Prohibition Spirits

A great hidden find. Fred gave us amazing attention. It is a small operation, but the tastings are great. The whole process is done right in the tasting room so it can all be explained and shown there. Most of his spirits are aged in wine barrels at the shop. Fred let us try a lot of his products including two Brandys. I had never tried a brandy and was skeptical, but I wound up leaving with a bottle. It was a great operation with an impressively large selection of spirits.

Prohibition Spirits is a nice addition to tasting in the Sonoma Valley. It lacks the pretentiousness of a fancy winery; they are located behind a car repair shop. Don’t be fooled by the location Prohibition Spirits is warm and inviting when you enter. The day we went they had just been peeling lemons for the Limoncello and the visitors’ room smelled wonderful.
The group that was tasting the day we were there sat on couches and chairs and tasted several of their creations including: Hooker’s House Bourbon, Hooker’s House Rye, General’s 21 year-​old Reserve and Private’s Select White Corn Whiskey, Limoncello and Figcello. My favorite was Figcello, I wish I had bought more than one bottle
I would have never heard about them if I had not purchased a LivingSocial coupon they are a bit off the beaten path and cannot be seen from the street. Don’t let this deter you.

This place was a great find in Sonoma and warm welcome to something different after seeing so many wineries.
Rob was great, answered all our questions and showed us a few things around the distillery.
The tasting seemed endless with so many different bourbons, whiskeys, rums and limoncellos. We ended up picking up a couple of bottles to bring home.
It’s behind a body shop, but don’t be put off by that.

Fred is incredible. Go here for a tasting and for something different to the wine tastings. It’s a great change to go to a few vineyards and also get a few spirits under your belt!

Overall: a hidden gem with the best booze (hard liquor) in Sonoma
Pros
— bourbon
— whiskey
— rum
— lemonchello
— shoot it’s all good!
Sidenote
— you can’t buy the whiskey/​rum but it’s at a nearby grocery store
— tricky to find, they are behind a car shop

I first met General Hooker at an Irish pub where he introduced me to his rye whiskey that he ages in zinfandel barrels for a great finish. As sometimes happens to me when I’m in Northern California, I got swept along in the overindulgent and mildly raucous evening.
I am grateful to Murphy’s Irish Pub in Sonoma for introducing me to General Hooker and a bottle of the Hooker’s House Rye which was for me a better souvenir of this visit to wine country than… wine.
To spin off from the Ogden Nash quote; «Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.» I would like to submit this Prohibition Spirits Hooker’s House Rye inspired twist:
«Wine is fine but whiskey is divine.»
Seriously, give the Hooker’s House Rye a taste, you’ll be impressed.