DISTILLERY AND WINERY FREE TOUR

Wednesday, September 23 – We had three more things we wanted to do in St. Augustine, FL, before departing on Thursday. Since it was pouring down rain, we made a quick photo stop at the Oldest House. The "Oldest House" title dates from a period when the house was believed to have been built in the 16th century.

Next up was the St. Augustine Distillery. This is a small local distillery of Bourbon, Vodka, Gin, and Rum. They have only been in operation for a year and a half and only distribute in the state of Florida. They are a brand new business collaborative; a group of locals that share a dream. Everything from the sugar cane to the citrus is local.

There is a very nice museum that we visited while waiting for the tour to begin.

The tour begins with a short movie giving us an overview of how the distillates are produced. Following the movie we were escorted through the facility on a tour. This is a short tour taking less than ten minutes. The next stop is the tasting room.

They do everything by hand…even putting the cork in each bottle.

Our tour guide acted as barmaid mixing a delicious Florida Moose, their take on the well-know Moscow Moose. She used St. Augustine Distillery Vodka. It was delicious.

Our guide makes crushed ice the old-fashion way.

Our next drink was a Gin and Tonic. Marsha was only one of two in the crowd that does not like Gin. Our guide guaranteed this would be unlike any Gin and Tonic we tasted in the past, and she was correct. The local use of oranges and grapefruits is obvious in the flavor and a good improvement in our tasting. Best Gin and Tonic we have ever had!

We chased the G & T down with a neat taste of the Vodka and then a little Gin. Both were tasty, and we enjoyed them. The Bourbon is not expected to be ready until closer to Christmas.

All their alcohol and bar products are available at the gift shop. Average price is about $23/bottle. It is also sold locally and in some locations throughout Florida. It currently is not being shipped outside the state. It is the #2 place to visit on TripAdvisor. It was a really nice stop.

Our next stop was the San Sebastian Winery. Another free tour.

This too is a small operation selling most of their wine locally. This tour also began with a short video followed by a tour of the winery and then a stop in the tasting room.

They cork their bottles by hand also.

The wine tasting in itself was pretty extensive. Our sommelier was excellent. He explained that there are 5 S’s to wine tasting….See, Smell, Swirl, Sniff, Sip. We were given tastes of four different wines, plus a port and a sherry. We found them all pretty good, except one.

We showed are appreciation by purchasing two bottles to go! Marsha will save them for our wine tasting party next summer back in Ohio. We already have the theme for the party – Florida wines.

A mention about the weather. So far we are not a real fans of the weather here in the Northeast part Florida. It's been VERY humid. Temperatures haven't been really too unbearable with highs in the 80's and lows in the 70's, (It would be nice if it cooled down a little more at night.) but combined with the high humidity, it makes it pretty uncomfortable for doing much of anything outside. We don't particularly like sitting in the RV. Much prefer relaxing on the patio, but with the humidity even Bella, our cat, can only take about an hour at most before she's wanting to return to the AC. Maybe things will improve as we move South. Marsha has just about had it with “bad hair days.” :-)

This morning, we hook-up and headed to Hobe Sound, Florida. It’s located between Daytona and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We plan on spending most of our stay relaxing on several of the many beaches in the area.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!