Exclusive Interview with Geoff Longenecker, Owner and Distiller of Seven Caves Spirits

Q: What is your full name, title, company name and company location?

Geoff Longenecker, Owner and Distiller of Seven Caves Spirits in San Diego, CA

Q: What inspired you to get into the spirits industry in general and why rum in particular?

Having lived in the San Diego area for the last 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of watching the craft beer scene grow from a couple of brew pubs and home brew stores to the incredible industry that it is today.  The talent and creativity of that industry inspired me to think of ways I could be a part of an industry like that.  

Thankfully, the timing of my own legal career permitted me the chance to expand into an area I could use some of my creative tendencies correlated with the first rise of the craft spirits industry.  I was able to visit and try spirits made at shops such as Corsair and Watershed in the Midwest, to Ballast Point and Kill Devil here in San Diego.  What I saw was an industry I really wanted to be a part of and one in which I felt I could add a different voice.

I chose aged rums at my shop to start for the simple reason that I believed that rums for too long had been marketed as a sweeter, inferior product to bourbon for no good reason.  I’ve always loved rums and have sought out their aged, un-dosed (ie not sugared post aging) variants.  I love their complexity and found them every bit the equal, and occasionally superior, to bourbons and other whiskies.  The rums I make are often confused for bourbon on the nose, remain complex and delicious after time in new oak barrels, or finished in secondary casks.  I’ll never dose my rums as a matter of principle, not to mention doing so hides complexity.

Q: You are originally from Louisiana, correct?  Why did you decide to build your distillery in San Diego and not in Louisiana?

While I love Louisiana and will forever cherish my time spent there, I moved to San Diego almost 25 years ago when I met my wife.  We raised our two kids here and will likely spend the rest of our lives in and around southern California.

Q: Where did you gain the knowledge needed to operate a distillery?

Setting aside the complexities of running a small business in a very regulated arena, for me, there are really a couple areas of skill that are necessary, fermentation and  distillation, then combined those with a hearty dose of trial and error.  

For fermentation, I’ve been home brewing beer for a little over 20 years in San Diego.  That’s given me a pretty solid knowledge of the fermentation process in all of its various forms (and has been a key influence on much of my whiskey production).

On the distilling front, I view running my stills a little like running complicated stoves.  They all have their quirks, but once you run them a few dozen times with different types of products, you gain a pretty good idea of what your capabilities are.

I am a devout reader and student of any of the projects I’ve undertaking in my life. Thankfully, there are phenomenal books and websites on distilling, and now years of practice on the different systems in my shop have given me a level of knowledge to create flavors I desire in my products.

Q: What was the process like, working with your local government, to get your permit approved for the distillery?  How long did it take?

It took about 9 months for permits and the build-out when I started this project a little over 5 years ago.  San Diego had lots of experience with breweries, and a few local distilleries, so the process was fairly straightforward.  I did hire a great legal consultant to help guide me through the process.  

Q: Opening up a distillery has many obstacles; what would you say was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

I’d say one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced, and I’m sure many other craft distillers have faced, is consumer skepticism when first learning about your brand.  It can be challenging as a craft producer to try and explain to a new consumer who has never tried craft spirits why our products don’t taste like mass produced alcohol.  At festivals and in my shop, I constantly get asked why my rum doesn’t taste sweet or tastes like bourbon, or why a new barrel aged rum that is the color of a bourbon isn’t spiced. 

It is one of my favorite things to take the time to explain the process, how the spirit is fermented, distilled and then aged to taste the way it ultimately does in the bottle. How choices made years before during a distilling run can radically change the final flavor after aging years later.  It becomes an amazing way to earn a new customer of not just my shop, but a fan of craft booze in general. 

Q: What rums are you currently producing?

Seven Caves produces a few different rums.  We are primarily known for our Barrel Aged Rum series.  These are cane sugar and molasses based rums, fermented with dunder and a yeast selected based on the sugar when it arrives (it changes often from the same supplier, so our yeast changes).  The resulting distillate is then aged in new charred oak barrels for at least 2 years.  We occasionally release a secondary barrel finished rum, usually from whiskey barrels, but soon from a couple of fortified wine barrels.

