Old Potrero

San Francisco’s Anchor Distilling is an operation that traces its roots all the way back to 1871, with the founding of a brewery in the Russian Hill neighborhood. That brewery later became Anchor Brewing, which, in 1965, was purchased by Fritz Maytag, one of the early pioneers in the craft brewing movement. In 1993, Maytag started Anchor Distilling, hoping to apply the same craft ethos that fueled the brewery to the making of spirits. At the time, pot stills had fallen into disuse in the U.S., and rye whiskey occupied a tiny corner of the market.

These days, Anchor holds a big portfolio of spirits from all over the world. Old Potrero, named for Potrero Hill in San Francisco, is the label used for spirits made at the distillery.

As far as whiskey goes, Old Potrero takes a very specific tack: all of their whiskeys are made with 100% malted rye. Malted rye whiskey is still pretty unusual, although the category seems to be growing, with a handful of craft expressions from Cedar Ridge, Wigle, and Oppidan cropping up in recent years.