Old Potrero From San Francisco, CA

An homage to the original whiskies of America, and marked the return of pot-distilled whiskey in the United States

A CRAFT BEER PIONEER SETS HIS SIGHTS ON SPIRITS

The original Anchor Distilling Company was established in 1993 by Fritz Maytag, the same beverage visionary who sparked the craft beer movement with his purchase of Anchor Brewing in 1965. Maytag had rescued the struggling brewery and its iconic steam beer, and after several decades of exclusively producing beer, Maytag saw an opportunity to expand into the distillation of spirits.

THE RETURN OF POT-DISTILLED WHISKEY TO THE UNITED STATES

Fritz’s vision of a rye whiskey revival was fueled by the bold realization that there were no pot-distilled whiskeys being made legally in America at the time. Finding inspiration in the rye whiskeys of America’s past and the great single malt whiskeys of Scotland, Fritz gathered a small team to begin top secret research and experimentation in the distillery. The first whiskey went into barrel in 1994, and the distillery soon began producing three rye whiskeys under Fritz’s guidance, all pot-distilled spirit from a mash of 100% malted rye.

Old Potrero

PIONEER IN CRAFT WHISKEY

Old Potrero is an attempt to recreate the original whiskey of America, and marks the return of pot-distilled whiskey in the United States. It’s distilled in a small copper pot still at the Hotaling & Co. Distillery on San Francisco’s Potrero Hill from a mash of 100% rye malt, with rye being the grain of choice for America’s first distillers.