California Gold

I worked my ass off today. I worked so goddamn hard that instead of feeling tired, I feel exhilarated (especially after pounding a few pints at the local cantina and watching my Giants knock off DC in 18 innings). This was a hellish week, but I'm going to reward myself by getting the hell out of Dodge and taking a weekend away from this stress.

Monday, however, I'll be making my first visit to an iconic Californian distillery; one of the early pioneers of microdistillation. Of course, you've got Fritz Maytag and Anchor with the whole colonial inspiration. Then there's Jorg Ropf and St. George with the German fruit distillates. But there's another pair of California distillers who took French Cognac philosophy and applied it to the bountiful fruit of the West Coast's most incredible vineyards. They're somewhat overlooked in the early foundations of this important local history.

Ansley Coale of Germain-Robin is getting ready to release some of the oldest and most-incredible brandies that he and Hubert created in the early 1980s and he's invited me up to taste through these blends. I think it will be quite an experience and I look forward to our appointment this Monday. There's a ton of gold in those Ukiah mountains. There's gold in them thar hills.

-David Driscoll