Booze News

An Inside Look At Anchor Distilling Company

Anchor Distilling's rare Hotaling whiskey.
Anchor Distilling’s rare Hotaling whiskey. Photo: Anchor Distilling

The Bold Italics’ Laura Beck went on a tour of the hidden local gem, Anchor Distilling Company, which is “sandwiched between boxes and boxes of beer” inside the Anchor Brewery Company. The distillery makes three single malt straight rye whiskeys bottled under the name Old Potrero, which are pot-distilled in very small batches using the same process that George Washington used 200 years ago.

As Beck explains: “The 18th Century Style Whiskey is aged in lightly toasted oak barrels, which gives it an amber color and a smooth caramel flavor. The 19th Century Style Whiskey is aged in charred handmade oak barrels, which imparts a maple color and a rich, almost smoky taste.” The third whiskey is a rare and expensive variety named Hotaling after a whiskey from the early 1900s made by A.P. Hotaling & Co., which survived the 1906 earthquake and resulting fires, thanks to the dedicated employees who worked to save it.

Those looking to whet their palettes should head over to Anchor Distilling Company for their new weekly tours. You can also get on the (probably pretty long) waiting list for a bottle of Old Potrero at K&L; Wine Merchants, Ledgers Liquors in Berkeley, and Tower Market (rumor has it).

In Rye Spirits [The Bold Italic]

An Inside Look At Anchor Distilling Company