Spirit Works Aquavit
Sebastopol, California, USA
Spirit Works Aquavit was a small-batch aquavit produced by Spirit Works Distillery in Sebastopol, California. It was developed by Head Distiller Lauren Patz, who was inspired by a dense rye bread with caraway seeds from a local bakery. The combination of rye, caraway and the savoury-sweet character of the bread sparked the idea of creating an aquavit at the distillery.
The spirit was made from 100% rye. The rye was fermented and distilled at Spirit Works into a rye spirit, which was also released separately as rye vodka. For the aquavit, the rye spirit was transformed into a distinctly caraway-driven spirit in the Scandinavian tradition.
The first release in April 2018 consisted of three 375 ml batches of barrel-aged Aquavit. This release came out in 2020 at 45% ABV (90 proof). It was bottled in a 750 ml bottle as a Tasting Room Exclusive, released as Batch No. 001, and received a Silver Medal at the 2020 American Craft Spirits Association judging.
Aquavit remained one of Spirit Works’ more experimental spirits rather than a core year-round product. The distillery also featured it in cocktails, including the Force Choke, made with aquavit, pineapple juice, pomegranate juice, lime juice, orgeat syrup and orange bitters.
Bottle gallery
About the producer
Spirit Works Distilling
Sebastopol, California, USA
Spirit Works Distilling was founded in 2012 by husband and wife Timo and Ashby Marshall in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California. The distillery was built around a grain-to-glass approach, with the Marshalls producing their own base spirits from grain rather than buying neutral spirit.
The distillery’s main grain has been California red winter wheat sourced from the Sacramento area. The grain is milled, mashed and fermented on site before distillation. Spirit Works uses an 800-litre Carl hybrid pot still equipped with two rectifying columns. The longer 21-plate column can produce neutral spirit above 95% ABV, while the shorter five-plate column and pot are used for other distillation work.
The original range included vodka, gin and sloe gin, later expanding to wheat and rye whiskey, bourbon, barrel-aged gin and other small-batch spirits. The distillery’s approach also included organic grains and on-site processing as part of its grain-to-glass production model.
In 2020, Spirit Works was named Distillery of the Year by the American Distilling Institute. The award recognised the distillery’s spirits as well as its contribution to the American craft-distilling community.
Spirit Works operated a tasting room at The Barlow in Sebastopol for many years. The tasting room later closed, while the distillery continued its spirits business. The current Spirit Works website remains active and presents the company as a Sonoma County spirits producer.
