Q&A with Dave Classick Jr. from Essential Spirits

We interviewed Dave Classick Jr. from one of California's earliest craft distilleries for a piece we wrote on Sergeant Classick Silver Rum (read that here). Here's the full interview:

1. I know you and Dave Sr. started Essential Spirits in the early days of California craft distilling. Can you tell me a little more about your family’s background and how you got started?

Having solid roots in the Bay Area, (my mother as well as myself are born and raised), the short answer is we are just another Silicon Valley garage startup, in the same vein as Hewlett Packard and Apple…ok maybe not as big. My father, having worked in the tech industry as a data quality engineer for HP, then Agilent Technologies for over 20 years, started experimenting with brewing recipes and techniques in the mid-nineties, creating a “lab” area in my childhood home garage, with lab coats and eye protection and everything, it was very exciting time for me as a young teenager.

Before that, though, our story really begins on a family trip to France, me (14) and my sister’s (11) first, as my parents wished to introduce us to travel and European culture. In addition to hauling us to what felt like every church and historical site across the French countryside, we were also hosted at a friend’s house for dinner and inter-cultural exchange. This was in the nascent days of the internet and travel was one of the only ways to have such an experience, so being that there were some Americans in town, our French friends also invited some of their local friends to meet and break bread. Through conversations, one attendee learned my mother was in marketing (in the semiconductor industry) and asked if she’d be willing to proofread a sales brochure in English. It turned out that this man worked for the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, and the sales brochure was for the still system we ultimately ended up purchasing. Talk about serendipity!

For roughly a year or two before this trip, my parents had discussed their futures and had a great desire to run their own business, and “make their own mistakes,” as they put it, in whatever form that might take. They investigated Jiffy Lube franchises, subway sandwich shops, even diners and freon recycling (it was a different time), but nothing had struck their fancy…but at a dinner in the south of France, a seed was planted. Being in California in the early 90s, one couldn’t help but notice the growth and success of the micro or “craft” brewing business, Sierra Nevada Brew Co. being one of most notable examples. So, my parents thought, “Why couldn’t we do a similar manufacturing model with distilling?” As far as we knew it hadn’t been done yet.

Most people have no idea how much prohibition decimated the distilling industry in this country. In fact, when we started our shop, we were one of only six distilleries in the entire western region of the US, and even then, there were no domestically produced premium spirits, any of “the good stuff” were all imports. The CA ABC even had to bring someone out of retirement to license our shop, since there hadn’t been one in 20 years. There weren’t any schools to go to learn HOW to distill and although my father is an accomplished home chef, a necessary or at least very useful skill set, it was clear some tutelage was necessary to figure out our new machine, so my dad moved to Bordeaux France for a few months to train under the master fabricator/still maker himself. In the meantime, we secured a location, installed infrastructure, and got ready. Then when it was time to install the still, we in turn hosted the still maker and his family while he made sure everything was installed properly and spent three weeks holding our hands while we got used to our new profession. We opened our doors officially in 1998, with our Classick Original American Bierschnapps, and it’s now been over 25 years producing various award-winning, world-class spirits, for ourselves and others.

2.  What is the particular niche that Essential Spirits fills in the craft market?

Over our years in operation, we have worn a few hats. We started producing our own brands to start, though it was a rocky start. When we were just getting up and running, we thought to ourselves, “Now we have this machine, what can we make?” Vodka was the easiest answer, and even though there were many imported brands on the shelf, there was plenty of market share available. But we didn’t know HOW to make vodka, and upon research, we learned first you have to ferment cereal grains and then run them on the still. Well, fermentation of grains sounded a lot like making beer, so we went to our local microbrewery (The Tied House) and inquired if they’d be willing to produce our “wort” on contract. The owner, a German man, offered that it was too bad we couldn’t produce bierschnapps instead…bierschnapps? What the heck was that? It’s basically a traditional Bavarian distillate, a true European style schnapps made from beer (that very few people outside of Germany even know about). We agreed it would be cool to do something different, and hopefully unique enough to stand on its own on the store shelves, and most importantly be attractive to customers. Andreas agreed to create an American Style Pale Ale recipe for us, “aroma hopped” to emphasize the malt characteristics versus, say, something hoppier, and we were off.

