Old 49 Distilling Co. is a small Los Angeles distillery founded in 2017 by bartender and screenwriter David Glicksman and Army veteran and stunt pilot Aaron Fitzgerald. The name honors Glicksman's grandfather, Nat Kidder, who distilled spirits for Navy sailors in Hawaii in the 1940s and spent years refining a whiskey recipe; the "49" marks the forty-ninth iteration of it. Early experiments happened in an Atwater Village garage before the company set up its first production in the Arts District.

The house style is hands-on and local. Labels are screen-printed by hand, each bottle carries a paper seal modeled on the US federal tax stamps used from 1949 to 1986, and the typefaces echo the naval stencils Kidder used to mark his own bottles.

The flagship for cocktail bars is Catalina Apéro, a California-made answer to Aperol built on a corn spirit, fresh local citrus and more than a dozen roots and botanicals including rhubarb, cinchona and gentian. Bottled at 15% ABV in a one-liter bottle, it is made for spritzes, Spaghetts and bitter tiki drinks. The lineup also includes Nat Kidder Navy Strength Vodka and Old 49 California Whiskey.

Browse our full Old 49 Distilling collection with fast nationwide shipping delivered straight to your door.