Hangar 1 Straight Vodka

In 1982, Jrg Rupf laid the groundwork for the modern artisanal distillation movement when he founded St. George Spirits, situated in Alameda, California. Rupf had just emigrated to the United States from Germany, and was inspired by the spectacular quality of Californias vineyards and fruit orchards. Drawing upon his familys generations of experience the Rupf family had been distilling eau de vies in Germany for centuries Rupf purchased a 65-gallon Holstein copper-pot still and began distilling spirits in a 5,000 square-foot warehouse in northern California.Today, Hangar 1 Vodka is produced at a former airplane hangar adjacent to the Alameda Naval Air Station in California. Hangar 1 Straight Vodka is distilled from freshly-harvested Viognier grapes. "The Viognier is not an easy grape," says Rupf. Aside from having low and unpredictable yields, the Viognier grape can only be harvested when fully mature a window of only 24 to 48 hours. Once the grapes are harvested, they are pressed, fermented and distilled the same day through a copper pot still. By distilling the grapes almost immediately after they are harvested, "we capture in our still the fruit at its most thrilling moment." Following distillation, the vodka is blended with vodka made from Midwestern wheat in order to balance the bold, sweet notes of citrus, before each batch is bottled by hand. Hangar 1 Straight Vodka earned a score of 90-95 points from Wine Enthusiast.Each batch of Hangar 1 Vodka represents the "true expression of "from the tree into the bottle," says Rupf. Pick up your bottle today!