Located in Santa Cruz, California and founded by Sean Venus, Venus Spirits is currently producing organic small-batch whiskey, gin, aquavit and blue agave spirits. We build bold flavors that start with organic and locally sourced ingredients. Each batch is distilled in our hand pounded Alembic 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 lead 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 organic gin, whiskey and blue 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
Venus Spirits is currently working on expanding their operation to include additional distilling space, a new tasting room and a restaurant!!!