We also have an ‘Exploratory Series’ that I use to play with interesting rum flavors in small amounts.  Examples currently from this series are a Jasmine Tea rum, Orange rum, Mead barrel aged rum and a Jamaican-style Overproof rum made from molasses, lots of dunder and wild fermented.

Q: What type of still do you use to distill your rums?

We have three custom stills in the shop in various sizes, but all are batch distilling pots with 4 plate reflux columns.  We also have a nifty rotovap, which is more for our gin program than rums.

Q: Can you describe your fermentation? Is it the same for all of your rums?

This is a great question, and it heavily depends on what the final product I’m going for.  For my standard barrel aged rum, I’m looking for moderate esters, but not overpowering, so fermentations with cane sugar and molasses last between 5-7 days.  

I make a slightly more neutral base rum for orange and jasmine tea that uses less molasses, a different yeast, and ferments around 5 days.  

For my Jamaican style overproof, and when I’m messing around with high dunder, molasses only rums (and when I have a fermenting tank that has the time for it), fermentations can last weeks.  I just finished one recently that sat for a month.  The whole shop smelled amazing!

I keep mentioning dunder… I’ve had a ‘pit’ in my shop since the first month of operation.  I use varying amounts out of it and replenish when it gets about halfway used up with fresh bask-set.  It’s a really fun thing to have and use at Seven Caves.

Q: Are there plans to add new rums to your portfolio in the future?

I’m constantly playing with different flavors and small batches of rums.  I will have a Madiera finished rum coming (hopefully) later this year, as well as a Sherry finished rum.  Both are really fun, and both will tell me when they are done and ready (they are both finicky).

Q: In addition to your rums you also produce other spirits.  Can you tell us more about these spirits?

Seven Caves is known primarily for our rums and gins.  Currently, we have three gins on the market.  

Our La Jolla Cove Gin is distilled with freshly harvested sea kelp, local Meyer lemons and, of course, juniper and coriander.  It’s designed to be an ode to coastal California.

We have a new London Dry Gin made with juniper, coriander, jasmine flowers and two types of locally grown lemons (Meyer’s and Buddah’s Hand).  It’s the perfect G&T sipper.

Lastly, we have out Tiki Gin which is a contemporary gin with juniper, fresh pineapple, passion fruit, coconut and oranges.  It’s a fantastic non-traditional gin made for tropical cocktails.

Q: I hear you also make a rum maple syrup and pancake mix.  Please tell us more!  It sounds delicious!

No stop at Seven Caves is complete without trying our Rum Barrel aged maple syrup.  When we empty our barrels for our aged rums, we immediately fill them with maple syrup to rest.  After a period of time, we empty and bottle what is some of the most amazing syrup you’ll try.  Rum and maple makes perfect sense, and coupled with just a hint of the barrel, it really is a great combo.

The pancake mix was an idea we had during the last holiday season.  We designed a spiced pancake mix to be sold along with the maple in a gift set.  It proved extremely popular and soon might become a staple in the shop full time!

Q: Where are your products currently available for purchase?

My spirits are available directly at my shop, in select San Diego retailers and for delivery through our website throughout California.  We are expecting to announce more widespread availability in the coming months, however!

Q: COVID-19 has changed many things in people’s lives and businesses, how has it affected your operation and how are you overcoming the challenges?

My shop has been closed to in-person tastings for over a year now.  These were the primary way I introduced people to my spirits and sold my products.  As a result, we pivoted and began to offer both will call pickup from the door and shipping throughout California thanks to eased restrictions by the California ABC.  We sincerely hope that we will be able to continue to ship as it saved my shop over the last year.

Q: I understand that you are offering virtual cocktail classes.  Was this incorporated into your business as a result of Covid or have you always offered these classes? Can you tell us more about the classes?

