Former S.D. pol takes a shot at making bourbon
For eight years, Mark Kersey was a San Diego councilman dealing with budgets, policies, potholes, backlogged infrastructure needs and every other issue that came before the council.
It was good preparation for his newfound post-politics profession — producing bourbon.
“A decade of politics served me well for transition to the alcohol business,” jokes Kersey. “It may be a challenging time politically, but it’s a good time for bourbon.”
He has traded municipal tasks for casks. It wasn’t a long-planned career change. Kersey has been running a tech research business with his brother-in-law for years.
But, when his longtime friend Richard Montaño, a certified sommelier, shared over lunch his plan to produce bourbon, Kersey’s entrepreneurial taste buds perked up.
“I’ve always been a big enthusiast for all kinds of whiskey,” he confesses. Plus, he has a business background to add to the mix. After graduating from Northwestern University, he took courses at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
The men focused on the idea of a California bourbon, a four-grain bourbon distilled in the Midwest and matured in the requisite new charred American oak casks, then shipped to the West Coast. Here in California, they finish it in cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc wine barrels from Montaño’s small family vineyard in San Pasqual. Hence, it transitions into a California bourbon.
“We are not a distillery per se,” Kersey notes. “We import ingredients from the Midwest and blend it here. We work with distillery partners.”
These days, as the new CEO of Cask & Coast Spirits Co., the former politician spends a lot of time visiting restaurateurs, liquor store owners and suppliers.
The company’s initial batch, a conservative 750bottle release, debuted in
B1
November.
In late January the Cask & Coast bourbon, with a recommended retail price of $69.99, entered its first competition — the San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge. It received a 91 rating and a gold medal.
So, rather than talking politics on social media, on Jan. 28 Kersey dispatched a tweet about being thrilled to get a gold medal in his company’s initial competition: “We made a bourbon that we wanted to drink, and it’s really rewarding to see others enjoying it, too.”
Not bad for the new kids on Bourbon Street.
“For somebody on the first go around to get a gold award in a blind tasting like
that, up against some pretty serious bourbons, is a significant achievement,” says Rich Cook, who runs the competition. Spirits were added to the challenge about five years ago, he says, and bourbons from Kentucky, Texas and North Carolina were among the more than 100 bourbon entries.
“There is a big interest in cocktails right now,” Cook says.
Maurice DiMarino, beverage manager of the Cohn Restaurant Group, is chief judge of the spirits entered in the competition.
A lot of bourbon distilling and finishing is taking place in San Diego County, he explains, adding that the nationally distributed bourbon of NFL Pro Hall of Famer Charles Woodson is blended in San Diego.
DiMarino attributes the increasing popularity of bourbon and other whiskeys to consumers’ desire for more complex flavors than say, vodka, along with the easing of controls. For instance, whiskey tasting rooms now are allowed in California.
While he didn’t speak specifically about Cask &
Coast bourbon, DiMarino noted that the difference comes in the bourbon finishes. A gold medal bourbon is one he would not hesitate to share with a good friend.
Kersey likens his job to that of a chemist who adds a little bit of this and a little bit of that. He describes their finished product in mouth-watering terms: “notes of vanilla, almond, cocoa, spices, cinnamon, allspice — a lingering finish” — and all at a robust 102 proof.
While the company’s biggest market is online, Cask & Coast is available in local Keg N Bottle shops, The Shop in Rancho Bernardo and Rosina’s Italian Restaurant near Kersey’s Black Mountain Ranch home. It created a Cask & Coast Manhattan cocktail.
Total Wine & More stores soon will be stocking their bourbon, as well, he says.
“What a transition. I was shocked when he sent me the first email,” says former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who now heads the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Sanders, a self-admitted beer lover, hasn’t yet tried his colleague’s bourbon but, “Everybody I’ve talked to thinks it’s excellent.”
Long a fan of San Diego’s craft beer industry, Sanders acknowledges that a tequila and whiskey vibe is happening in San Diego right now. “They’re carving out a real cool niche,” he adds, and is grateful for a new industry to attract tourism.
When asked if his eight years in City Hall prepared him for this “spiritual” undertaking, Kersey says he learned a lot about bureaucracy as a councilman. Considering alcohol is a highly regulated product, that was valuable training.
“I miss the opportunity to make a difference in a large number of people’s lives. You put up with lot of nonsense, but you make the city a better place,” concedes Kersey, who was termed out of office. Then he adds: “There are a lot of things I don’t miss.”
But he’s not dwelling on the past. He received a supply shipment this week and is beginning preparations for the next batch of Cask & Coast bourbon.