St. George Whiskey Single Malt Baller 750ml

THE SPIRIT St. George master distiller Lance Winters describes Baller as “a California take on the Japanese spin on Scotch whisky. ” What does that mean? Read on. . . THE PROCESS We start with 100% American barley (predominately two-row pale malted barley, the remainder is lightly roasted). After distillation in our eau de vie pot stills, the whiskey is aged 3-4 years in used bourbon casks and French oak wine casks, as well as filtered through maple charcoal. We then finish the whiskey in casks that had held house-made umeshu (a Japanese style of plum liqueur we made entirely from California-grown ume fruit). THE EXPERIENCE Crisp and dry, with a touch of malt sweetness. The smoky finish lingers and builds with each sip. We created this spirit with Japanese-style whiskey highballs in mind (hence the name. . . ). We also recommend it in place of Scotch whisky in a Bobby Burns or Rob Roy, or in a Boulevardier. Technical notes ABV: 47%
Other text Distiller Lance Winters did the art direction for the label, which re-imagines the legend of St. George as a samurai. The original watercolor on the front label was by Oakland artist Sylvia Solochek Walters, done to emulate woodcut. The calligraphy was done by Eri Takase of Takase Studios.
Producer Since St. George Spirits was founded in 1982, we’ve grown from a dedicated eau de vie distillery into a diverse operation that makes a range of craft spirits. Then: a bare-bones production facility with tasting tables jerry-rigged on sawhorses. Now: a 65,000-square-foot hangar with a spectacular tasting room, laboratory, and a lineup of the most beautiful copper stills in the industry. Then: a one-man operation. Now: a diverse team of individuals passionate about artisan spirits. It’s a lot to be proud of. But it didn’t happen overnight. We’ve grown slowly over the last 35 years, hiring one person at a time, adding one copper still at a time. We don’t have a marketing team or a big advertising budget. What we do have are passion, ideas, and access to superlative raw materials. The craft distillation movement has grown with us over the years, and we’ve been joined by hundreds of new distilleries across the country. As the landscape has changed, there’s been a lot of talk about established spirits brands vs. newcomers. Big brands vs. small brands. The way we see it, it’s not that small or big is better. It’s not that new or old is better. Better is better. And with that in mind, we have dedicated ourselves to making the best spirits we can. We’re passionate about distillation in all its forms, but we don’t release a spirit unless we feel we have something new and valid to contribute to the conversation. We want to be able to pick our spirits out of a lineup on smell and taste alone because they’re exceptional. We pledge to craft quintessential spirits to delight hedonists and genius bartenders alike-and when you taste our spirits, we hope that the character and quality of what’s in your glass will convey to you what we’re all about.