Lance Winters

The Climb

A distiller’s method can start in scent, not in steel. At St. George Spirits in Alameda, California, Lance Winters has treated spirits as a way to render an idea into liquid since 1996, with the work beginning in memory, aroma, and the pressure of a notion that stays put until it can be made drinkable. That is less a slogan than a practical stance: the concept comes first, then the stills, then the form. Before distilling, Winters worked as a nuclear engineer at the United States Navy in United States, a role he held until 1996. The move from engineering to spirits changed the subject, not the habits of mind. Precision, discipline, timing, and patience remained central once he entered the distillery, where intuition has to sit alongside process.

Today

At the Alameda distillery, Winters has served as Master Distiller since 1996, and the title reflects a role that is technical without being theatrical. His own description is stripped down to the essentials: “I make stuff at a distillery.” The line fits the work. What matters is the translation of scent and perception into liquid form, not the performance around it. Terroir Gin, released in 2011, shows that method clearly. Built from around a dozen botanicals, including Douglas fir and California bay laurel, with many botanicals foraged in the San Francisco Bay Area, it turns regional aroma into spirit. The point is not place as decoration, but place as material. The same approach carries through Dry Rye Gin, St. George California Agricole Rum, and St. George Green Chile Vodka. Each one keeps the emphasis on expression through aroma, with the process held to a clear standard and the idea allowed to define the liquid.

In Their Words “My approach to making spirits is to think of the liquid as a form of self-expression.” “I make stuff at a distillery.”

Recognition

Lance's honors include Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame.