Gold River Distillery

Receptionist was super friendly. Small taster of multiple different spirits mad in house. Vodka was good actually had a little sweetness not harsh at all. Several different whisky’s not harsh. One was not aged in oak barrel. I liked it was soul pet smooth. The malted Rice whisky was different and very smooth. Bought bottle to go home. Good sipping whisky. Even have hand sanatizer made in house. Absinthe is tasty, not a fan of black licorice but it’s very well balanced and super tasty in soda water.

Wife and I took the private tour from Greg, the owner. Very friendly. Normally, all (literally everything from Popov to Grey Goose) taste the same - the major brands are often simply rebottled from giant stills with different labels. Gold River is not made from cheap potatoes. It is actually distilled from beer! It retains a unique and inherent flavor (ie, not "pineapple" flavored vodka). I dislike gin, have for decades... But theirs was soft and definitely drinkable. New, they are on their first batch (numbered bottles!), is Absinth. Dislike licorice, but again, this was drinkable, straight or half cold water. Bought a few bottles- not for mixing, but sipping.

I went on the tour with the owner. He explained the distillery processes. They make vodka and gin but are planning to add more products soon. Some such as whiskey take months to produce. I liked the gin and the gin with elderflower mixers.

Had a great time trying Gold River's liquor and even left with a bottle of gin! If you're looking for a conversation drink or unique mixer definitely check them out - and check Groupon for a great deal on a tasting!

10/10 on friendliness, beautiful business, and, of course, spirits! Hands down my favorite gin I’ve had. Can’t wait for next visit.

Very cool spot love supporting a local business

Love this place. Truly craft spirits!

Amazing craftsmanship in there spirits!

A nice place with very helpful staff. I was able to walk away with an amazing whiskey at a good price! I didn't know it but this place is in the " barrel district." That means there are lots of places to drink in a very close proximity. The place is a little small with no seats, but it's still a great place to visit. You can taste test drinks and they even sell merch.

We visited Gold River Distillery with friends on a Sunday afternoon. It was a pretty good experience. Small place that makes small batch liquors. They are in Rancho Cordova. The tasting was only $5.00, and it was free if you made a purchase. I bought four bottles - Wheel House California Bourbon, Wheel House Malted Rice Whiskey, their Vodka and Gin. I enjoyed the bourbon the most, very nice for the price point. The Vodka was also good, smooth, great for sipping. The tour was OK.

I heard about this distillery online and decided to stop by. I came in and was greeted by the staff. The distillery had the bottles set up already for tasting. I was offered a chance to have a tasting. I tried the gin, vodka, bourbon and whiskey. The apple jack and vodka was my favorite. I bought both of them. The ambiance is customer service friendly. The staff took me on a tour of the facility which was very nice.

Friends' recommended this place to us and we were not disappointed! It's in an industrial area of Rancho Cordova and you have to look closely for their location. The tasting room is small, but Greg made up for it with his large personality! And the spirits!!!! YUM!!!! For a bunch of wine snobs like me and my bestie who accompanied me, we were quite impressed! All that were available for tasting were delicious! We had several favorites, but the black label reserve bourbon followed us home! Can't wait to go back and visit again!

Nothing like having locally distilled spirits to take home. I can't think of anything they make that I don't like --- Well I don't like absinthe so not their fault. It really is a neighborhood distillery. The guy working there ALWAYS makes it a joy to be there. Great conversations! He always makes me feel welcome when I show up for more. I'm a pilot. Took two bottles with me to a fly-in event up at Columbia Airport in the foothills. It was a weekend of camping. I was the only participant who lit a campfire on Saturday night. Brought four cigars with me, lit the fire, and sat down. Before I knew it, my fire was surrounded by a dozen older gentlemen from the event. We cleared both bottles of that delicious rice whisky. People kept talking about how sweet, smooth, and unique it tasted. It felt good to bring joy to my fellow pilots. I handed out the cigars too, some people split them. Everyone got to puff on a stogie. Everyone got whisky, and everyone got a great campfire and great storytelling. A life memory! I'm looking forward to this year's fly-in. I may have to bring more whisky.

OK once we actually found the place, which took about 10 minutes because it's basically a warehouse we entered into their tasting room. This is not a place to hang out. It's basically a spot for two people to take a sip buy some booze and go. but the whiskey was delicious and I enjoyed the tour!

