist, you ask? His name is Lance Winters, and he's a former nuclear engineer. Now, he makes Really Good Vodka and other stuff.
From the last tasting I'd attended, I knew that he'd been working on a lighter version of the wildly successful Qi Liqueur. Back then, the idea was to infuse green tea and mint into a refreshing and crisp counterpoint to the original Qi. As nuclear-engineers-turned-craft-distillers are wont to do, that first batch was deemed "just not right", and has since morphed into something altogether more sensuous and spicy. I won't spill the beans here, but be on the lookout for this heady but easily sippable (and much more approachable) distillation from Qi Spirits.
Then, just before we left, he snuck out a glass of something crystal clear, something that smelled like... what IS that? Swirl, sniff, swirl, sniff...
"It's herbaceous... very clean. But seriously, man, what IS this??," I asked. He replied, "It's Christmas in a glass."
Turns out, Lance's neighbor brought him a bag full of fresh Douglas Fir pine needles. And Lance decided to distill them in Hangar One Straight. Like so many things, the moment he tells you what it is, you can smell it immediately. Seriously, who thinks to do stuff like this?
If he ever releases it (under the Alchemist Series -- he's still fine-tuning it), this Christmas vodka will attain cult status much like the Batch 1 bottling of Wasabi vodka did earlier this year. You've been warned.
Tags: Hangar One, St. George Spirits, Qi, Vodka, Liquor, Whiskey, Lance Winters, San Francisco, Alameda, Oakland, Food & Drink