Hidden Gems THE OSIDER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
SHADOW RIDGE SPIRITS COMPANY WORDS: SHELBY ROWE PHOTOS: CHAD MONTANO
Years ago, Sean Hallman was listening to NPR on his way to work—something he doesn’t normally do—when he got some “serendipitous” inspiration: “They were talking to a guy that sold his gym because New York was offering tax breaks for people to start distilleries before prohibition. And, a reporter asked him, ‘What do you know about distilling?’ and he said, ‘Absolutely nothing, but some of the best whiskey in the world is made by people in the hills of Kentucky with a third grade education.’ So, that’s a similar approach that I took.” Contrary to his modesty, Hallman has been making booze as a hobby for over a decade—starting with home brewing beer, then to a short stint in moonshine, quickly followed by distilling craft spirits from his Oceanside-based distillery. Tucked away in Oceanside Business Park off Industry Street and Oceanside Boulevard, Hallman and his wife, Lisa Ireland, co-run Shadow Ridge Spirits Company. They make ultra small batches of high quality craft spirits, and have turned their warehouse space into a fully functioning distillery, offering curious booze enthusiasts tours and tastings. Their lineup of spirits include five whiskeys: bourbon, rye, single malt, American single malt, and rice, three rums: light, dark, and navy strength—a gin and an agave. “By doing small batches, we can pretty much bottle on demand and sell it by the bottle and everyone seems to be happy,” Hallman said. “And, it lets us experiment. This batch of whiskey bourbon is a little different than the first batch, and then I have another batch of bourbon coming out that’s probably going to be a little different, too. I think people looking for craft spirits are looking for those little nuances from bottle to bottle.” Even though the batches are small, Hallman’s attention to detail is widely the opposite.
He uses three types of sugars for his rums— Demerara sugar (sugarcane), Piloncillo sugar (cone-shaped dehydrated cane sugar), and highgrade molasses. For his whiskeys, he leverages his brewing background to add an extra touch. “There are so many whiskeys and they’re all so unique whether it’s a single malt or barley, a bourbon, or a rye—you know, just like beer, there’s so many different types of stouts,” Hallman said. “I use a lot of barley based on my brewing background. Most bourbons are just corn, rye and wheat, or barely, but this bourbon I have now is actually corn, rye, wheat, and three types of barely.” It took four batches for Hallman to nail down the right taste of the botanicals for his gin, which he proudly stated is not outsourced (none of his spirits are). And he uses a variety of yeasts: Belgian ale yeast for his agave and all of his whiskeys— except his rice whiskey (he uses a sake yeast for that one), and white wine yeast for his rums. Once his spirits are in American Oak barrels, Hallman judges them by maturity—not age—relying on his refined sense of taste and smell to tell him when his spirits are ready. Even though Hallman is dedicated to his craft, his main goal is to keep it fun. After all, this is his hobby. He and his wife work full time and mostly put hours in at the distillery on the weekends— after they’ve slept in, of course. “We wanted to keep it small because we wanted to keep it a hobby. As soon as we start talking about hiring employees, then it’s just no—so we want to keep it manageable,” Hallman said. “And it’s nice also, we have a place in Maine, we just went back for a few and a half weeks, and I want that flexibility.” Keeping it small not only benefits Hallman and Ireland, but also the people that come to their distillery. 16
Owner Sean Hallman
“Another thing we want to keep with our size is that when you come here to visit for a tour and tasting, you’re actually talking to the distillers which isn’t always the case,” Hallman said. “I’ve worked at distilleries and those people doing the tours never talked to the distillers—they talked to me.” Outside of the distillery, Hallman is a veteran having served as a Naval Surface Warfare Officer. He still works for the Department of Navy, and Ireland works as a teacher. They offer private tastings by appointment (book by phone or DM on Instagram), and all of their spirits are available for purchase through their website. Shadow Ridge Spirits Company 3044 Industry Street #107 (858) 633-7146 srdistilled.com @srdistilled
