KROBAR Craft Distillery, a partnership between Steve Kroener (the KRO part) and Joe Barton (the BAR part), are winemakers in the Paso Robles area and have now set their sights on hooch. Steve has been the winemaker for Silver Horse Winery for the 8+ years I’ve known him and Joe has Grey Wolf and Barton Family Wines.
They are bringing their years of winemaking experience, their friendship, and love of distilled adult beverages together to take the local distilled spirits craze up a notch. You can taste their lineup at the Grey Wolf property on Highway 46 West. We headed over there recently and got to check it out.
The tasting room is comfortable, fun, and has a kind of speakeasy vibe. I foresee this being a place where many local winemakers hang out after work…along with the rest of us that don’t make wine. We tasted through their lineup of hooch (you can see what we tasted in the photos below) and we brought home a Neutral brandy (Vodka) and a Botanical brandy (Gin).
My “hooch” of choice is Vodka but I can honestly really enjoyed everything I tasted. I’m typically not a “Gin” fan but I thought this one was quite nice (so did Annie, she loves Gin). I’m going to go ahead and end this here so we can get to the Q&A I did with Steve Kroener…but you really need to get over there and try it out. Great new spot.
Matt: What made you and Joe Barton want to do this project together…what initially spurred the idea?
Steve: We wanted our creative juices to start flowing again. We both were messing around with small batch distillations and started talking about how much fun it was and how we could experiment with so many different grains, grapes and botanicals. That conversation led to a more serious one about how we both wanted to challenge ourselves with a new project, we both loved the concept of “hoochel experimentation” I just pulled that one out of my ass by the way.
Matt: From our conversation in the tasting room it sounded like you drink cocktails more than straight liquor. What are your top 3 favorite mixed drinks right now? Give the recipe if you know it, too.
Steve: I actually do prefer the straight liquor over a cocktail on a daily basis. Tasting the Spirit by itself or with a sphere /cube of ice enables me to get to the essence of the spirit, just like wine. A cocktail enhances that spirit by keeping it familiar yet something completely different. A great cocktail is like a great wine with layers and depth galore but with a cocktail you get multiple origins and different flavors coming together that create a story truly unique about the products going in and the producers making it.
Negroni – KROBĀR Barrel Aged Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth
Mahattan – KROBĀR Rye Whiskey, Chocolate Bitters, Sweet Vermouth
Krobi – KROBĀR Neutral Brandy, KROBĀR Gin, KROBĀR Lit (Wine Aperitif)
Matt: What is the Krobar philosophy when it comes to spirits?
Steve: We want to make clean, recognizable spirits that taste great by themselves as well as in a great cocktail.
Matt: Are you currently able to sell everything out of the tasting room or only the botanicals?
Steve: We are only allowed by the state of California to sell our Brandy based products. Neutral Brandy, Botanical Brandy, etc. Hopefully this will change in October with a new craft distillery law coming in to effect.
Matt: What are the hours/ days Krobar is open to the public?
Steve: We are by appointment until the middle of September, then we will be open Fri – Sun. Unless we are killing it and need to open more days, then we will cross that bridge if needed.
Matt: Do you enjoy wine making or distilling better?
Steve: Damn, that’s a tough question. I think because I have been making wine for so many years, its kinda like an old tee shirt. You always go back to it because it is comfortable and it makes you feel good. But sometimes you need to buy new tee shirts and out of every ten you buy, you find a gem that fits just right. So with distilling I develop many recipes, some don’t work but the ones that do are magical. I really enjoy those magical moments of creating something truly unique.
Looking forward to trying it.
Get up there, John! It’s great stuff!!!