We learned many things in those first years. We chose a beautiful bottle made in Italy, decorated in France, and ordered in early spring, which mean we didn’t see anything until late October thanks to the summer work (or lack of) habits of parts of Europe. Sigh! Also, this product was released WELL before the early 2000’s cocktail/mixology renaissance, so there weren’t many bars making drinks with “interesting” ingredients, and no one was yet requesting said ingredients for home experimentations. Unfortunately, because it contained the word “schnapps” in it, most liquor stores that were willing to put our product on their shelves put it next to American schnapps, sugary sweet nightmares in a bottle. Not cool. Anyway, as I say, lessons were learned. While the Bierschnapps was languishing on random shelves around the Bay Area, we decided to expand our operations. Being that we lived in one of the greatest grape growing areas in the world, and proud of my mother’s Italian heritage, we decided we’d take a stab at making grappa. We were able to source pomace from some very notable wineries and made some beautiful craft grappas. However, only marginally more people know or like grappa than they do bierschnapps…

But, the new project bore two perks: One, we had an ABC Type 3 Brandy Makers license, which meant that we could finally sell a product direct to consumer, something we could NOT do with the bierschnapps (or anything not made from fruit) thanks to the stupid 3-tier system, and two, we were introduced to the concept of contract production, since we realized that if we were making our own grappa, we could also make grape spirits for wineries themselves, and then for those up and down our lovely winery-saturated state. This began our role as one of CA’s premier contract distilleries/brand incubators, which we love, allowing us to really focus on where we add value, the production of distillates, and let the brand owners focus on their sales and marketing.

3.  We love your rum! I know Nate and Tyler have been talking to you about an aged expression. But you also make brandy, I think. Can you tell me a little more about your distillery brands, and especially the products you are most excited about?

Thank you so much! We appreciate it. Currently under our “house brands” we have the “gold” and “silver” expressions of our Sgt Classick rum made from 100% Hawaiian molasses, several expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon grappa from noted terroirs around Napa, under the brand name Classick Grappa, we have Pure Pear, unaged eau de vie from Lake County bartlett pears, with 12.5 lbs. of pear in each 375 ml bottle, and finally we have our Classick the Original American Bierschnapps. More info on these can be found on our website www.essentialspirits.com . We will eventually continue the “Pure” line with brandies made from different fruits, and we also have the aged rum coming, likely being released slightly “overproof.” I’m quite proud of that effort in particular.

4. Can you tell me more about how you came to develop your Silver and Gold rums? 

My family has been visiting the Hawaiian Islands since I was a little kid. My dad did some R&R there while enlisted in the Army and fell in love with the peace and tranquility. Also, fortunately for my sister and I, the semiconductor company my mother worked for at the time held some annual meetings there. She’d work for a week, then the following week the rest of the family would fly out to spend some quality time on the islands. During those many trips, my parents noted there weren’t any rums made with Hawaiian molasses, which they thought was strange considering most other sugarcane growing regions of the world had at least some expression. With that little tidbit filed away, many years later when they launched our distillery and were in search of interesting things we could produce, they remembered the potential of the Hawaiian rum and thought they could do something about it.

