Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The most regulated industry in the United States

Whoever said the economy ran like a well-oiled machine never studied the spirits industry

The seaplane-styled tasting room of California Spirit Company, ready to take off in June 2016, having overcome a host of harsh government restrictions.
The seaplane-styled tasting room of California Spirit Company, ready to take off in June 2016, having overcome a host of harsh government restrictions.

Thanks to recent changes in state law, the California Spirits Company will officially open its San Marcos tasting room to the public on June 9. While owner and distiller Casey Miles embraces the opportunity to sell bottles via his tasting room, he suggests it's just the latest example of how strict government controls have impacted small spirit producers' ability to do business.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Miles, who holds an MBA from UC Irvine, experienced an 18-month delay before launching his company at the end of 2014. "In business school they teach you that the economy runs like a well-oiled machine," he says. "Apparently they never studied the spirits industry."

Ironically, the former IT professional used to manage the sort of big data valued by the national intelligence community, but now considers liquor production "the most regulated industry in the United States." He points out, "The city alone delayed us three months and about 15,000 dollars," adding that the difficulties only continue when his bottles reach the consumer. "Distilled spirits are taxed at ten times the rate per ethanol as beer and wine," he states, "The same molecule in the same quantity is taxed ten times more."

Miles rails against this double standard. "If you have 8 ounces of alcohol, you're drunk," he argues, "whether you have it in a couple martinis or a lot of beers, you still had 8 ounces of ethanol." He contends issues attributed to distilled spirits in the public imagination — DUIs and fights for example — are more common among people drinking beer than cocktails. "You don't actually drink a martini and then get into a fight unless you are James Bond," he says.

"I have nothing against beer," he continues, "What I do take issue with is the sin campaign against distilled spirits." Miles insists small-batch spirit manufacturers actually produce a cleaner product than brewers or winemakers, which produce alcoholic solutions. "We refine it," he says, "we remove the impurities. We remove the acetone, the methanol, propyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, amyl alcohol. Those are all poisons." He claims that ethanol's dehydrating properties aside, such byproducts are the chemicals guilty of causing hangovers. And they're not found in his spirits. "You get a nice craft distilled product," he pledges, "you'll be right as rain in the morning."

To succeed within the confines of existing rules, Miles initially focused his business plan on "one product, massive distribution." He built his distillery around developing a white rum, experimenting with dozens of different sugars and yeast combinations until he settled on a blend of sucanat, premium-grade molasses, and a French blush wine yeast. It's subsequently earned silver medals at both the American Distilling Institute and San Francisco World Spirits competitions.

However, now that California Spirits can directly sell up to three bottles per customer on site, a single product would limit his brand's success. So, Miles has had to work quickly to expand his product line and will begin by introducing a line of flavored rums with his tasting room opening. "If they can buy three bottles," he figures, "we need at least five products!"

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
The seaplane-styled tasting room of California Spirit Company, ready to take off in June 2016, having overcome a host of harsh government restrictions.
The seaplane-styled tasting room of California Spirit Company, ready to take off in June 2016, having overcome a host of harsh government restrictions.

Thanks to recent changes in state law, the California Spirits Company will officially open its San Marcos tasting room to the public on June 9. While owner and distiller Casey Miles embraces the opportunity to sell bottles via his tasting room, he suggests it's just the latest example of how strict government controls have impacted small spirit producers' ability to do business.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Miles, who holds an MBA from UC Irvine, experienced an 18-month delay before launching his company at the end of 2014. "In business school they teach you that the economy runs like a well-oiled machine," he says. "Apparently they never studied the spirits industry."

Ironically, the former IT professional used to manage the sort of big data valued by the national intelligence community, but now considers liquor production "the most regulated industry in the United States." He points out, "The city alone delayed us three months and about 15,000 dollars," adding that the difficulties only continue when his bottles reach the consumer. "Distilled spirits are taxed at ten times the rate per ethanol as beer and wine," he states, "The same molecule in the same quantity is taxed ten times more."

Miles rails against this double standard. "If you have 8 ounces of alcohol, you're drunk," he argues, "whether you have it in a couple martinis or a lot of beers, you still had 8 ounces of ethanol." He contends issues attributed to distilled spirits in the public imagination — DUIs and fights for example — are more common among people drinking beer than cocktails. "You don't actually drink a martini and then get into a fight unless you are James Bond," he says.

"I have nothing against beer," he continues, "What I do take issue with is the sin campaign against distilled spirits." Miles insists small-batch spirit manufacturers actually produce a cleaner product than brewers or winemakers, which produce alcoholic solutions. "We refine it," he says, "we remove the impurities. We remove the acetone, the methanol, propyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, amyl alcohol. Those are all poisons." He claims that ethanol's dehydrating properties aside, such byproducts are the chemicals guilty of causing hangovers. And they're not found in his spirits. "You get a nice craft distilled product," he pledges, "you'll be right as rain in the morning."

To succeed within the confines of existing rules, Miles initially focused his business plan on "one product, massive distribution." He built his distillery around developing a white rum, experimenting with dozens of different sugars and yeast combinations until he settled on a blend of sucanat, premium-grade molasses, and a French blush wine yeast. It's subsequently earned silver medals at both the American Distilling Institute and San Francisco World Spirits competitions.

However, now that California Spirits can directly sell up to three bottles per customer on site, a single product would limit his brand's success. So, Miles has had to work quickly to expand his product line and will begin by introducing a line of flavored rums with his tasting room opening. "If they can buy three bottles," he figures, "we need at least five products!"

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?

Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
Next Article

Was Reddit ghost sighter hired by Hotel del Coronado?

Parking 1/2 mile away and complaints of vandalism
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader