The Unfortunate Closing of Hanger 1 Distillery

Hanger 1 Distillery originally was built inside hanger 1 on Alameda Island, a remnant of WWII’s Alameda Naval Air Station. Then it moved to its current location next door. But now, it is in the process of closing its public facing functions on 18 December 2022, and moving to an undisclosed bay area distillery site. So if you can, visit this wonderful site before it goes. Here is our experience of one of the last tours.

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Alameda Air Force Base + Hangers

My spouse had read an article about Hanger 1 Distillery closing down in December, and noticed that they offered tours. “Have you written about a distillery yet?” I was asked. My answer was no, so next thing I knew we had a tour scheduled.

On that day, we drove to a part of Alameda Island we had not gone to before, out on the point. While locating the hangers was easy enough, we were turning all over the place in the parking lot wowed by the view and trying to get the right picture view. Out beyond the obvious fence line, visible while in the parking lot or on Hanger 1’s outdoor patio, there exists an emergency landing strip (as back up for nearby airports), and an area set aside for a specially protected bird.

• AlamedaPointEnviro: Naval Air Station-Alameda gained notoriety as a refuge for the endangered California Least Tern when the base closed in 1997.  Over 500 acres were dedicated to protecting the terns’ adopted nesting site next to a runway formerly used by jet aircraft. 

But what my spouse and I noticed most, was the totally amazing skyline view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. Too bad it wasn’t a clear day. We had arrived at the craft distillery Hanger 1.

Hanger 1 Distillery

What makes Hanger 1 interesting is that they are a craft distillery making vodka, and experimenting with interesting infusions into vodka. They have worked with fruit, chili, wine, fire smoke, wasabi, and even San Francisco fog.

The fog intrigued me, although I have not yet tasted it. Here is what I found online.

• The Hanger 1 Fog Point vodka is gluten free.
• RoyalBatch: To make our 2018 limited release of FOG POINT, we installed our very own fog catchers around the San Francisco Bay Area to turn fog into fresh water, before blending with vodka distilled from Napa’s Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier wine. 

From what I could find out (1, 2), Hanger 1 was originally founded in 2001 by St. George Spirits’ founder Jörg Rupf, master distiller Lance Winters, and Ansley Coale (of Germain-Robin). At that time it was actually located in Hanger 1. By 2010, they would sell Hangar 1 Distillery to a New Jersey-based Proximo Spirits.

Then in 2014, Proximo took over the operation and moved from the hanger 1 building to their new location next door, and in 2017, they opened a tasting room and production in the facility we toured. Now in 2022 they are closing shop this December and moving the distillery operations elsewhere in the Bay Area.

Tour + Tasting

Alex was our knowledgable host, as he guided us from the front room, containing a tasting bar, retail store, and waiting area for tours, into a cordoned off distillery area. The tour we signed up for would take about 1 hour, and we would be tasting 5 vodkas and 1 bourbon.

We started off our tour with Alex telling us all about the special location we were at and its history from the time the area was wet lands, to the estuary and island it is now. During WWII this area was built out as a Naval Air Station and landing area; this is of course pre Oakland and San Francisco airports. The hanger we were in was used during WWII as aircraft hangers, but in 2017 it became the public facing part of Hanger 1 distillery.

Then he told us about all vodka being made from food that can ferment, from grains, to fruit, to potatoes, to wine. He explained that since wine is already a fermented liquid, it can be immediately used to make vodka. Hanger 1 uses a Napa source of white wine, although he would not tell us who the vintner was nor the type of wine. Wikipedia did, Hangar 1 is a small batch vodka made from a blend of pot-distilled Viognier grapes and column still-distilled American wheat. 

We started the tour with a tasting of the Rosé Vodka, a smooth blend of wine with vodka. Before we tasted the vodka he warned us not to do the usual wine tasting ritual of swirling, as that stirs up the vapors and forces the interaction between the alcohol and other aspects in the drink. He said to smell and sip, letting the flavor express itself naturally. That way we would get a better taste of the wine.

• This rosé-flavored vodka, is 5% Rosé wine and 95% vodka, so has a slightly lower alcohol content of 60 proof (30% ABV).
• Thrillist says this vodka is made from Petit Verdot and White Meritage, is slightly viscous with hints of strawberry and peppercorns, and goes down smoothly.

Everyone on the tour, and there were about 15 of us, liked the drink. Also most of us finished our quarter of an ounce tasting, not realizing yet there were more tastings to come. For me, I noticed the other stations and told my spouse I would drive home. Thus I mainly smelled, but only took a sip from each drink offered.

Alex went through their process of distilling, and how these copper and stainless steel machines were made for them. The tastings at this station were the plain Vodka and a Smoke Vodka. The plain smelled like vodka, even blindfolded and sniffing all sorts of drinks, I would know this was vodka. The taste was smooth, and I could easily imagine mixing this with other ingredients toward making cocktails.