5. How did you source your molasses from Hawaii and why? 

It would have been a dream to actually build a distillery on the islands, but there are big economic barriers to that idea. Mainly the expense of shipping everything to the islands for production, then for any chance of commercial success, having to ship full (heavy) product back to the mainland, all at considerable cost. With the licensed shop already established in the Bay Area, they figured why not just bring the molasses there? We negotiated with a broker to have bulk molasses sailed via a huge tanker ship, originally from Kauai, then ultimately Maui, and brought directly to the port of SF where we pumped it into IBC totes and warehoused it until we could retrieve it. We did some fermentation experiments in our home lab (aka the garage), playing with different yeasts and processes, ultimately landing on a “rum-specific” yeast from Guatemala, which could propagate in high temps (~94 degrees F) and the high brix content of the molasses we had. It yielded a rum that was very ester-y and vegetal, yet rich and unctuous, even off the still at such a high abv (~90%).

After the first run, we knew we had something special.

6. What would you say makes your craft rum so special?

In the US, there are no real “rules” regarding the standard identity of rum, only that it must be made from sugarcane or sugarcane byproducts. There is no age requirement, so the terms “gold” and “silver” don’t have any specific meaning, other than distinguishing one from another. Be it whisky, rum, etc., when considering “brown” spirits, typically one tastes elements of barrel first and the spirit is the secondary note.

We knew we had something unique with our 100% Hawaiian molasses rum, and although we eventually wanted an añejo (aged) rum, influenced by oak and vanilla, and tannins from wood like most people would expect, that takes time. More importantly, we really wanted people to enjoy the rum first and foremost. To accomplish that we decided to split our production into two options: silver and gold.

To create Sgt Classick Silver rum, right off the still the rum is proofed down to 45% and carbon treated/filtered to remove the “heavier” characteristics. At the time we reasoned that a white rum would mostly be used as a mixer and would be preferred more “neutral,” however with improved education about rums, as well as many more options to choose from thanks to increased distribution, people can find and appreciate more white "sipping rum." While it still has lovely grassy, cane notes, unlike other clear or agricole rums (made from fermented sugarcane juice instead of molasses), it also has some burnt sugar and toasted vanilla aspects as well—delicious in a daiquiri or mojito.

Sgt Classick Gold rum, however, is the same rum off the still, proofed down some and with wood added to it, rather than putting the rum into wood. We use this process specifically to get an extraction from the wood, instead of “esterification,” which can only happen over years in barrels. When you try it, you experience full molasses notes first, THEN the oak, vanilla, and warm spice join the party.

Another unique aspect of our gold rum is that instead of using American oak from second-use bourbon barrels (which adds its own flavor), we opted to use French oak, a blend of medium and medium plus toast, to offer a beautiful gradient of toasted oak flavor. We like to call the gold a “Hemmingway” rum, as it’s dry, not sweet (no sugar/molasses/caramel added after the fact), evoking a sitting by a fireplace in an oversized leather chair sipping rum kind of sentiment.

We will be very sad when the last bottle is poured as that’s all she wrote. There is no longer any commercial sugarcane refining on the islands and we can’t get the molasses.

7.  Nate mentioned that you do a lot of contract work outside of your distillery brands. Can you tell me a little about that side of the business?

I touched on this above, but after working with so many wineries, we began to offer contract distilling services to anyone that wanted to produce a brand but had no idea how to start. When we started, there wasn’t really anyone doing this, so it was a nice niche. Now there is much more competition for contract work.

To assist these industry neophytes, we offer low production MOQ (relatively), and a LOT of hand holding to help steer them expediently around supply chain pitfalls (which we’ve made ourselves) and reduce time to market, when they can recoup some capital, and really begin the work and understanding the industry they’ve joined. We are known for our communication skills, high standards, and most importantly, integrity…we do what we say we will do, when we say we will do it, or if something comes up, we communicate it and work to resolve it. You may be surprised to learn how rare these qualities are in this industry.

8.  What are your proudest achievements in running your business so far?

Aside from getting to work with my father for the last twenty years, making something tangible with our hands, and creating the potential to have a distilling legacy for future generations, we’re very proud of helping to create and launch the Tahoe Blue Vodka brand. We developed the recipe for that in-house and eventually sold it to the brand owner, but to date it’s been our biggest success story as far as starting with contract production and growing along with the client.

