TAKE a SABBATICAL SABBATICAL

Distillery Makes Good Booze

 STORY & PHOTOS BY SARAH STEFFENS

Distillery owners Jack Zech and Daniel Leonard are on the biggest sabbatical of their lives. After attending college together and working the corporate scene in New York, they found themselves yearning for an opportunity to pause and create a new opportunity that would redirect their careers and futures. It wasn’t long before they opened the doors of Sabbatical Distillery on Victoria Island, in the heart of the Delta, making it San Joaquin County’s first and only whiskey distillery to open since prohibition nearly 100 years ago.

Technically speaking, a sabbatical is an extended break from work to pursue other hobbies and interests.

“We had to ask ourselves what is important in our life’s work,” says Daniel. “We have used our work in the distillery as a way to stop and connect with nature.”

And there certainly are endless ways to connect with nature at Sabbatical. The distillery is on the property of Jack’s 7,000-acre family farm. Since 1964, the land has been abundant in asparagus, corn, almonds, citrus, and blueberries, to name a few. “We use what we grow on the property to make our whiskey, gin, and vodka,” says Jack.

“Our corn is in our bourbon, and we have a vodka infused with essence from our blueberries.”

Those who want to see the distillery and farmland can visit the tasting room for a flight of their distinctly delicious whiskeys and refreshing vodka and gin; and looking forward, a membership club and official property tours are slated to start this summer. While you’ll likely only spend a few hours on the island, we encourage you to think of it like your own minisabbatical—a break to try new things, if you will.

BY THE NUMBERS:

BARRELS MADE PER YEAR: UP TO 200 LIQUORS MADE: 8 - SIX WHISKEYS, ONE GIN, AND ONE VODKA YEAR OPENED: 2020 (THE TASTING ROOM OPENED IN 2021)

ALCOHOL PROOF: RANGING FROM 40-100

In English, soirée means “a small fancy evening affair.” The word comes directly from French and was formed from the word soir, meaning “evening” or “night ” At Très Soirée we extend the interpretation t o include brunch and lunch as well as dinner We are committed to creating an at mosphere for intimate conversation, music, and entertainment, as well as exquisite invitations, multiplecourse menus, food, wine pairings, and tablescapes Your soirée will be a complete, elegant, unique, and unforgettable event We do everything, you do nothing!