E-Malt.com News article: USA, CA: Hotaling & Co. to close its San Francisco distillery at the end of the month

Hotaling & Co., the maker of Junipero gin and Old Potrero whiskey, will be closing its distillery located at Pier 50 in San Francisco at the end of the month, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on February 18.

The San Francisco-based company, formerly known as Anchor Distilling Co., separated from Anchor Brewing and Distilling when it was sold to Sapporo in 2017. (The brewery closed in 2023 and was purchased by Chobani yogurt billionaire Hamdi Ulukaya in 2024, but has not reopened.)

Hotaling confirmed that the entire distilling team was laid off, but declined to specify the number of employees affected.

“I will no longer be part of Junipero, Old Potrero or Hirsch after 2/27/26,” head distiller Kevin Aslan wrote on Instagram on Feb. 16. “Anchor Distilling/Hotaling gave me 15 incredible years and I am nothing but grateful to have represented these iconic brands for so long.”

Master distiller Bruce Joseph, who worked at Anchor for 45 years and created Old Potrero, retired last year.

The closure of Pier 50 means that Hotaling, which rebranded from Anchor Distilling after losing the rights to the trademark, is no longer in the distilling business. Old Potrero is currently distilled and aged by Corning & Co. under contract, and Hotaling is looking for a new distilling partner to produce Junipero.

“Junipero and Old Potrero remain important parts of our portfolio and continue to perform well — Junipero Gin is up 9% and Old Potrero is up 10% fiscal year-to-date through January,” Liz Brusca, Hotaling’s vice president of marketing, said in a statement. “The decision enables us to sharpen our focus on our core strengths as a builder and importer of world-class fine spirits brands.”

Besides producing its two original brands, Old Potrero and Junipero, Hotaling imports and markets Nikka Japanese whisky, Hine cognac and Luxardo liqueurs, among other spirits. (It also sells the American whiskey brand Hirsch.)

On Feb. 10, a few bartenders and former employees of the company stopped by the distillery to witness the bottling of the last batch of Junipero at Pier 50. Workers placed bottles, filled and sealed them on the bottling line, placed them into cardboard boxes and stacked them on pallets. Some of the distillery guests helped pack boxes, or had a bottle of gin signed by the staff.

Hotaling moved into the Pier 50 space, where it distilled Junipero gin, bottled Old Potrero single barrel whiskey, and hosted private events and tastings, in 2020. The distilling equipment, including a small pot still and a much larger one the company purchased from 209 Gin, the prior tenant, might come with the space if a new buyer is interested. It is possible that a new company could take over the lease and use the equipment to contract-distill Junipero at the same site. “We are open to discussions with interested parties regarding the lease and/or equipment as part of a responsible transition process,” Brusca said.

Even with the distillery closed and Hotaling searching for someone to produce it on contract, Hotaling said that the Junipero brand won’t be going anywhere. “We have sufficient bulk and bottled inventory in place and will continue working with trusted Bay Area production partners to ensure consistent quality and seamless availability in the market,” Brusca said.

Most of the Old Potrero whiskey currently being sold, in fact, was distilled at the original Anchor Brewery location on Potrero Hill, which Hotaling left in 2020, according to the company.

Hotaling will remain headquartered in San Francisco at 550 Montgomery St.


19 February, 2026