Review: LA Vodka
LA Vodka was launched September 2022 in California. Co-Founder and CEO Yasar Chaudhary worked with the most experienced and knowledgeable Master Distillers handcrafting LA Vodka. It is made in California from 100% winter wheat and double distilled on a custom copper pot still made in France. The spirit is minimally carbon filtered before bottling. While a specific distillery is not mentioned I know one in Ukiah California that has been crafting spirits since 1983 with a custom copper pot still made in France. Read more 
Review: R6 Blue Corn Vodka
R6 Blue Corn Vodka is made from a blend of 100% organic California Blue and Yellow corn mash. It is distilled 20 times in a German Kothe still and reduced to proof with reverse osmosis water and carbon filtered prior to bottling. The R6 Distillery was founded by their Head Distiller Rob Rubens. Rob fell in love with the art of distilling after an unplanned visit to a New Orleans Rum Distillery. He currently also crafts bourbon, whiskey, rye, and caramel flavored whiskey. Read more
Review: Sonoma Brothers Vodka
Sonoma Brothers Vodka is distilled from California Grapes and Corn. It is crafted at Sonoma Brothers Distillery is Sonoma County California. Twin Brothers Brandon and Chris Matthies established the distillery in 2012. Brandon the Head Distillery is also a police sergeant. His brother Chris is a firefighter. This is their second vodka. The first was made from a blend of corn, wheat, and barley. They also craft distill gin, whiskey, and brandy. Read more
Review: Reigncane Vodka
The Reigncane Vodka journey began when Brian and Michael Eckert found a source of water on a island in Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago fed by glacier melt and an average waterfall of 166 days per year. Their original plan to produce the purest bottled water transformed into producing the purest vodka. After three years of development Raincane Vodka was launched May 2019. The name was later changed to Reigncane because of a potential lawsuit. Reigncane is 6 times craft distilled in California with organic sugar cane sourced from Brazil, proofed with naturally pure Alaskan water, and filtered though organic coconut husk charcoal. Read more
Review: JJ Pfister Vodka
JJ Pfister Vodka is crafted by Master Distiller Brian Keck at JJ Pfister Distilling Company in Sacramento California. The distillery is named for the family patriarch JJ Pfister who emigrated to the US from Switzerland at the age of 25. He settled in San Francisco, and in 1876 he launched his first business, a one man knitting company. By 1889 the business was successful enough to build his first factory in San Francisco. The factory was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and was rebuilt in Berkeley California. JJ Distilling Company is a family owned business run by Kevin Keck the Great Grandson of JJ Pfister and the father of master distiller Brain Keck. Their first crafted spirit was a vodka distilled from potatoes they released in 2017. They currently craft about a dozen spirits including vodka, gin, whiskey, rum, eau de vie, brandy, and Drakus Honey Spirit. In 2020 they released their current JJ Pfister Vodka, distilled from organic rye locally farmed in the Sacramento Valley using sustainable practices. This vodka was originally produced as a base for JJ Pfister Gin and because it tasted so good they released it as a vodka. All of their spirits are crafted on custom stills built in Italy. Read more
Review: South Fork Vodka
South Fork Vodka was launched September 2018 by Co-Founders Johnathan Dorfman and Dan Kennerson in Grass Valley California. The two worked previously together as ethanol researchers for the US Department of Defense. South Fork is named after one of Northern California’s iconic bodies of water, The South Fork of the Yuba River. South Fork is distilled six times from GMO-Free American Corn and Nevada Mountain Spring water. The spirit is further refined through a small batch finishing method. South Fork has been been awarded Best Craft Vodka Distillery by USA Today in 2021. They also were included on Wine Enthusiasts list of Ten Best Vodka’s of 2020. Read more
Review: Locals Only Vodka
Locals Only Vodka is made from 100% California grapes sourced from the Central Coast and Palomar Mountain Spring water. The spirit is 12 time distilled in small batches through a German built Arnold Holstein copper still for 18 hours, and filtered through charcoal made from coconut shells. Locals Only was launched by Sean Heal, but it is produced by Pacific Coast Spirits. Nicholas Hammond is the Founder and Head Distiller of Pacific Coast Spirits. He opened a 12,000 square foot distillery in a former furniture shop in Oceanside California December 2019. Locals Only Vodka donates 1% of their total revenue towards local environmental charities. Read more
Review: Misadventure Vodka
Misadventure Vodka is the first spirit in the world to be made from surplus baked goods, making Misadventure the first carbon negative spirit. It all started with a chance meeting between Whit Rigali and Samuel Chereskin. Whit the bartender, wanted to create local Southern California spirits and Sam the agricultural economist wanted to find ways to improve the food system. Currently 40% of the food made in the US is never eaten. If food waste were a country it would be the third largest contributor of green house gases behind the US and China. After four years of R&D in a cramped garage Misadventure Vodka was born. Once a week Samuel takes a van to a local food bank and picks up a load of a thousand pounds of bread products the food bank can no longer give away because they are past the sell by date. This includes Twinkies, cupcakes, donuts, cookies, and bread. Each 750 ml bottle of Misadventure Vodka contains about 2 pounds of baked goods. When the bread products arrive at the distillery they are blended with water and yeast to ferment. Once fermented it is distilled 12 times and carbon filtered over 180 times. It is then bottled with zero additives. Read more
Review: Vapid Vodka
Vapid Vodka is crafted at The Spirit Guild Distillery in Los Angeles California. Wife and Husband team Morgan McLachlan and Miller Duvall launched the distillery in 2012. They introduced Vapid Vodka and Astral Pacific Gin May 2016. Both are made from a 100% clementine base. Miller’s family has been in the Central California agricultural business for six generations. Initially the Miller’s Rio Bravo Ranch near Bakersfield California sent the clementines grown on their farm to the distillery where they were hand juiced using an old wine press. To keep up with demand The Spirit Guild now sources the clementine juice from the juicery used by the family farm. After a four day fermentation the spirit is small batch distilled in a 250 gallon custom Carl Copper Still. After proofing Vapid is bottled unfiltered. This is a true farm to glass distillery as everything from fermentation, distilling, proofing, and bottling is done under one roof. The Spirit Guild describes themselves as a collection of artists, weirdos, and dreamers dedicated to celebrating the fruits and flavors of California through the art of distillation. The distillery is located in the Los Angeles Art District on a site where the states first commercial vineyards and orange groves thrived. Read more
Review: Hollywood Oasis Vodka
Hollywood Oasis Vodka is made from 100% organic Medjool dates grown locally in Coachella Valley California. Hollywood Oasis was named the top vodka at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The Hollywood Oasis Distillery was formed in 2016 by three businessmen Ferris Wehbe, Jeff Zarrinnam, and Larry Neuberg. Each has a long history and ties to Hollywood California. It appears their vodka is currently crafted at R6 Distillery in El Segundo California while their own distillery is being build on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles California. Dates are native to the Middle East with 70% of the worlds production coming from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria, and Iraq. In the US, dates are grown in Southern California, Arizona, and Southern Florida. A quick look on Amazon shows you can purchase a 2 pound pack of Coachella Organic Dates for 14.99. This may be the most expensive ingredient distilled in making a vodka. Hollywood Oasis is distilled 20 times and bottled unfiltered. Read more