Jason F.
Yelp
Drinks and chill is given a whole new meaning when drinking the cocktails and spirits being offered at Griffo Distillery. Located in an industrial area in northern Petaluma along Scott Street mere blocks from the main artery that is North McDowell Street, Griffo Distillery was founded by married duo Michael and Jenny, who took their passion for entrepreneurship and dream to work together into their own hands with their very own distillery, which officially set up shop here in Petaluma in 2015. Fifteen years from creation and eight years from establishment, Griffo Distillery is serving up some of the finest crafted and bottled gins, whiskeys, vodkas, and even coffee flavored liqueurs. With a friend, who has been a long time resident of Petaluma and a supporter and member of the Spirit Club of Griffo Distillery, really speaking about the virtues of visiting this local purveyor of all things spirits, wanting to sample their new chocolate and spirit tasting pairing that they were offering for 30 dollars a person, I was sold for a visit. We came on a recent weekend afternoon and upon checking in with our host Jamie we were sat in their open air warehouse, which was accentuated with a bohemian atmosphere with comfy sofas and chairs and hanging lights and curtains overhead.
For our pairing, Jamie presents you with three handcrafted and painted chocolates, of which we learned that aspiring chocolatier Jamie created herself, along with three of their signature spirits and liqueurs. For our first pairing, we enjoyed their chili lime espresso chocolate which was paired with two of their whiskeys, their Stony Point Whiskey and their Stout Barreled Whiskey. Both whiskeys had an amazing aroma upon first whiff, and of the two, the Stout Barreled Whiskey was a little more subtle on the nose but coated your throat in a more sublime way. For our second pairing, we enjoyed a roasted pineapple caramel white coconut ganache, which was paired with their Barreled Gin. Here gin just shoots straight down your hatch, but when paired with their ganache, with caramel oozing out with every small bite you can make with such a small chocolate, this was definitely my favorite pairing of them all. For our third and final pairing, we enjoyed their Stony Point Whiskey bonbon, which was paired with their Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur. For this pairing, both the chocolate could be enjoyed separately or together and their Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur was my favorite of all of their spirits, as it was smooth without being overpowering. To be able to enjoy handcrafted chocolates with handcrafted and bottled spirits is something that I never knew I needed.
Since we were enjoying the ambience of the vast tasting room, my friend and I decided to order from their cocktail menu, of which there were five handcrafted cocktails to choose from. I ordered their Persimmon Raspberry Sour which had persimmon vodka, raspberry gum syrup, soda water, and lemon. My friend ordered their Golden Pineapple which had vodka, vanilla bean syrup, lime, fresh pineapple, and soda water. I loved my cocktail, as it had a refreshing finish with a tangy kick of persimmon in every sip, while after sampling my friend's cocktail it was as if I was enjoying a Dole Pineapple Whip, as it was a juice-filled breezy beverage that was good to the last drop. Our total bill was $47.47 per person before gratuity was added in, which totaled to $94.94, and was broken down to the liqueur and chocolate tasting being $30 a person, and the cocktail being $13 a person, which was reasonable when one considers the overall enjoyment of our day and the uniqueness of our tasting. Griffo Distillery has certainly become a proud member of the local community in Petaluma, as they also have trivia nights on Thursdays and food pop-ups that take place on Fridays. Anyone can pop on right in an enjoy the ambience and a handcrafted cocktail, or one of their signature spirits to savor over because at Griffo Distillery they truly have something special occurring, as they have become a place where locals and out-of-towners alike can find some of the most distinctively crafted gins, whiskeys, vodkas, and liqueurs sold in the Bay Area. From a dream that a locally based couple had to build something together to becoming a mini-empire, Griffo Distillery is a business that we can marvel at and celebrate.