Head out on the Sausalito Whiskey Trail
The Sausalito Historical Society, Sausalito Liquor Co. and 16 Sausalito restaurants have teamed up for a promotion they’re calling the Sausalito Whiskey Trail. (The Sausalito Chamber of Commerce provided input as well.)
The idea of a local “pub crawl” or a “drink passport” is not really a new idea. Neither is the idea of a Whiskey Trail. (There’s a famous Whiskey Trail running up and down the entire East Coast that includes 46 different distilleries, and there’s even a subset of that trail called the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, which features 30 distilleries.) The difference with the Sausalito Whiskey Trail is that it includes restaurants and not distilleries and that it has a user-friendly interactive phone app to go along with it.
“We were trying to think of a way that we could pair the history of Sausalito with other ways of connecting with people,” said Sausalito Historical Society board member Rip Hunter and the prime mover behind the app.
“Certainly hospitality is one of those ways. I was in the hospitality field, so I understood that many restaurants and bars have their own iconic locations. And most of the buildings that are occupied have their own unique history.”
The idea developed out of a series of talks given by the Sausalito Historical Society at the Sausalito Cruising Club, in partnership with Sausalito Liquor Co., which produces three whiskeys, a gin and a chocolate liqueur.
Scott Jampol of the Sausalito Liquor Co. was onboard immediately.
“The Whiskey Trail highlights the wild history that makes Sausalito such a unique place,” he said. “People not only get to try new whiskeys they have likely never seen, but they also get to learn about the cultures that make Sausalito a worldwide destination for both locals and visitors alike.”
Hunter moved to Marin County six years ago. Previously he had worked in hospitality and ran a travel company, which, coupled with early experiences on military bases, fostered a strong appreciation in him for history.
After relocating to Sausalito, Hunter was struck by the city’s rich, multicultural past. This discovery motivated him to join the Sausalito Historical Society and develop public history talks.
“So many cultures have come through here,” said Hunter, who added it was a “happy surprise” to see the contributions of so many different cultures.
The Sausalito Whiskey Trail app — currently just for iPhones — leads users through 16 iconic Sausalito locations, each highlighting a distinct cultural influence on the city’s history. To deepen the experience, each stop offers a corresponding international whiskey (German, Italian, Mexican, etc.) and a branded cocktail. The trail is self-paced, spans under 2.5 miles along the shoreline and is not intended to be completed in a single day.
“History can be dry,” Hunter said. “And most people aren’t really connected to history. How to bring history to life and bring it into the day-to-day was an idea that we had at the beginning. So, we took the 250-year history of Sausalito and paired it with whiskey.”
When Hunter first started out, the plan was to use a paper passport.
“Like a regular U.S. passport,” he said. “Something you’d carry with you, and you could go to the locations, and they would stamp your visit there.”
But that became very cumbersome very quickly.
“How do we get it to all those people, and how long will people actually carry that? We really pivoted on the spot,” Hunter said.
It certainly helped that Hunter’s son, Austin, is in software design.
“He’s a software engineer, and he’s a clever guy,” Hunter said. “He also likes whiskey. When we decided that paper passports didn’t work, he said, ‘I think I can do this.’ And within about three days, we had the frame.
“It’s a well-crafted piece of electronic media that you use to get yourself around. It pulls from Google Places, so all the locations have updated information, their hours, their addresses, their reviews and their menus. That’s real-time information that comes in from what the restaurants post on Google Places. It’s also GPS-enabled.”
Which means that when you check in at a location, you actually have to be there, unlike many other social media or restaurant-critiquing platforms.
Currently there are 16 participating restaurants: Angelino Restaurant; Barrel House Tavern; Copita Tequileria y Comida; Cultivar; Farley; Lighthouse Bar and Grill; Napa Valley Burger Co.; No Name Bar; Notte Divino; Poggio; Salito’s Crab House & Prime Rib; Scoma’s; Smitty’s Bar; the Spinnaker; Sushi Ran; and Suzette. And all offer their own type of whiskey and their own signature cocktail coupled with a story of the restaurant’s unique history.
And there’s another perk. A new feature awards a VIP badge after visiting a single location three times, unlocking discounts — for example, 20% off at Napa Valley Burger Co. — on future visits. The system rewards repeat local customers. There’s also a cumulative discount on Sausalito Liquor Co. products available (up to 15%) based on visits.
“Scott (Jampol) has been such a good ambassador,” Hunter said. “He was instantly intrigued by the idea and has helped us make the connections at the restaurants and helped us find the whiskeys, which was not easy in some cases.”
Originally intended as a summer-only program, strong restaurant feedback has led to plans for an ongoing operation. There’s an Android version in the works, a nonalcoholic component is being added and more restaurants are joining every week.
“What’s more valuable to you?” Hunter asked one of the local restaurants early on. “A tourist who comes in and pays top dollar for a meal, or a local who comes in three or four times a month?”
The answer to that question might be irrelevant now, because Hunter, the Sausalito Historical Society and the Sausalito Liquor Co. could have just figured out a way to deliver both.
To get the app, go to bit.ly/4wFGrAh.