Bottoms Up: Six Bay Area distilleries and where to sample their 'shine

The San Francisco Bay Area has a lot to boast about. We're World Series champs, we produce world-class wine, and we're world leaders in innovation and technology. #werethebest. (Also, we invented hash tags.) You wanna know what else we do? We distill spirits. The SF Bay Area can now add local distilleries (find them on this map) to the list of things that make us awesome. This artisanal booze is almost as cool as our artisanal air. Almost.

In San Francisco proper, two distilleries are diving into this latest hyper-local craze. No. 209 Distillery at Pier 50 is a dedicated distiller of fine gin. Their clear and aromatic nectar is described as "not your grandfather's gin," meaning it has a sexy, citrus and spice balance that does not resemble gin's traditionally potent notes of juniper and colonialism. This particular brand of hooch is well-stocked in watering holes across the city's seven-by-seven limits; check it out at Fly Bar, two blocks from the San Francisco City Center Hostel. Bonus: No. 209 also makes the world's only kosher gin. L'chaim!

Another SF distillery is our famous Anchor Brewery and Distillery. The well-known beer brewers also make an impossible-to-find and very small batch whiskey called Old Potrero. It's a bit of a legend, especially among whiskey aficionados, and it's tricky to track down. Try Healthy Spirits, a specialty beer and whiskey store, at their Castro or the Inner Richmond locations. Or plan ahead and reserve one of Anchor's popular, weekly tours at their Potrero Hill brewery/distillery.

1512 Spirits is another Bay Area legend, though their whiskies are easier to come by than Anchor's Old Potrero. 1512 is distilled in a tiny Sonoma warehouse by master distiller Salvatore "Sal" Cimino. (Sal also runs a barber shop at 1512 Pine Street in Polk Gulch.) Find his signature whiskies at 15 Romolo in North Beach, Rye on Geary Street (near the City Center Hostel), or 83 Proof in SoMa.

The biggest of the small, artisan operations in the Bay Area is Saint George Spirits located across the bay in Alameda. This eau de vie distillery is easily accessible from SF by taking the ferry (or you can take BART and then the AC Transit bus #31), and their 65,000-square-foot facilities include a beautiful tasting room with informative, in-depth tours. Once a small, one-person operation, Saint George now has 30+ employees and distills over a dozen spirits. They've also been around since 1982, making them original gangsters of the artisan, small-batch spirits movement.

Find many of their fine spirits (mostly gins, absinthes, and whiskeys) at many fine bars in SF. They have this handy spirits locator on their website, or you can trust our recommendation and head to Blur on Polk Street or Whiskey Thieves on Geary Street -- both bars are close to the Downtown and City Center hostels.

So we make wine in the Bay Area and it's kind of a big deal. Wineries abound up in the North Bay, producing that tasty grape juice by the barrel, and some wineries have hopped on board the booze train. Domaine Charbay Distillery in St. Helena is one such winery. Described as "an art endeavor expressed in flavor," Domaine Charbay spirits are smooth and robust. The master distiller comes from 12 generations of wine-makers and is dedicated to carrying on the craft of small-batch, made-by-hand beverages. Domaine Charbay produces a wide range of products, from tequilas and vodkas to rums and whiskeys; find them all over SF by checking this list. Or skip all that nonsense and just head downtown to 111 Minna. Do it.

Essentials Spirits is an alambic distillery located in Mountain View. An Old World method of distilling spirits, the word "alambic" comes from the Greek "ambix" which is defined as a vase with a small opening. This vase was a central piece in the ancient distilling process, first developed in China around 3,000 B.C. , and brought to Western Europe via trade. The technique was advanced by several European cultures, but modern-day alambic distillation comes from the French method of making Cognac in the 15th century. This process allows young spirits to taste as though they've already been aged, giving them a very distinct flavor. Essentials Spirits is thus the most old-school of all Bay Area distilleries, and perhaps best suited for people who enjoy the sound of vinyl. Find the vintage-inspired spirits of Essentials at Swirl, Madrone, Smuggler's Cove, and a bunch of other places in San Francisco.