The cocktail classes began very simply… a group of friends/customers of Seven Caves were scheduled to come to 7C right after the initial shutdown order was issued.  We decided to do the class virtually, so working with an amazing local bartending supply company, we put together a few drinks, the folks got kits to make the drinks with, and we had a great time.  We decided to do it again, but open it up to other customers of 7C.  And it grew exponentially from there.  

The format is always similar…  1.5 hours, 3 cocktails and a lot of fun.  I send the list of cocktails and ingredients out the week of the event.  The same local bartending company would put together a kit with ingredients and equipment, then we have the party on a Friday at 7pm PST.

Q: Of all the cocktail classes you have done, which one has been your favorite and why?

Now that’s a really tough question… and I’m going to answer it cryptically.  The next one (scheduled for April 30 at 7pm PST if you want to come along!).  

Part of what goes in to the classes is an intense amount of reading and ideas for what would make a fun class.  I’m a big flavor person, so I love the process of thinking about flavors and, ultimately, creating new or refreshed cocktails using the spirits I (often painstakingly) make.

That said, and less cryptic, I really enjoyed the class when we incorporated cooking (another huge passion of mine).  But I can’t really pick a single one because they were all a blast! 

Q: Do you have a particular cocktail that is your favorite and if so, why?

Another darn tough question… I’d have to say either the Pumpkin-Spiced PK-er (https://www.the7caves.com/halloween-cocktail-class#pumpkin) or the Zombie variant (https://www.the7caves.com/tiki-take-two-cocktail-class#zombie) were my favorites.  The pumpkin spiced cocktail was one that started as a bit of a joke, and turned into just a fantastic cocktail, perfect for San Diego thanksgiving time.  And the Zombie was fun because it used a bunch of different things I make, and, well, zombies are killer!

Q: Do you offer tours at the distillery? If so, are reservations recommended or required? 

I’m just about to re-open my shop.  Seven Caves has two types of tastings available, one for public hours and the other for private events.

I have hours that are open to the public where, per the State of California, I’m limited on the amount I’m permitted to pour (1.5 oz. total per person, per day).  I will accept one group at a time (for now) during these hours.  No reservations needed, but I can only allow one group at a time, unfortunately.

After those hours, my shop is open for private events only.  In these events, I get a little more leeway in the amount I can pour.  I tend to get a little creative with the cocktail making during these events.  Advanced reservations are required.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about what a customer will experience when they arrive at your distillery?

Regardless of public hours or private events, I love talking to people about my vision of Seven Caves, my love of craft distilling and all things booze related.  My shop is not huge and I conduct talkings in the heart of my facility.  Often, we are drinking samples of spirits that are fermenting in the tanks next to us.  I try to make it a pretty cool and memorable experience. 

For private events, as I mentioned above, I have more options as to what and how much I can pour.  I generally like to treat these experiences similar to an omakase sushi dinner or tasting menu, with small tastes of both spirits and cocktails made from those spirits.  Like the cocktail classes, the themes constantly change, and it really is just what I’m inspired by on those particular days.  Some days it is straight stirred booze forward cocktails like manhattans, martinis and old-fashioned.  Other days its tropical, island cocktails.  Just depends on my mood that day! 

Q: Do you have a tasting room? If so, do you only offer tasting of your rums or do you also serve cocktails made with other products?

Yes, spirits only during public hours.  Spirits and small size cocktails for private group settings.

Sometimes I have folks that only want the rums or only the gins. I do my best to accommodate those people (unless they tell me they don’t like rum because ‘it is too sweet’ or gin because ‘it tastes like a pine tree’.  Then it’s game on!).

Q: If people want to contact you, how may they reach you? 

I’m available on most social media platforms, through my website, email (geoff@the7caves.com) or call/text 619.300.1624

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

I really am honored to be included in this.  Thank you so much for thinking of Seven Caves!

Margaret: Again Geoff, thank you so much for this opportunity and I wish you and your entire team all the best of luck.