St George Whiskey

St. George Single Malt Whiskey is an American original: distilled, aged, blended, and bottled by us out of love for what a handcrafted single malt can be.

If you've tried any other St. George distillate, you owe it to yourself to taste the spirit that compelled master distiller Lance Winters to start distilling in the first place. (If you can get your hands on a bottle, that is.)

1001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die says our whiskey "might just be the best U.S. single malt available today"—and by George, we agree.

Before starting at St. George in 1996, Lance had spent five years working as a brewer. When he realized that brewing beer was halfway to distilling whiskey, he turned in his brewer's card and dedicated himself to the art and craft of distillation.

Lance's brewing background strongly informed our whiskey's mash bill—using various roast levels of two-row barley to elicit rich aromas of hazelnut and cocoa, and smoking a portion of unroasted barley over beech and alder wood to add base notes and additional complexity.

The resulting whiskey is expressive and inviting right off the still, but a variety of cooperage types (used bourbon casks, French oak, port barrels, and sherry barrels) contribute an even greater depth of flavor—creating a layered single malt with a signature all its own.

Each release of St. George Single Malt Whiskey varies a little since we're able to draw from older barrels with every new bottling. The goal, though, is to increase expressiveness and flavor with every release—while staying true to our whiskey's signature. In recent years, distiller/blender Dave Smith has become the chief custodian for our whiskey program, and it is his palate that now guides its evolution.

Driven by a fruit-forward, floral nose and the classic cocoa and roasted nut flavors that form our single malt's core identity, Lot 13 is an elegant, nuanced expression of single malt. On the nose, honeysuckle leads into yeasty ale and rich Mexican hot chocolate (this will show up again on the palate). Plum and fruit leather are intensely present as well, but will fade out into golden raisins and apricots with time. Upon first sips, pale ale leads into cocoa powder and Mexican chocolate (think cinnamon and chile flakes). Ripe nectarine, greengage plum, lemon, and honey show in subsequent sips. With time, you'll find roasted peanuts, hazelnut, and honeydew, as well as guava in the long breath out.