How San Francisco's Junipero Gin Became America's First Craft Gin
Now celebrating its 27th birthday, Junipero Gin lives in a curvy new, ocean blue bottle that reflects its Bay Area roots, but the original formula stays the same. Bottled at a bold 98.6 proof and left unfiltered for a slightly hazy result, the lauded spirit presents a rich mouthfeel and a juniper forward aroma that befits the London dry style it represents, with plenty of citrus on the finish. It mixes admirably in classic, spirit forward cocktails like that Martini Maytag chased, punchy without acting too aggressive. It holds its own with tonic, makes a great Salty Dog when mixed with grapefruit, and would take a seat of honor in up-drink icons like the Aviation, Last Word, or Corpse Reviver #2.
The Origins of Junipero Gin
Bruce Joseph photo courtesy Hotaling & Co
In 1993, Fritz Maytag, the owner of San Francisco’s iconic Anchor Brewing, launched Anchor Distilling and dove into the production of copper pot-stilled rye whiskeys, including Old Potrero Rye. Bruce Joseph had been brewing with the small team at Anchor since he graduated from college in 1980. Craft whiskey in the US was lacking, but Maytag “didn’t like to work on anything that was popular,” according to Joseph, “he enjoyed working on things that were unpopular.”
If American whiskey was unpopular, craft gin, at the time, was unheard of. Driven by the challenge, Maytag and his newly minted distilling team next spent a year and a half developing the first craft gin to launch since prohibition. In 1996, they introduced Junipero, a London dry gin infused with a roll call of 12 classic botanicals. Joseph, now Master Distiller, recalls Maytag “wanting to make a gin for gin drinkers rather than vodka drinkers…a crisp bold gin that would make a good martini.”
An Original Formula Based on Experimentation
Hotaling Co distillery photo courtesy of Hotaling & Co
That original formula relies on those arrestingly handsome copper pot stills, well known for their heat transfer and retention capabilities. “Our background was traditional brewing and distilling. Plus copper produces sulfur compounds in the distillate. It’s what we did. We like copper.”
The journey from steam beer to rye whiskey to craft gin was not a direct path. Says Joseph, “we found that what we had learned with whiskey distilling wasn't totally applicable to gin. And so there was certainly a learning curve there. But you know, going into something and not having a lot of experience doing it can be a hindrance. But in a way it's also freeing too that you're not bound by what everyone who's come before you has done.”
Junipero Gin Today & Tomorrow
The distilling arm of Anchor was picked up by Hotaling & Co. in 2017 (when Sapporo purchased Anchor Brewing) and moved the operation to San Francisco’s scenic Pier 50, aka Mission Rock, surrounded by fishing piers and boat launches. Hotaling’s heritage as a renowned Northern California whiskey retailer and warehouse (that survived the great earthquake of 1906) adds another tier of tradition to the brand.
In 2022 Junipero was in the spotlight, having formed a partnership with the San Francisco Giants and hosted the inaugural San Francisco Martini Week. Now plans are in the works to make the Pier 50 site more accessible to the public. Junipero may have once been considered an upstart, but has now firmly established its spot on the back bar or bar cart.