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Sidewinder Spirits is the Tri-Valley’s sole distillery. Dave Hendrickson is the distiller who has crafted the spirits since John Kinney opened Sidewinder in 2016. Along with the Sidewinder whiskies, gins, vodka, rum, brandies, and Port-styled wines, Hendrickson also makes the wines sold at Occasio Winery, also owned by Kinney.
Though Hendrickson does not make beer, he collaborated with Altamont Beer Works located across the street and distilled Altamont Maui Waui IPA as the base for his Maui Waui IPA Whiskey. On release day, the 300 bottles of the whiskey sold out at the Sidewinder Lounge. At the lounge, guests can buy Sidewinder spirits, and club members can stay and enjoy well-crafted cocktails with Sidewinder and other high-end spirits.
Last year, Ranier Reglos, Beverage Director of Sabio Hospitality Group, had Sidewinder Maui Waui IPA whiskey to pair with a Thai-inflected yellowtail kingfish during a dinner featuring Sidewinder spirits at Pleasanton’s Sabio on Main.
“I created a whiskey mule cocktail featuring Sidewinder Maui Waui IPA Whiskey that was topped with a foam made with Altamont Maui Waui, ginger beer, and Asian flavors. This whiskey-take on traditional mule cocktail with vodka and ginger beer was a guest favorite,” said Reglos.
Hendrickson may collaborate again with Altamont to make more whiskey. In the meantime, he toggles his time between the winemaking, labor intensive in the fall, and distilling which takes his attention from November to August.
At Sidewinder Lounge, you can see a traditional copper alembic pot still through the back window where the brandies are made. A poster hanging on the wall depicts the hybrid pot and column still housed in the Occasio Winery building where Hendrickson crafts the gins and whiskies.
The most popular Sidewinder spirits are Botanical Gin, Triple Malt Bourbon, and Rum. A tasting flight of three of the nine Sidewinder Spirits is available. For cocktails, the Mojito, Manhattan, and Mai Tai top the list. My friend and I enjoyed a lemony, refreshing Sidewinder Pisco Sour and a well-balanced Old Fashioned.
Hospitality is a strong suit at the lounge as regulars and new members are warmly welcomed and settle in for a flight, cocktail, or glass of Occasio wine. The ambiance is art deco with a zinc bar top, old travel trunks, and a Victorian parlor couch like one I acquired as a hand-me-down.
The Sidewinder Lounge operates as a club because Kinney wants to serve both their own spirits and premium products from other producers; a public tasting room is limited to serving only proprietary spirits. The lifetime dues are $60 and offer members unlimited visits with guests and priority access to new releases.
When I asked Hendrickson how he crafts spirits with a smooth and not stingy-harsh finish, he said, “With our small production, I can constantly monitor the temperature of the stills and the alcohol levels to select the best parts of the distillation process.”
Opening the doors to Occasio Winery in 2009 was Kinney’s third career. After working as a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and then as adjunct professor in bioengineering at UCSF and UC Berkeley, John Kinney took winemaking classes at UC Davis. Eager to start a new venture in Livermore Valley wine country, Kinney named the winery Occasio after the Roman goddess of opportunity. He chose a pocket watch logo to represent the perfect timing to harvest and craft the wine while honoring its sense of place.
After making Occasio wine by himself for several years, Kinney asked a former professor at UC Davis about hiring a winemaker. She recommended newly minted UC Davis graduate Dave Hendrinkson. In college, Hendrickson had pivoted from pre-med classes to neuroscience. After graduation, he discovered the pleasure and science of wine and studied enology and distilling. He jumped at the opportunity to work at Kinney’s small winery in Livermore.
John’s son James Kinney recalled when Hendrickson joined Occasio. “Dave’s first vintage was in 2015, and it clearly reflected my Dad’s mission. Dave gave us a tasting of spirits that he made. Since he had produced top quality wines, my Dad believed in his ability to make spirits.”
A decade ago, John Kinney opened Sidewinder in the former storage building for Occasio wine. The name refers to a type of pocket watches that are wound from the side at three o’clock not at 12 o’clock. But the Kinneys acknowledge that excess alcohol consumption can bite a person like a sidewinder snake.
Back to the beginning of Sidewinder, said Dave, “I sold John on distilling our wine to make brandy. I also wanted to make Port-style wines from our grapes that are fortified with our brandy. John liked the idea of making spirits from our Livermore Valley Occasio wine.”
Hendrickson is not the only winemaker who is also a distiller for the same owners—several others are found in Calif. and other states. Livermore will soon host a second distillery with the rebirth of Sutherland Distilling under new ownership and not associated with a winery.
Hendrickson offered tastes of a few Occasio small lot wines. I especially enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc from Sunol Hills Vineyard owned by Gerard Beemiller of Nella Terra Winery in Sunol. Another outstanding wine was the GSM Rhone blend from Shake Ridge Vineyard in Amador County. I have met Ann Kraemer, the pioneering woman vineyard manager at the highly regarded Shake Ridge property.
Occasio serves wine cocktails. For Father’s Day, the tasting room is offering the Hugo Spritz with Occasio Sparkling Malvasia, Elderflower syrup, lime juice, and club soda. Kinney hosts many informative and educational events at the Sidewinder location from the Flavor Lab to Sangya and Beyond. There are also occasional Mystery Dinners and pairing events at restaurants.
Hendrickson’s current project is crafting absinthe. Known as the “Green Muse,” absinthe was the “it” drink for artists and writers to boost their creativity during the in late 19th century Europe. Now revived, it is gaining prominence at the bar.
Absinthe has a strong amount of anise aroma and flavor that imparts a black licorice sensory connections. I expect the “Green Muse” will be made in Hendrickson’s careful distiller’s style without an overdose of anise when it is available in a few months.
