California welcomes ‘first urban distillery’

Distiller and blogger Laura Johnson is readying to open California’s “first urban distillery”, You & Yours Distilling Co., with plans to produce gin, vodka, eaux-de-vie and “eventually” whiskey.

You & Yours Distilling Co. is set to open in January 2017

Located in the heart of downtown San Diego, “destination distillery” You & Yours is the brainchild of Texas-born Johnson.

On her blog, Distillerista, Johnson said she plans to create “a few different styles of gin, a vodka or two, eaux de vie and eventually, the good stuff: whiskey”.

The distillery was set to open in summer 2016, but was forced to reschedule its launch date in the months that followed due to a four-fold permit process required by the local council.

Johnson states: “You & Yours is a boutique craft spirits ‘destination’ distillery focused on bringing people together over elevated hospitality experiences.

“In addition to producing different styles of gin and eaux de vie on our custom hybrid still, our tasting room will be open to the public Thursday through Sunday offering tasting flights, cocktails and bottle sales. You can also come for a distillery tour and guided tasting on weekends.”

Johnson says she has had “an interest in and appreciation for spirits from a relatively early age”.

“I was the one trying to convince my friends to mix up cocktails at house parties in high school instead of grabbing another 12-pack of Natty Light” the blog reads. “I went on my first distillery tour at 18 and it was all over after that. After finishing undergrad at USD [University of San Diego] I travelled for the better part of a year taking classes, attending workshops and apprenticing at various distilleries around the country.”

You & Yours Distillery will open in January 2017, though a specific date has not yet been announced.