DO NOT MISS THIS AMAZING PLACE! If this place pops up in your feed of "Places Nearby" come over and take a look. Try a tasting of various types of locally made boozy delights- whiskey, Vodka, Gin, even small batches of Absinthe, my favorite. Purchase a tasting or buy a bottle to support locally owned small business. Greg's passion for his product and general-awesome-party-host sensibilities makes you feel comfortable in downing each of the 1/4oz pours, while he explains the details behind each different type of alcohol he's barreled and bottled. We took home a now empty bottle of the best tasting Vodka I have ever had straight. I will gladly buy another bottle and sample the ones I missed at the tasting. La fée verte, s'il vous plait.

A Groupon led us to this wonderful gem in Rancho Cordova. Greg gave us a tour of the distillery a while ago and we've been back a few times since. Their vodka is fantastic and their gin is the only gin I've ever tasted that I actually like. At the moment, I'm slowly enjoying my Drowning Oak Corn Whiskey. I highly recommend paying them a visit. Friendly, knowledgeable staff plus free tastings! You can't go wrong. I'm crossing my fingers that Greg will be making some limencello in the near future.

A great way to start out the weekend. Thanks to Aileen M for this wonderful adventure in our very own back yard. Greg the owner, greeted us as we walked in - we walked in during one of their tours - he said "come on up and catch up" Oh here we go.... down one for the team !! he explained his distillery process with great detail. As im typing up this review, I see Aileen's review on the right side of my screen. Her review verbatim "at the moment, Im slowly enjoying my Downing Oak Corn Whiskey" Well, at this MOMENT, I'm enjoying my Wheel House - Sacramento Vodka.... so smooth We enjoy keeping it local. This was Vans favorite tasting and we ended up purchasing a bottle. I foresee us with a few different bottles. I guess we just need a reason to get out and about in the future. Get the drift on whomever is reading this??

Walked into the distillery recently and asked several questions about the distillery and their products. I learned a lot and ended up purchasing a few bottle to try. The staff were very nice and knowledgeable. Can't wait to sample some more bottles!

Jack is the best! This is our second visit here and we came back the second due to the great customer service of Jack. The tasting is fun and a different experience. The only drawback was the tasting pours were very on the small side.

Gold River Distillery is the best distillery in Sacramento County! OK, it is the only distillery in Sacramento County - only legal distillery, that is. These guys are quietly boiling and cooling some liquid gold in a small business park in Rancho Cordova. The facility is tucked away off Sunrise, south of US 50 heading to Costco. The owner of Gold River has limited hours for his tasting room, but you can always call ahead if you want to stop by. The tasting includes their vodka and gin. The vodka is silky smooth with a lot of residual taste from the wheat and corn mash. The gin is a mild gin, more subtle and forgiving with mixers. I like my gin strong, so I headed home with their premium vodka instead. You can taste the spirits neat or mixed with premium mixers. Tonic lovers are pampered here. If you like vodka, you should try and head over here. Tasting spirits gets you buzzed pretty fast, so prepare with designated drivers or other options. Head over and try Sacramento's first legal distillery in a very long time!

I don't think you are prepared for the deliciousness that is hiding inside these bottles. In fact! I'm not convinced that that their isn't an alcohol genie hiding in every bottle who's only job is to grant your taste buds delicious wishes! Gold River Distillery is the only craft distillery in Sacramento AND the first since prohibition! They currently offer a Gin and a Vodka. Both are supreme! I'm usually a gin man but the vodka is out of this world. Both have a wonderful caramel and vanilla taste to them. They are not flavored it's just how they are distilled! Now you saw your not really a vodka or a gin person. Well, if you come visit I promise you will become one! Both the gin and vodka are supremely smooth. I could (and have) seriously drink a glass of the vodka straight up! Yep! It's that smooth and delicious! The owner Greg is extremely nice and passionate about his craft. He is also very knowledgeable and patient. He spent a lot of time with our group educating us on the distillation process. Do your self a favor and stop in for a tasting. You won't regret it! I'm pretty sure you'll be taking a bottle or two home with you!

Full disclosure, this review is regarding their hand sanitizer. Wonderful product and the customer service cannot be beat. My thanks to Greg and the entire Gold River Distillery team for providing this essential but very hard to find item.

I stopped in last night with a couple friends to check the place out. We loved the whole experience. Not only did we learn a lot about distilling ( thank you, Allen), we were also able to taste their fantastic spirit's. We bought a few bottles and will definitely go back. Check this place out and support local business. This place rocks!

