There are any number of new craft distilleries opening up around the world every day. However, when a guy who was on top of the wine world before the age of 30 decides to get in the game, people take notice.
Napa Valley vintner Dave Phinney, best known for The Prisoner and Orwin Swift Cellars, recently opened the Savage and Cooke distillery on historic Mare Island. His goal is to create a unique interactive experience for spirit lovers. Savage & Cooke distills, ages and bottles a range of brown spirits including Bourbon, Whiskey and Rye. Small batch experimentation with additional spirits takes place on site and is offered for tasting exclusively at the distillery.
Now open to the public, guests can enjoy introductory 30-minute tastings ($15 per person, 1.5 oz. per person) featuring five core offerings at the tasting room bar every hour on the hour, or an in-depth dive into Savage & Cooke’s facilities, featuring a full site tour, followed by a private tasting ($40 per person, 1.5 oz. per person) of four core products and fine and rare reserve bourbons and whiskeys hosted by a senior educator.
Phinney has already made his mark on the spirits industry with his Second Glance American Whiskey, Burning Chair Bourbon, Ayate Tequila, and Lip Service Rye, all aged in his exceptional cabernet, chardonnay, and grenache casks.
“I was fortunate enough to stumble on this amazing piece of our nation’s history and fell in love immediately,” says Phinney. “We were able to transform these historical buildings into a state of the art distillery that perfectly fits our needs and allows us to control every step of the process including growing the grain, milling and distilling on site, proofing with our own spring water and finishing in our wine barrels.”
Mare Island has a storied history dating back to the Civil War, making it the oldest Naval base west of the Mississippi. The base was closed in 1995, but many of its historic buildings remain and three of those buildings now house the Savage and Cooke. The Island has a rich and colorful history. In 1854, it was established as the first naval yard on the Pacific Coast and was once one of the busiest shipyards in the world. The decision to locate the distillery on Mare Island was due to its fascinating history, space, stunning buildings and its proximity to both the Napa Valley and San Francisco.
