West Marin inspired distillery closes its doors

Elk Fence Distillery, named after the controversial fence in Tomales Point in the Point Reyes National Seashore, was slated to have an opening party at their new facility in Santa Rosa. The craft distillery was the brainchild of Gail Coppinger and Scott Woodson, both then living in West Marin, and optimism about their new venture was high. Opening day was supposed to be March 15, 2020.

“On March 14, California shut down for COVID, and we had a 100-person party scheduled for that day,” said Coppinger now. “It was a mess.”

Elk Fence Distillery never really fully recovered from that.

“We never got to be in business, so we could never get any help from the government because we weren’t in business yet as of January of that year, 2020,” Coppinger said.

The distillery finally shut down in December 2025, and their distilling license officially expired last month.

“There’s still some product in stores, but we’re done,” Coppinger said. “We’re not selling product; we’re not distributing. And the space is for lease.”

Elk Fence Distillery had done well during its short run, winning gold and silver medals at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America Access LIVE Wine And Spirits Competition in 2024 for their White Elk vodka and barrel aged gin, respectively.

“When COVID broke and people were opening back up again, we did OK for about a year, but we had dug this huge hole, and we could never get ourselves out of it,” Coppinger said. “At one point, we just looked at each other and said, ‘When you’re in a hole, stop digging.’ And that’s what we did.”

Once the distillery could start operating after the initial shutdown, Elk Fence Distillery immediately encountered distribution problems.

“Nobody knew about us. We couldn’t sell to liquor stores because they weren’t buying stuff that they didn’t know. They were only buying their tried and true. So, we really spent all of our capital trying to stay alive while COVID was on,” she said.

As of today, the distillery is still pretty much intact, and the property is up for lease.

“We got our personal stuff out of there, but we haven’t sold the equipment yet. We and they (the landlords) haven’t had any luck getting anyone in there to be a distiller,” Coppinger said. “But if someone was thinking of opening a distillery, man, the price would be right. They would have to do their own licensing, of course. But everything else is done. All the heavy lifting is done.”

Opening a distillery in California certainly isn’t easy. The license itself is relatively inexpensive — about $1,600 in licensing fees from the California ABC, plus surcharges and other fees. The real expense is in the building itself because the building must be built and permitted before you can even apply for the license.

“We’re really proud of ourselves that we could build a distillery from scratch, not knowing anything, and we had a really good product. But it’s a shame; if the pandemic hadn’t happened, I think we’d still be in business,” she said.

The whole liquor industry is in a downturn right now, with wineries, breweries and distilleries shutting down left and right. Even industry giant Jim Beam has been affected, “shuttering” its main facility in Clermont, Kentucky, for the entirety of 2026.

“I don’t know if we’d actually be going great guns,” Coppinger said. “It seems like the whole liquor industry is on the downhill side right now.”

But Coppinger takes the whole experience with a grain of salt.

“Yeah, it was crazy. I mean, people weren’t 100% sold on COVID out here yet,” Coppinger said. “They were like, ‘Well, what is this?’ It was kind of just starting, and California just jumped the gun and made sure that people were safe by shutting down. I totally appreciate that, but it didn’t do much for our business.”

So, if there’s anyone looking for a turnkey distillery, one is available at 464 Kenwood Court in Santa Rosa. For more information, email Brian Tarkenton of CIRE Property Management at brian@northprop.com.

Meanwhile, there are still several Marin-affiliated distilleries that would certainly appreciate your business:

• Moylan’s Distilling. Longtime Marin resident Brendan Moylan, who formerly owned both Moylan’s brewery in Novato and Marin Brewing Co. in Larkspur, founded Moylan’s Distilling in 2004. The products are made in Petaluma through Stillwater Spirits. A multiple national award winner, Moylan’s makes at least eight different whiskeys. Go to moylansdistilling.com.

• Batiste Rhum. Founded by Marin native Tristan Mermin and Jon Lawson in 2008, Batiste Rhum is a carbon‑neutral rhum agricole made from 100% fresh sugar cane juice — not molasses, ergo the “rhum” — sourced from the island of Marie-Galante and finished in used rye whiskey barrels in Napa. Batiste makes silver, gold and reserve rhums, all representing different ages. Go to batisterhum.com.

• Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum. Founded in 2011 by local rocker Sammy Hagar, who later partnered with not-so-local actor-rocker Rick Springfield, this rum is made in Puerto Rico but managed and widely marketed by Hagar. They produce a platinum rum (white), a macadamia nut-flavored rum (Red Head) and a spiced rum, as well as an entire line of ready-to-drink products. Go to sammysbeachbarrum.com.

• Hanson of Sonoma. Founded in 2012 by Marin’s Hanson family, the distillery is located in Sonoma, with a tasting room in Sausalito. Hanson makes an entire line of organic grape-based vodkas, a pea-flower-colored gin (blue) and a multiple-barrel-finished malt whiskey. Go to hansonofsonoma.com.

• Santo Spirits. Founded in 2017, this brand is also owned by Hagar, this time in conjunction with Sonoma County chef Guy Fieri. After selling his controlling interest in Cabo Wabo tequila, Hagar first launched a “mezquila,” neither tequila nor mezcal, but a product that contains elements of both, and then an entire line of tequilas as they aged out: a blanco, a reposado and an añejo. All are reportedly additive-free. Go to santospirits.com.

• Alamere Spirits. Founded in 2021 by Marin couple Susannah and Olivier Souvestre, Alamere Spirits makes three French wheat vodkas (regular, pear and chile) two gins (London dry and makrut lime and lemongrass) and an heirloom corn bourbon. The Souvestres used to be partners in Le Garage and now own Suzette in Sausalito.

• Sausalito Liquor Co. Founded in Sausalito in 2023 by Scott Jampol, Sausalito Liquor Co. produces two multiple finished whiskeys — a rye finished in used California port barrels and a bourbon finished in used California cabernet barrels — as well as chocolate liqueur and gin (Marin Gin) products. Jampol also offers seasonal and limited bottlings of whiskeys with different barrel finishes. Go to sausalitoliquor.com.