LaFortune: San Jose makes the best whiskey sour in the world

This holiday season, Visit San Jose, in partnership with Vine Hospitality, is telling the story of San Jose through your taste buds — for a limited time only.

We are proud to introduce San Jose’s first-ever signature drink, The San Jose Sour, created with Silicon Valley innovation and a nod to our city’s rich agricultural history.

Crafted by Vine Hospitality mixologists, the cocktail is a celebration of both our city’s past and future. Made with San Jose’s own 10th Street Distillery’s best in the world “Dragon” whiskey and Alamitos Vineyard’s award-winning estate “Hawk Eye” syrah, this exceptional drink literally blends our city’s greatest passion, craftsmanship and flavors.

This rare collaboration is most exciting due to the excellence of each local partner and their place on the world stage.

10th Street Distillery

This year, the Whiskies of the World 2024 competition awarded their prestigious top award of “Best in Show, Double Gold” to 10th Street Distillery’s triple cask single malt, nicknamed “Dragon.” It took the award from hundreds of world-class contenders, including legendary scotches, Irish whiskies, ryes, bourbons and exceptional single malts from Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand. Other top prizes include the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the New York World Spirits Competition.

The 10th Street Distillery founders, former engineers, said, “We learned the old ways of making single malts from the masters. We saw the traditional ways of making whiskey in America. And we saw no reason to be constrained by either. Our whiskies are a product of precision. Of meticulous attention to detail. But they are also a product of adventure. Of willingness to erase boundaries. And break new ground.”

In every sip of The San Jose Sour, the best-in-world “Dragon” is paired with the perfect partner in Alamitos’ “Hawk Eye” syrah, winner of a Double-Gold, the highest score possible, in the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition.

Alamitos Vineyards

One of our greatest gems and San Jose’s only vineyard, Alamitos is located in South San Jose in the unique microclimate of New Almaden. The gorgeous winery is also home to award-winning estate grown and produced sauvignon blanc and Touriga Nacional, a unique Portuguese variety that pays homage to the Portuguese family history of the owners, who not surprisingly also started their careers in tech as engineers.

Alamitos Vineyards only opened its tasting room in 2021, and in that short time has been honored with more than 23 awards, including Wine Enthusiast Editor’s Choice, Best of Class and five Gold and Double-Golds.

Both makers welcome visitors for tastings. Please check their websites for details. Alamitos Vineyards  and 10th Street Distillery are offering special holiday gift packages through their websites too.

Vine Hospitality

We are extremely grateful to our great partner, Vine Hospitality, and especially to Serena Harkey, director of wine and spirits. Without her vision this dream collaboration would not exist.

A true innovator as well, Serena has created award-winning wine lists throughout the Bay Area. All of her restaurants carry Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards, with LB Steak Santana Row and LB Steak Bishop Ranch currently holding a Best of Award of Excellence. She is a judge for the Sommelier’s Choice Awards, and is a Dame de Chevalier de l’ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, a membership granted exclusively to sommeliers who have made significant contributions to the commemoration and development of Champagne.

Part of A Very San Jose Holiday celebration, this cocktail is a toast to the excellence in our community and to the season of connection. We invite you to raise a glass to San Jose’s unique flavors — past, present and future.

The San Jose Sour is available starting Dec. 1 at Santana Row restaurants LB Steak, Meso Modern Mediterranean and Left Bank Brasserie, as well as Rollati Ristorante in downtown San Jose.

San José Spotlight columnist John LaFortune is the president and CEO of Team San Jose, the nonprofit parent company of Visit San Jose, the city’s official destination marketing organization. Team San Jose also manages the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and entertainment venues including the California Theatre, the Center for Performing Arts, Montgomery Theater and San Jose Civic. Contact John at [email protected].