Raff Distillerie, a small-batch craft distillery located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay won two Silver medals & a Bronze medal at the 2019 Bartender Spirits Awards.

Raff Distillerie’s ‘Barbary Coast Rhum Agricole,’ and ‘Bummer & Lazarus Gin’ both won a Silver medal while ‘Emperor Norton Absinthe’ by Raff Distillerie grabbed the Bronze medal.

Master Distiller Carter Raff crafts each batch by hand in the equipment he fabricated from scratch. Mr. Raff being 5th generation San Franciscan bases all the labels off San Francisco History; such as Bummer & Lazarus Gin and Emperor Norton Absinthe. 

Bummer & Lazarus Gin 

Bummer & Lazarus Gin, Silver medal winner at the 2019 Bartender Spirits Awards is based on two real stray dogs that lived in SF in the late 1800s. They were so good at catching and killing rats that San Francisco passed a separate law to protect them from the dog catchers. 

Bummer & Lazarus Gin is made from 100% California grapes then is distilled with juniper berries, orris root, coriander seed, angelica root, bitter orange peel, lemon peel, cinnamon bark, and licorice root. A well balanced, flavorful gin with hints of citrus and floral notes with a spicy finish.

Barbary Coast Rhum Agricole

Rhum Agricole is a drier style of rum that has a lot more earthy, grassy notes. It is made from fermenting the entire juice from sugar cane, unlike typical rum which is made from fermenting molasses, a by-product of refining sugar cane juice into white sugar. A good agricole will have a nose that is quite distinct from regular rum. Raff Distillerie ferments sugar cane juice from Colombia and then distills it into high proof rhum. Barbary Coast Rhum Agricole won a Silver medal too.

Emperor Norton Absinthe

Emperor Norton Absinthe is based on real-life character Emperor Norton who was a rather eccentric man who also lived in SF in the late 1800s. This absinthe is one of the few true traditional French absinthes on the market. It is the same as you could get all over Paris 130 years ago. Emperor Norton Absinthe won a Bronze at the 2019 Bartender Spirits Awards.

This premium absinthe is a perfect representation of the absinthe served all over Paris 130 years ago. Woody hints of wormwood and a gentle taste of anise followed by floral and citrus undertones. This absinthe creates complex flavors not seen in other absinthes by using only traditional herbs picked for their fresh and vibrant flavors. Raff Distillerie personally imports both wormwoods from 30 miles outside Pontarlier France, the home of absinthe.

To evaluate the entrants, the Bartender Spirits Awards invites a leading panel of top-level experts only; the experts who are involved in direct commercial buying activities for selling spirits to the consumers. They are the professional spirits buyer who selects spirits every day to go on the shelves of the restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and spirits stores. 

Bartender Spirits Awards, organized by the Beverage Trade Network, is focused on the needs of the U.S. on-premise establishments such as bars, restaurants and clubs and is the only competition of its kind that is judged solely by bartenders, bar managers, bar owners and other professionals within the industry.

To check out other 2019 winners, click here.

To know more about Bartender Spirits Awards, click here.