Located in Santa Cruz, California and founded by Sean Venus, Venus Spirits is currently producing small-batch whiskey, gin, aquavit, vodka, blue agave spirits and rum. We build bold flavors that start with the highest quality ingredients. Each batch is distilled in one of our three copper stills. A little bit of ocean air, a touch of precision and some time result in extraordinary handcrafted spirits.
Our Story
My journey to start Venus Spirits began 20 years ago with my first batch of homebrew. I was first introduced to beer making by my high school science teacher, and this experience of applied science sparked a lifelong interest in brewing and fermentation science.
I was lucky enough to go to college at the University of Oregon during the initial renaissance of craft beer. This exposed me to great beer and a collaborative brewing community. At the age of twenty I got my first brewing job as an assistant brewer. This led to various positions with other breweries in Eugene and six years with Gordon Biersch Brewing in San Jose, CA. For the next eight years I worked for several organic food companies.
Somewhere along the way, my love for craft beer evolved into a love for whiskey. An idea was born in 2012 to start a craft distillery in Santa Cruz to produce small batch gins, whiskies and agave spirits. With my wife’s approval I searched for a site and began procuring equipment. After months of construction and mountains of paperwork we began distilling in May of 2014. Our Venus Gin Blend No. 01 hit shelves in July and our El Ladrón Blanco Blue Agave Spirit followed in September. Our first batches of Wayward Whiskey were released in January 2015, realizing my longtime dream. I hope you enjoy.
- Sean Venus
Stills
The distillery is made up of two hand-pounded copper Alembic stills imported from Spain, and one Bennet still fabricated in Italy. Each dimple hammered into the Alembic stills creates a location for the distillate to collect and drip back into the pot in a unique way, creating characteristics in the distillate that are unique to each still. Our stills produce a full bodied spirit that is both fragrant and sweet.
Brewhouse
Our 10 bbl brewhouse is made up of a kettle, mash tun, hot water tank and fermenters. When making Wayward Whiskey wash, the grain is crushed in a roller mill and augered to either the kettle or mash tun. The grain is then separated from the sweet liquid, and the liquid is pumped into a fermentation tank, pitched with yeast and left to ferment for 5-7 days. The fermentation tanks are also used when making El Ladrón Blue Agave Spirit, when yeast is added to the agave juice and left to ferment for up to 15 days.
Barrels
Most of our aged spirits rest in 53 gallon New American Oak Barrels, char 3. While the majority will be stored for at least two years before the spirit inside is ready for bottling, some of our lightly aged spirits, like Gin Blend No. 02, rest for only a few months so the oak does not overpower the more delicate notes.