I kicked off a busy few days of spirits events with Old World Spirits’ “Friday Flights” Tour and Tasting in Belmont.  I’ve been meaning to go for a couple of months now, but I finally made it this time.  Every last Friday of the month, they clear away some space, set up some tasting tables, and open their doors to the public for tastings.  For $10, you can try a flight of 5 spirits: an eau-de-vie, their Blade gin, an absinthe, a brandy and their walnut liqueur.

First of all, what a crazy venue!  OWS is located in the least likely place you’d expect to find a distillery.  I mean, you pull into what looks like a mini South-Bay-style office park, divided into little 900 sq.-ft. units.  You expect to see mini-offices, not distilleries.  And it’s not just Old World Spirits, there was an artisanal guitar maker right next door, and down at the end, there was a little micro-brewery that was having an event too.  It’s like a little craftsmen/artisan mecca, kind of like how bohemian artists would gather on certain streets in old Europe.  It reminded me of when I visited The Golden Lane in Prague, which was home to Franz Kafka and other writers, craftsmen and artists.

My second observation is that they make everything they have work very hard, and I mean that in the best sense.  Their distillery doubles as a tasting room when they have events.  Their “warehouse” is essentially a couple of nooks and corners where they’ve stacked barrels to the ceiling.  They make all their spirits in one relatively small pot still, which was actually distilling some absinthe on the night of the tasting.  I love that about this place — this all about people who have a passion for hand-crafted, artisanal spirits and they’re making it happen with the modest space and resources that they have.  This isn’t a big company with multiple, monster continuous skills that are pumping out hundreds of thousands of liters of spirits a year.

Knowing this about their operations makes their products shine even brighter.  Every product I tasted was bright, delicate and nicely-crafted.  The Indian blood peach eau-de-vie was light with subtle peach flavor, and was extremely smooth for being 80 proof.  The Blade gin was predominantly citrus-y and refreshing.   I could see myself sipping it on a warm, breezy summer afternoon with just a shaving of lemon zest.  The La Sorciere blue absinthe was also good — I tried it before adding water, and I liked the peppery-ness of it.  With water, it didn’t overpower with anise, which I liked.  The brandy was very easy to sip.  Finally, the black walnut liqueur was just trippy — walnuts on the nose, but scrumptious, rolling flavors of cinnamon, pumpkin pie and other holiday spices on the palate.

Unfortunately for me (fortunate for them), they were sold out of their Rusty Blade Gin (their Blade gin aged in French oak barrels and bottled at cask strength, 124 proof).  David Driscoll at K&L was so blown away by the Rusty Blade that he bought OWS’ remaining inventory, and then promptly sold out of it at K&L.  The good news is that they’ll be making it again in the near future.  They’re also working on a rye whiskey, which I’m ecstatic about.  I can’t wait to try it!

Overall, a fun experience and a unique chance to support a great local business that’s making some waves in the spirits industry.  If you’re visiting, I recommend arriving at 6 or 6:30.  At that time, it’s relatively empty and you’ll get to meet and chat with Davorin Kuchan, the master distiller (go Haas!).  After 7 pm, it gets progressively crazier and crowded.

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