We’re big fans of a well-crafted tipple here at Sprudge, and love love love seeing how coffee and spirits are getting down in new and delicious ways. After a delicious chance encounter with St. George Spirits at our live podcast party in the Bay Area earlier this year, we just knew this would be a match made in heaven.
St. George already make some of America’s best craft gin, plus delicious fruit brandies, a wildly good absinthe, and their own distinctly California riff on the bitter herbal apertivos of Europe, the Bruto Americano. But today we’re highlighting the distiller’s coffee spirit, the St. George Nola Coffee Liqueur, made with cold brew roasted by Jewel Box Coffee Roasters out of Oakland, California. Whether you want to spice up the season, sneak a little in your latte for a mid-morning pick-me-up, or create a chicory coffee cold brew craft cocktail concoction, this New Orleans-inspired liqueur will certainly come in handy. More than that, it comes wrapped in a handsome package. We speak with Ellie Winters of St. George Spirits to find out more.
Hi, Ellie Winters! Tell us a bit about St. George Spirits.
Founded in 1982, St. George Spirits is a pioneer among American craft distilleries and widely recognized as one of the most prolific and innovative distilleries in the nation. We have been called “a leading light in the American artisanal spirits movement” (Whisky Advocate), inducted into the Spirit Journal Hall of Fame, and named “best craft distillery in America” (Thrillist). Our family of spirits includes single malt whiskey, rum, absinthe, and several gins, vodkas, brandies, and liqueurs. Our distillery in Alameda, California is open to the public for tours and tastings, hosting approximately 30,000 visitors each year. For those who can’t make it here in person, our spirits are also available widely across the United States and in about a dozen other countries.
When did the coffee liqueur debut?
2014.
Who designed the package?
It was a collaborative effort. St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur shares its overall package (bottle type, label framework, typography) with many of the other items in the St. George portfolio (i.e., our three gins, apple brandy, rum, and single malt whiskey). Master distiller Lance Winters did the art direction for the package design in conjunction with graphic designer Juli Shore. When it came to designing the NOLA label in particular, head distiller Dave Smith jumped in to select colors and conceptualized the illustration (of the coffee cup in a bear trap set in Jackson Square in New Orleans). Artist Steven Noble did the illustration.
What coffee information do you share on the bottle?
The type/origin of the coffee beans (Ethiopian Yirgacheffe), the roaster (Oakland’s own Jewel Box), and the brewing method (cold brew).
What kind of label is it?
Offset printing.
Where is it currently available? Can our readers find it online?
Available nationally (in most US states) and via mail order. Online options include:
You can find St. George Spirits Coffee Liqueur online for around $35, or at fine liquor stores in the United States. For a selection of cocktail recipes, visit St. George Spirits online.
Coffee Design is a feature series by Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge. Read more Coffee Design here.