9. What makes your spirit(s) unique? Ingredients? Processes? Location? People?

For the last twenty years, we have had a technological advantage with our still system. Since we became such close family friends with the still maker, he offered not to produce a still like ours anywhere in North America. You see, our still is what we like to call the Rolls Royce of Alambic (pot) stills. The product of a single master craftsman’s’ hands, a 3rd generation still maker whose father won the highest civilian honor (the Worker of France) for his copper smithing and whose grandfather worked on the statue of Liberty with Bertolli. There are now a couple of his stills in Canada, as well as another similar but not exact one at a distillery in San Rafael, I think, or somewhere around there, and we are thrilled that our friend has had some commercial success, as well as there being more expressions of spirits being produced on similar equipment. The world deserves spirits made from these stills! Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, my father is an excellent chef, which thankfully he imparted to me throughout my adolescence. Distilling is basically cooking, but there are definitely nuances, and a trained palate is paramount to the process.

10. Who is the target consumer for your spirits?

Really, anyone who appreciates finely made spirits. We’ve worked hard to produce to a high standard, and aren’t into making “me too” products, such as the same vodka over and over again under different labels, so we are proud to stand behind everything we make. Because of our location in the Bay Area, everything is a little more expensive, but our house brands are priced specifically to offer an amazing quality for a reasonable price, which means its accessible to anyone willing to give us a shot (as long as they don’t “slam” it).

11. What are some challenges you’ve faced making your spirits and getting them to market?

California is not a very hospitable state for small business. Add to that the complexities of making a controlled substance like alcohol, and the byzantine 3-tier system, and you have a very uphill battle to get any product out, let alone many. We certainly have struggled trying to get exposure for our spirits; for the longest time even IF you got picked up by a distributor, you were just another line in their book, and no one was going to help with sales/marketing. We’re on our own every step of the way. It’s a little better now. Since there are so many delightful craft spirits, distributors have had to pay attention, but it's still not great. More recently, obviously COVID threw every industry for a loop, but more than that, it actually changed people's habits, at least from my perspective. But we’re still in it.

12. As one of the oldest small distillers in CA, how does the craft spirits industry landscape look to you these days?

It's an interesting question. We’ve seen the industry grow SO much since we began. We’ve seen trends born and evolve, we’ve seen distilleries launch…and fold. There’s a book about California distilleries called Distilled Stories, and of the twenty or so distilleries who shared their origin stories (including our own), probably half of them don’t exist any longer. It’s a difficult industry to be sure, but the one thing that I know is that people’s passions are absolutely present in the spirits they make. Each distillery you visit, you get insight into the people running it, and they get to share their spirit, literally and figuratively, with each visitor. People have been drinking spirits since the process was invented. There’s few “reasonable” substitutions, and from a technological perspective, it’s been made the same way since inception. As a whole, I think the industry is immune to any major shifts, but there’s always room for innovation. I look forward to each and every new expression I produce.

13.  What are your goals for the future and how are you preparing to meet those goals?

Short term, we’d love to continue to be able to help people start their dream of owning their own brands. It’s a LOT of frustrating work, but it’s also pretty fun. Long term, while I don’t currently have any kids, I might in the future, and I DO have a niece and nephew. If we can stick around long enough for me to be able to pass along the knowledge and passion for distilling, as well as create wealth and opportunity for future generations of our family, I think that’s a pretty beautiful pursuit. There's a saying the still maker recounted to us: “In the distilling industry, the grandparent starts the business, the child runs the business, and the grandchild, they profit.” If I can get us to that stage, I will feel very fortunate.

14. What do you most want people to know about your spirits and your business?

It's pretty simple: We love what we do, and we do our very best to make sure our spirits will raise your spirits. We’ve been at it a while, which either means we’re lucky, or good…I like to think it’s a bit of both.