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Sarticious gin

I’m not a gin drinker, but after a taste of Santa Cruz-made Sarticious gin I think I’ll become one. The highly aromatic, spice-infused gin is good enough to drink straight up. The liquor is perfumed with flavors of coriander, juniper, cardamom, cinnamon, and other spices. It’s flat-out delicious. I can’t wait to make a martini with it.

As intriguing as the gin is, the man behind the booze is a piece of work, too. Jeff Alexander built the Los Gatos Brewery and later turned to wine making. He runs Alexander Cellars in the same space as his distillery. (His oaky, but non-buttery chardonnay and powerful zinfandel are great). He also put in time at Alameda’s St. George Spirits, makers of the revered Hangar One vodka. Intrigued with making spirits, and gently nudged out the door of St. George, he starting making his own liquor. I asked him what got him into the wine and spirits business and his answer was simple: “I like to drink.”

A visit to his winery/distillery is an antidote to every snobby wine tasting experience you’ve ever had. Instead of using flowery adjectives to describe his work, he swears like gangsta rapper with Turret’s syndrome. After he poured me a glass of his chardonnay he took a hit right out of the bottle. Rather than use a spit bucket to dump out extra wine or gin, his encouraged me to toss the contents of my glass on the concrete floor. He poured me brandy out of beaker with a broken wine glass base as a stopper. How can you not love a guy like that, specially when he make gin (and vodka, brandy and soon-to-be release absinthe!) this good?

Sarticious Distillery
427A Swift Street
Santa Cruz, CA

Sarticious Spirits is open for wine and gin tasting from noon-5pm, Friday-Sunday.