The ranch was purchased by J. West Martin, one of the original UC Regents and a two-term mayor of the City of Oakland, during the 1850s. It was originally named “Rancho Santa Rita.” Martin built numerous outbuildings and a huge draft horse barn around 1860, which is still in use on the property today. His stepson Thomas Carneal eventually took over the ranch, expanded the operation and built Highland school at the end of the driveway, which still stands today.
In 1884, Great-Great Grandfather Frederick Reinstein, came from Denmark and purchased a large portion of the property on Finley Road, adjacent to the legendary "Jackass Canyon", where during prohibition, local ranchers made bootleg whiskey in Northern California using the clear natural spring and the world's finest wheat. His son Henry Reinstein, bought Thomas Carneal's ranch and home, expanding the ranch to include its current location. The ranch, known as “home place,” has always been a beehive of activity. The ranch is now home to dozens of horses, wildlife, and memories of 5 generations of the Reinstein family.
Ready to immerse yourself more into the rich history of Reinstein Ranch?
The One-Armed Whiskey Man of Jackass Canyon, The Unbelievable True Story of a Gentlemen Distiller and His Fine Illicit Whiskey, is coming in to a book store near you in 2022!
“The One-Armed Whiskey Man of Jackass Canyon, The Unbelievable True Story of a Gentlemen Distiller and His Fine Illicit Whiskey” is told through the lens of four generations of Kentucky’s whiskey making Carneal family.
This book has all the high adventure, unearthed history, and whiskey lore nonfiction readers are thirsty for. It starts in 1790’s Northern Kentucky during the Whiskey Rebellion and ends in the wilds of Prohibition era Northern California.
Along the way it pours a fresh perspective for the reader on the nation's transition from the gilded age to the progressive era, blending the settled traditions of Kentucky with the free-spiritedness of California. The story culminates in an enlightened approach to law breaking in the making of a refined California wheat whiskey in the 1920’s.
It’s an adventure that takes readers on a four-part whiskey-soaked romp, tracing the process of whiskey distillation, from terroir to tumbler. While it reads like a fiction, it is a true-to-life, never before told reckoning of the historic origins behind 5th generation Reinstein Ranch.
