Distill My Beating Heart Buellton Central Coast Keys 2 the Coast

By Donna | April 6, 2019

If you are traveling through the central coast and find yourself wanting to wine taste, beer taste, or even spirit taste, you will want to stop in Buellton. Right off the beaten path near an Ostrich Farm, Industrial Way is home to all of these places.

DorWood Distillery and tasting room owned by Jay Lockwood is wonderful place to taste and learn about small handcrafted batch spirits. Their Vodka is made from Santa Barbara wine grapes….wine not use what is available locally. Every single one of their batches is used with locally sourced natural materials. Throughout this tasting we tried whiskey, gin, and two different types of limoncello.

Dorwood has five different spirits for you to try.

The White Hawk Malt Whiskey has a great smoky flavor, which is surprising since this whiskey had no barrel influence. They use 100% malted barley and mesquite smoke barley that is distilled 3 times and is unaged like moonshine. I can only imagine how this would taste served up with some Santa Maria Style barbeque. The G7 Gin is not your dad’s gin. It also, is made with Santa Barbara County wine grapes and is delicious served up hot, like a cup of tea. This tea is guaranteed to put a spring in your step on a Monday morning.

Limoncello is a totally different experience. Instead of being a sugar bomb like traditional limoncello, it has less than 2.5% sugar. Most Limoncello’s are 50-60 proof, but Dorwood Distillery’s Limoncello is a whopping 80 proof. Their Limoncello has just the right amount of sweet and sour. Imagine a heavenly sip by the pool, while soaking up the sun. It is the perfect adult lemonade. If you enjoy a little spice in your life, and who doesn’t, the Habapeño Limoncello makes your tongue do the Tango! There is no comparison

Dorwood Distillery is a delightful experience!

Like Jay told me “At DorWood we don’t do tastings, we do experiences.” DorWood is an experience you do not want to hold back from.

Located just across the way is n up and coming winery on the central coast who has been noticed for their niche in the central coast wine scene. Loring Wine Company focuses mainly on Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay makes perfect for a warm sunny day in Buellton. Loring sources fruit from all over California and brings it to their charming little tasting room and winery right here in our backyard.

April, Loring Wine Company’s chef, bakes her artisan cookies on site where she is able to create magic that enhances the flavor of wine served. You would not believe some of the creative cookie flavors they offer; Lemon brulee, Montmorency Cherry, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Fig and Gorgonzola, and more. It’s definitely a delightful sensation for the taste buds. The cookies practically melt in your mouth. You would never know it, but a burst of cherry & vanilla cookie flavors pair fabulously with their 2014 Mateo Russian River Pinot. Wine tasting at Loring Wine Company is more than just sipping delicious wines. They offer an entire experience to have while you dote on the wine scene here on the beautiful central coast. Stop at Loring Wine tasting room for a pleasant wine tasting experience that will have you asking for more.

Like Jay told me “At Dorwood, we don’t do tastings, we do experiences. We do what it takes to serve the best spirits to be had.”

If spirits and wine are not your forte, then do not fret because a block down the street is Figueroa Mountain Brewing’s brewery and tasting room. The outside patio overlooks the huge fermenter tanks that holds all the beer before being kegged, bottled, and canned. Inside the tasting room you can sometimes catch the brewers at work creating some of the most popular beers like Lizard’s Mouth or the Aqua Santa.

The outside patio is my favorite place to sit when visiting Figueroa Mountain. They have a lot of seating to choose from. You can sit and eat some of their delicious food on some picnic tables or sit around a fire pit to warm up on cold days. They have over 20 different beers to choose from ranging from lagers to IPAs to blondes to stouts. There is something different for everyone to enjoy.