Ascendant Spirits, INC.

Ascendant Spirits is the Buellton, California craft American whiskey operation founded in 2009 by Stephen Gertman — and Santa Barbara County's first legally-licensed distillery to operate since Prohibition. Located at 37 Industrial Way in Buellton (the small Santa Barbara County town that anchors the broader Santa Ynez Valley wine country, made internationally famous by the 2004 film "Sideways"), Ascendant Spirits occupies a working distillery and tasting room in the heart of the broader Santa Ynez Valley tourism corridor that runs through Solvang, Los Olivos, and the surrounding wine-country towns roughly 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara.

The Buellton location places Ascendant Spirits within one of the most editorially distinct wine-and-tourism regions in California. The Santa Ynez Valley — with the broader Santa Barbara County wine appellation that includes Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, and the broader Santa Maria Valley — has emerged as one of the most-respected American Pinot Noir and cool-climate wine production regions over the past three decades, with the "Sideways" film accelerating tourism growth that's anchored substantial restaurant, hotel, and tasting-room development across the region. Ascendant Spirits operates as one of the few craft-spirits stops on what's otherwise a wine-focused regional tourism circuit.

The product range covers Breaker Bourbon (the flagship — small-batch California bourbon, the brand's most-distributed product, distilled from California-grown grain and aged in new charred American oak), Breaker Wheat Whiskey, Breaker Single Barrel Bourbon, Breaker Cask Strength Bourbon, Breaker Rye Whiskey, Ascendant California Single Malt, Ascendant Vodka, Ascendant Gin (a botanical-forward modern gin built around California-foraged ingredients), and a rotating range of seasonal and limited single-barrel bottlings. The Breaker Bourbon line has earned competition recognition at multiple regional and national spirits competitions that's positioned Ascendant alongside the broader California craft American whiskey scene.

The Buellton visitor experience anchors the craft-spirits stop on the broader Santa Ynez Valley wine-country tourism itinerary. The Industrial Way location puts Ascendant Spirits within easy driving distance of the surrounding Solvang, Los Olivos, and Santa Ynez tasting-room and restaurant clusters, with the broader Highway 101 corridor connecting north toward San Luis Obispo and south toward Santa Barbara. For visitors building a Santa Barbara County wine country weekend, Ascendant Spirits is the essential craft-American-whiskey complement to the surrounding wine-focused tourism circuit.