Old Harbor Gin

Situated in a nondescript warehouse in East Village San Diego, Old Harbor Distillery is breaking the mould. In a city where craft beer is king, they decided to make spirits. They make three delicious spirits in total – gin, navy strength rum and a cold press coffee liquor.The_still_in_all_its_glory.jpg

The guys behind old Habor, Michael Skubic and Ricky Warner, where kind enough to let us visit the distillery & taste their gin.

The set up they have really is very modern. The 1000 litre hybrid still, called Belafonte, can be controlled remotely via computer, with head distiller Ricky boasting that he could even control it while sitting on the beach!

San Miguel – South Western Gin

E0BEA3E4-D26E-4412-BE0A-116DE7F45456Their flagship gin is called “San Miguel – South Western Gin” & is a tribute to San Diego’s History. Made using a neutral grain spirit, this is a Plymouth style gin bottled at 47%. Plymouth style meaning that earthy flavours with a less pronounced juniper flavour than a traditional London dry.

All the botanicals are locally grown & are a tribute to Mexican flavours. They include lime, cucumber, cilantro, sage & Juniper… throw in some refried beans & chicken & you have some great tasting tacos!

So, is it any good

Well we thought so…When you first taste this gin you get a big hit of cilantro but as it develops you can pick out the flavours of lime, Sage and that all important juniper. This gin is spicy, bright, juicy & full of lots of lovely herbal notes. We only had time to try the gin neat but can imagine it would work well in a G&T & pair nicely with Mexican food of course!

Big thanks goes out to Michael & Ricky for showing us around & letting us try their gin.

If you want to find out more check out their website here & facebook, instagram & twitter

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