St. George

At first, Rupf’s focus lied on the production of fruit distillates after the German role-model. In his first years, he produced and sold them quite successfully. Work on a Single Malt began as early as 1996, although at that time the category 'American Single Malt' did not yet officially exist. Master Distiller Lance Winters had previously worked as a brewer and used his experience to put together the mash bill for the St. George Single Malt from barley with different roasting levels. The more strongly roasted grain contributes flavours of hazelnut and cocoa, while a portion of unroasted barley adds notes of beech and alder. The first batch or 'lot' was bottled in 2000, followed by many more editions over the years. They experimented with different ages, from four to 22 years, as well as different cask maturations, such as used Kentucky Bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey casks, Brandy, Rum or Sauternes casks.

The Baller Single Malt, on the other hand, is Japanese-inspired. Made from 100% American barley, it is distilled in fruit stills and then matured in former Bourbon barrels as well as French Wine casks. After the first ageing, the Malt is filtered through a layer of maple charcoal. It then receives an additional finish in casks, in which the Japanese plum liqueur Umeshu was previously stored. This is produced in the distillery itself from ume fruit, a type of Japanese apricot, harvested in California.

Two Whiskeys were bottled under the name B&E (Breaking & Entering): B&E Bourbon, a blend of different Bourbons, and B&E American Whiskey, a blend of Bourbon and Rye. Not all the spirits come from the company's own distillery, which is why the Whiskey was deliberately given this name: They 'steal' spirits from other producers, so to speak. 

St. George produces two classic Gins - Botanivore Gin and Terroir Gin - and two rye-based ones - Dry Rye Gin and Dry Rye Reposado Gin. Terroir Gin captures the terroir, or taste, of California. To achieve this, pine needles and sage are distilled separately with the Gin, while bay and juniper berries contribute their flavour in the aroma basket. The name Botanivore is derived from the term 'carnivore' (meat eater). For the downright 'botanical eater', juniper and bay berries as well as fresh coriander are placed in the aroma basket, while the remaining 16 botanicals soak overnight in the copper pot still: including citrus peel, star anise, fennel, cardamom and cinnamon. The next morning, everything is slowly distilled into an aromatic Gin.

For the two Rye Gins, a rye distillate serves as the base spirit. The botanicals for the Dry Rye Gin are, besides 50% juniper berries, black pepper, caraway, coriander, grapefruit and lime peel, the selection being intended to emphasise the peppery aroma of the main ingredient, juniper. The Dry Rye Reposado Gin is the cask-aged bottling of the Dry Rye Gin. For this, the Gin made from the six botanicals is matured in Wine casks made of French and American oak, which previously contained Grenache Rosé, Syrah and Tannat.

Dave Smith distils all the Gins in a 1,500-litre copper pot still. The Reposado Gin is then matured in Wine casks at Blacksmith Cellars, the winery run by his brother Matt Smith. 

German Jörg Rupf founded the small distillery in 1982 and initially ran it on his own. At that time, he was new to the United States, having come to the country as Germany's youngest judge on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. Rupf comes from a distillery family in the Black Forest and therefore already had experience in distilling and making spirits. In a small 250-litre Holstein pot still, he first began making spirits from pears, raspberries, cherries and kiwis - a novelty in the USA back in the day. The products were well received, however, and even rivalled those from Austria in competitions. In 1997, after many years of experimentation, Rupf, in collaboration with his new distiller Lance Winters, was able to put the first Single Malt Whiskey of his own into the cask. In 2000, the Malt was launched on the market, although it was not well received at first. However, the math eventually worked out and in 2004 they moved to a larger location, a 6,000 square metre aircraft hangar.

Over the years, Rupf also took many other aspiring distillers under his wing. With their cooperation, numerous spirits were created, including Absinthe, Agave Schnapps and Rum. In 2010, Rupf finally retired and left the distilling at St. George to distillers Lance Winters and Dave Smith. A year later, the St. George Gins Botanivore and Terroir as well as the first Breaking & Entering Whiskey were bottled in 2011, followed by further Gins, Rums and Liqueurs.