We’re an independent, small batch distillery making handcrafted spirits for people who care about how things are made. Using only hand-selected grains, we mill, mash, ferment, distill, age, blend, and bottle – bringing the highest quality spirits from the farm to you. I spoke to Stephen J. Heilman the co-founder of the Charleston Distilling Company.
Stephen, I would like to kick off by asking what the backstory is to setting up the Charleston Distillery, how you came to be involved and what drew you to the project?
SH: In 2010 I was living in Illinois and decided I wanted a change of careers. The goal was to be able to wear flip flops to work and not have to look at a computer. My ancestors had a distillery in Pennsylvania around the whiskey rebellion days and I thought that would be the perfect business to reach my goals. I get to wear flip flops now to work but spend more time on the computer than ever before! I was researching water quality levels and found a survey that ranked Charleston in the top five in the country.
So I hopped on a plane, asked the cab driver to take me to the center of town, looked around for about 5 minutes and then called my wife and told her that I found the best place to live in the country. After that I called a friend who lives in Hilton Head and asked him if he knew any commercial brokers in Charleston. He mentioned that his best friends son has been working on doing a distillery in Charleston as well. We met and decided to do the distillery together.
What have been the main challenges involved in setting up a new distillery?
SH: Our build out took twice as long and twice as much capital than we expected. Building brands from scratch takes time.
Why did you start production? Did you see a gap in the market or was it to fulfill some passion?
SH: I wanted to make a physical product. Before the distillery I made a living trading on the computer. It’s a great job with zero paperwork but wasn’t really emotionally fulfilling.
What whiskey expressions do you currently produce:
SH: We have a 100% rye whiskey made with a malt whiskey yeast strain, sort of a cross between rye and scotch. Se also have a 100% straight rye, some one-offs and our bourbon is still maturing( oldest barrel is 34 months)
What are the most important factors affecting whisky distillation? How do you ensure that these are carefully balanced to produce a consistently high quality product?
SH: Clean fermentation and quality yeast. We have to trust our yeast supplier to keep it consistent. As to the fermentation, it may be hard to believe but cleaning the tanks is actually one of the fun parts of the business!
Craft distilling has become incredibly huge – as there’s still no official definition, how would you define “craft” and do you think Charleston Distilling fits into this category?
SH: I would define craft as more hands on, small scale production. However, we do believe craft distillers should make their own base.
Walk us through the distillation process. From grain to glass? Is there a flavor profile you’re looking for before bottling the whiskey?
SH: Mouth feel, barrel notes, baking spices, absence of raw product flavor, well rounded warmth lacking of alcohol burn.
Where do you think the most flavor control can occur? Grain? Yeast? Water? Wood?
SH: Wood contributes over half the flavor and the best way to control that would be maturing the barrels in an appropriate environment.
Does the geographic location and the weather play an integral role in the maturation of the whiskey?
SH: Absolutely.
What is in the pipeline for 2017? Is there something we should be on the lookout for?
SH: Our plan was to wait four years before we tasted our bourbon to see if it was ready to come to market but our last rye barrel we dumped lost 30% in less than 3 years. We have some thirsty angels down here! Our new plan is to give our oldest barrels one more summer and then taste to see how they are..So we will see..maybe some bourbon is the fall..
Let’s get personal, how did you find yourself in the world of whiskey?
SH: According to what I have read, a couple hundred years ago Heilman Whiskey was known as a good whiskey and was sold as far south as New Orleans. I want our whiskeys to be known as great whiskeys.
Do you remember your first dram? Is there a story behind it ?
SH: I remember sneaking out of the house in 6th grade to have my first beer..after that it is all a blur..
For more information on the distillery, please see the links below:
website: https://www.charlestondistilling.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlestondistilling/
