Long before the advent of dating apps, Woody and Helena Price Hambrecht met on OkCupid. Their first date was six hours long. Their second date lasted four days. At the end of their first date, Woody, a third-generation winemaker, said to Helena, a tech creative at the time, “I don’t know why, but I know that we are going to know each other for the rest of our lives.” His intuition turned out to be spot on. Seven years later, they are married with a kid and a burgeoning business called Haus.
Meet Haus — Woody and Helena’s brainchild, a lower-proof, all-natural aperitif. Haus has about a third of the alcohol content as your standard gin or whiskey. (Read: you can keep socializing for longer.) The taste is light, goes down smooth, and doesn’t have that hard kick of regular liquors. It also contains far less sugar, which helps with the whole hangover thing. We test drove it in our office and can attest to its refreshing tastiness.
Woody and Helena were inspired by the European style of aperitif-drinking. The word “aperitif” comes from the Latin, “aperire”, which means “to open”. Traditionally, aperitifs are enjoyed as lead-in to dinner to stimulate the appetite. If wine is your entree, the aperitif is your appetizer. Haus is a modernized, more versatile take on the aperitif. It can be enjoyed before, during, or after dinner, either on the rocks or mixed. “The best thing about aperitifs is you can mix it with one thing and it tastes like a $20 cocktail.” says Helena.
Gathering is the foundation of everything. It’s how we live, period. People are craving IRL connections.
Helena
Why do we love Haus? It was born out of a desire to bring people together. “Gathering is the foundation of everything. It’s how we live, period. People are craving IRL connections.” says Helena. Naturally, we couldn’t agree more.