The Sacramento area's only distillery! Sure it's bee said before but it bears repeating. I first had Wheel House gin on a recommendation from a friend. Picked it up at Total Wine. I like Bombay Sapphire and this had some some similarities. The fact that it's local made it all the more special. Based on the gin, I went to the tasting room to try the vodka. Are you kidding me? How is this vodka NOT infused? It's not. No additional flavor. It has hints of vanilla and caramel. It's one of the rare drinks where the tasting notes are accurate. You know what I'm talking about...those notes that say, Tastes like leather of a young calf mixed with plums and magic coffee beans. Say what? Tastings included the vodka, gin and absinthe. And they're working on whiskey. Great conversation and you can buy bottles to go. Enjoy!

Great experience. we were greeted right when we entered. the tastings and stories were great.. Some of the Best Spirits I have had in along time.. there Vodka is very smooth with a great Vanilla flavor

Absolutely wonderful time, called day of on a Friday and was able to come in as a group of 4. Fun, safe and tasty! Definitely recommend if you're in the area

Trendsetters! Gold River Distillery was the first Sacramento based distillery since prohibition! They have awesome spirits such as their award-winning gin and vodka. Plus, an absinthe, malted rice whiskey and a whiskey you age at home called Drowning Oak. Their tasting room is located in an industrial area, much like most local breweries. You can buy their products there - some products are only sold in the tasting room. Recently saw their vodka at Bel Air. Great place to go with friends. You'll have to go several times and make sure you taste all their amazing spirits. The distiller, Greg, is often there serving in the tasting room. Been a few times, always have a blast.

Great story, feel and passion felt throughout the tasting (and tour of facility in back)! Not sure if a standard practice but at the end of the day we lucked out and were given a tour. Machines are amazing, like beautiful pieces of art resembling pipe organs of distillation wonder. So much attention and care goes into these small batch spirits, you'll be able to taste it whether you are a fan of vodka, gin or whiskey!

We had a Groupon and really enjoyed our tasting! Liz was so friendly and helpful. We look forward to returning!!

I've bought absinthe here for the past few years which is amazing! I've just bought the vodka for the first time which is my typical drink and it has a slight taste of bourbon to it. Kinda weird. But the absinthe alone deserves at least 4 stars.

Fantastic experience and great spirits! The owner was exceptionally knowledgeable and fun to talk to as we learned more about the different beverages and the process. The vodka was amazing (and I'm not a big vodka guy). The gin and Absinthe were even better and you can tell they take their time making quality stuff.

Went for the Gin and had my mind blown by the Vodka. Seriously this guy has the touch and taste. Subtle hints of vanilla, not over powering or sweet, just right. Plus he's so welcoming and friendly you never want to leave. Don't walk, run there.

Really enjoy the rice whiskey which makes it an added bonus to support this local business. Greg and the staff are dedicated to their craft, very friendly, and know boatloads about booze. Stop in and see them; you'll be glad you did.

The owner is amazing and so knowledgeable! I was excited about the gin when we found it at a local Ruth's Chris... I was not ready to fall in love with a vodka! Hints of vanilla and caramel sets this place apart from all the "additive" vodka spirits found in Bevmo! The owner takes pride in his Gin, vodka, and ultimately through his craftsmanship of the entire distilling process. He took the time to walk a group of us through the entire distilling process, how he came to be the first distillery since prohibition in the Sacramento area, and what he is looking to bring in the future. This is a MUST GO, please stop by you will be so happy you did!!!

I've been to this twice so far. First time I brought my cousin and we met Greg. He was AWESOME!!! I learned a lot about both gin and vodka. After the tastings I bought a bottle of both and my cousin bought a bottle of gin for dad. I told Greg that I'll be back. Yesterday I went and a buddy of mine and yet again Greg was AWESOME!! I bought another bottle of gin and my buddy got a bottle of each and a sweater. He thanked me over and over for taking him there. It's now one of his fav places. In the next few weeks I'll be bringing my parents to do a tour of the facility and tastings. I'll then get a bottle of each....shhh they don't know ;) THANK YOU AGAIN GREG!!! I'll be bringing more new followers sir

Awesome place, awesome guy, and awesome spirits. It is so great to have a local place like this. Check it out. You will not be disappointed.