Sipsong Spirits

“SLOWING DOWN
Each sip of gin sings a story. It begins in a forest or a field–an encounter of the forager and a sprig–and continues through the crafting process. At Sipsong Spirits we share nature’s story by distillation in our copper alembic stills and invite you to join us.

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Let’s sing the song of present moment.

EMPOWERING OTHERS
“”As a female distiller I am empowered, I seek to empower those around me. May I inspire them and motivate them to find their passion and achieve their dreams as others have inspired me. I believe that we are stronger together.”” Tara Jasper, Master Distiller

Let’s sing the song of achievement.

AT OUR ROOTS
We borrow from our Mother Earth with awareness. Our respect for our botanicals inspire us. We approach our recipes with an entire palate experience in mind all the while thinking of the health of the planet. We understand our role in securing a sustainable future.

Let’s sing the song of abundance.

Sipsong means to follow your intuition, your inner wisdom. We hope that when you have a sip it will slow you down so you can hear your inner wisdom, your Sipsong.

We are located in Northern California just an hour north of the San Francisco Bay in beautiful Sonoma County. We are fortunate to be surrounded by all things rich in flavor, whether it be food meticulously prepared by some of the worlds finest chefs, or world class wineries. Our founder, Tara Jasper, grew up here in this flavor-topia. She has spent the last 40 years traveling the world, yet has always found herself returning to this place of abundant epicurean bliss, amazed that she gets to live here. She has always been searching for a way to share Sonoma County with the world. Following her heart all these years has led her to create Sipsong. We truly are ‘Distilling The Moment’ TM: the moment when you taste something you never want to forget, whether it be a cocktail that found just the right balance or the perfect gin for your tonic. We craft our small batch spirits for the most refined palate in search of that moment of pure bliss.

Tara Jasper, founder and free spirit

Tara has always been fascinated by flavors. Culinary Arts were a part of her family heritage and childhood growing up in the coastal redwoods of Northern California. After meeting her husband Dane, he showed her by example how great life can be when you follow your passion. So the answer was easy when he asked her if she could do anything, what would she do? Culinary school, of course.

Tara was completely enthralled with culinary school at the SRJC and the connection between flavors, herbs, spices and health. Down the road a bit, after years more exploration or as Tara calls it, “Geeking out” on nutrition, tea infusion, coffee extraction, shrub making… To Tara, geeking out meant seeking perfection. While at home raising three small children she began to experiment with fruits at the peak of their season from the best local farms using them to infuse store bought spirits to make liqueurs. This was how she began reading about liqueur making and her curiosity was peaked when she began studying distilling. Some of the world’s best liqueurs being made today are from Eau Du Vie made from the fruits they are then infused with… again back to the “Geeking out”. At some point a friend encouraged her to learn to distill. She fell in love with the entire process and it turns out she has a natural talent for it.

The Path.
How did we get into Gin? In the beginning, Sipsong started with Tara making liqueurs at home for friends and family. The results of these projects and their reactions fueled her fire. While reading a book about long lost liqueurs and gin Tara became inspired to begin crafting her own Gin. The book she read said Gin had originally been made with a Grape base in Holland for medicinal purposes (now she’s later learned that the first Gins origins are up for debate) Allow Wikipedia to explain here. But in reading about grape based Gin Tara started to dream and then tinker. After many months of daily distillation of every botanical she could think of working towards the finest quality extraction in a base of grape spirit she then traveled to Europe in search of some of the world’s best gins. When she returned to California she decided she was ready to blend her own. Completely in her element she literally skipped to work during this portion of the recipe development.

One hot summer day Tara was gathering with some friends. One of them happened to be the famed mixologist and author Scott Beattie, Artisanal Cocktails. Scott wanted to try what she had been making. To say Tara felt intimidated is an understatement here, but she didn’t let fear stop her. She served him her favorite blend thus far. His reaction brought her to tears, he loved it. It was unlike any other Gin he had tried, which had been her goal. To make something unexpected, and just perfect for a G & T. Coming from him this gave her the confidence to bring this first Gin to the market and to work on crafting more. He kept coming back to taste this first Gin again and again and this was how the first release of Sipsong was born.

What’s in the Name?
What stands in the way of a dream becoming real life? When does an idea turn into a reality? When we make a plan and continue working until we’ve achieved our goal. When we embrace a state of empowerment that we are capable of doing anything. The names of our products come from people who have done just that. People who are empowered to go far beyond what was expected of them. Consider these name choices our decision to pay homage to these incredible people, those who have listened to their inner voice, their Sipsong. They didn’t always live to a ripe old age but they fully lived. We want to honor and remember them so their legacy lives on to inspire.”