A couple of days before my friend Emile’s wedding, he, the other groomsmen, and myself got together for the bachelor party which was a few months in the making. As a full-fledged Australian, however, we’ll go with the more culturally appropriate term of “buck’s night” in honor of the groom.
The four of us kicked things off with a tour and tasting at St. George’s Spirits, an artisan distillery located in Alemeda and the first to produce absinthe in the United States after the ban was lifted in 2007. Though not the most conveniently located, everything about the vibe of this place was great from the industrial look and feel of the facilities to the small, passionate group of employees.
Our tour guide was also incredible and took a deep dive into the chemical components of distilation, a process which is more complex than I had ever realized. The distilery was currently working on a batch of pear brandy and the floor was covered with literally tons of palettes of fresh pears. I can confirm that it is as declious as it sounds!
After the tour, we headed back north for dinner at Mua Oakland which I had booked based pretty much on Yelp reviews alone. There was a bit of a wait when we arrived, though to be fair, we were late for our reservation and the place was packed so I’m just happy they seated us at all!
The food and, of course, the company were amazing, and after the main course we departed for Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley. One of the provisos of the evening was that we play Settlers of Catan, so this board game cafe (complete with beer tap) was a no brainer. We arrived with only a couple of hours to go before closing time, but managed to get in one game of Settlers before heading out. We didn’t let Emile win, but I’m going to speak for him and say that he had a great time. (You’re welcome!)
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