Sactown Magazine
The Spirits of Sacramento
Small batch, big taste. We spotlight nine makers of locally distilled vodka, bourbon, gin, rye, rum, brandy, absinthe and more. Please read responsibly.
January 29, 2021
Ed Arnold at his California Distilled Spirits facility in Auburn (Photo by Max Whittaker)
When Foresthill resident Ed Arnold gave up his 20-year practice making prosthetic limbs a bold career move that started him on the road to pursuing his passion, craft spirits he discovered that the two divergent fields had common denominators. “They both require very hands-on technical work, and yet there’s a great deal of creative expression involved,” says Arnold, who credits Darrell Corti with sparking his interest in craft spirits in the early ’80s during a Scotch tasting he had been impressed with the iconic East Sacramento grocer’s expertise on the subject. “I also find the end products much more interesting than something else [that’s also technical and creativ