• I should say here that I do not like many plain vodkas as I find them too harsh. I have settled on Kettle One vodka because of its smoothness, and Costco sold very large bottles.
• While I do drink a once or twice a year dirty martini, I also use vodka for making extracts. So when I am making a batch as gifts, the large bottle is handy.
• This means I am personally already infusing flavors into vodka via extracts: lemon, orange, and vanilla.

They offer cocktail recipes on their site, so I have added three of them to this post so you can get a sense of what you can make.

• Straight Martini
  • Fill a 17oz mixing glass fill with ice halfway and add
  • 2.5 oz. Hangar 1 Straight Vodka
  • 1/2 oz. dry white vermouth
  • Stir to blend, then strain into a chilled coupe or Nick-and-Nora glass.
  • Then garnish with olives or a lemon twist.

The second taste was of the Smoke Vodka which was made from fire-smoke-saturated red grapes as a result of the terrible wildfires we had several years ago (we were spared this year). He explained that these red grapes had heartier skins so the fruit was good to use, and it saved the winery from throwing away the grapes. I found that the vodka had a clear smoke aroma, yet the taste was only slightly affected. To make this even better, profits go to CalFire.

The next station was near their shipping area where wood barrels, and plastic containers were filled with liquid. Here he introduced two infused vodkas, and both were extremely tasty. First was the vodka infused with Buddha’s Hand citrus. He explained that the Buddha’s Hand fruit contains next to no juice, little to no pulp, and was mainly pith and rind. Great for making candied fruit I imagine, and if you need a lot of zest. What we noticed right away was that it had a wonderful aroma, its flavor was a bit like sweet lemon blossom, but concentrated. We bought this one to bring home, it is that good.

• Buddha’s Hand is a native fruit from India or China and it is from the Citron family, this predates lemons and oranges.
• It has almost no juice, no seeds, and little pulp, but has lots of pith and rind.

Here is a Hanger 1 cocktail they recommend making with the Citron Vodka.

• Alameda Todder
  • Make a mulled cranberry juice punch
    • In a saucepan heat 20 min on low
    • 1 quart cranberry juice (unsweetened)
    • 1⁄2C brown sugar
    • Zest and juice of 1 orange
    • 1 three inch cinnamon stick (broken)
    • 6 whole cloves
    • 6 whole allspice berries
    • 2 whole star anise
    • 2 whole cardamom pods
  • In a cup add 1-1/2oz Buddha’s Hand Citron Vodka
  • And 3⁄4 ounce simple syrup
  • And fill the rest of the cup with the mulled punch
  • Top with a long clove-spiked orange peel and cinnamon stick.

Then we were given a taste of their Honeycomb Vodka. Alex explained the honeycomb was sourced from a farmer in Redwood City, and was sustainably harvested. What makes this different from other honey drinks, is that it is infused with the honeycomb, not just the honey. This means all aspects of the honeycomb are part of this drink, the honey, the wax, and all the other things that make up the bee’s structure.

It smelled like honey with a kick, and had the slight taste of honey, and the impression of a viscous honey mouthfeel, although it was not viscous at all.

• We both felt this would be good to serve over fruit, or to saturate certain loafs.

We tried to buy a bottle but they were sold out. No wonder, this was a very good tasting drink.

We then went to the bottling area and Alex demonstrated the process. After that, he shared with us a tasting of the brandy they make. The taste was good, as it sits in French/American Oak that has been used for other liquor, and its flavor was very pleasant. I was very surprised at my spouse for this was the only golden liquor that has ever been appreciated. Never thought I would ever hear, “this tastes good.”

When we were leaving, my spouse went to the store to buy the Citron, Honey Comb, and Mandarin bottles. But they ran out of Honey Comb so we came home with two battles.

• Chocolate Orange Flip
  • In a cocktail shaker add
  • 1 ounce Hangar 1 Mandarin Blossom Vodka
  • 1 ounce heavy cream
  • 1 ounce Creme de Cacao
  • 1 egg
  • Shake without ice to emulsify the egg
  • Then add ice, shake, and pour into a chilled coup glass
  • Top the drink with some fresh finely grated nutmeg

Vodka Tasting

For a formal assessment of the taste, I am reviewing the plain vodka.

The color was very clear, no sediment, no murkiness, no obvious legs upon swirling. The aroma was slightly sweet at first with a sharp kick at the end which is when the alcohol vapors hit me. The mouthfeel was slightly coating, but not viscous, and had a nice sweet-to-heat as I swallowed; nothing harsh or brash or burning, this was smooth.

As I was tasting I noted to my spouse I could see this mixing well in any vodka-based cocktail. But then I tasted the infused vodkas, and decided they would be better for fruity cocktails as they would enhance the flavor of certain cocktails much better.

The bottle was a 750ml clear bottle, with measurement marks formed on the side. It was heavy bottomed, which I also appreciated, so no fear of spilling. I think if you are thinking about a premium, smooth vodka this is one worth the price. But I’d probably skip the plain vodka, and head for their infused vodka’s instead.

—Patty

Although I am not a business, and do not think I am subject to California Prop 65 Warning, just in case, here it is: Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy can cause birth defects.

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