Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Pelle and Scott Nixon.
Scott and Jason worked together at their last duty stations while they were still in the navy for about a year and a half. Scott’s tour ended in December 2014 and Jason’s ended in June 2016. Jason reached out one month after Scott got out of the Navy, and asked if Scott wanted to open a Distillery with him. In the year that Jason knew Scott, he recognized that Scott’s dedication to the Navy was the perfect partner to start a business with. Jan 2015 Scott and Jason started down the path to bring Copper Collar to fruition. At the same time, Scott was pursuing a Business Management degree. Scott thought it was a wonderful idea to apply his new skills. By July 2016, they were fully licensed to produce and distribute.
Jason always had an entrepreneur mentality, and whenever he caught wind of something that peaked his curiosity, he would try to learn everything he needed to become a master of his craft. Making spirits for Copper Collar, for Jason became a passion to craft high-quality spirits that could be loved by people who either liked their spirits neat or in cocktails. Copper Collar started off with vodka as their flagship product. And over the course of five years, they’ve expanded the line to include one flavored vodka, a silver rum, a barrel-aged rum, and a silver rum.
Has it been a smooth road?
The state of the legislation governing the industry is still very over-regulated and loosely interpreted for spirits. Makes it very hard for a small business to sustain themselves. Scott and Jason still work full-time jobs and work the distillery on the weekends as a way to keep their business afloat as well as continue to market their products.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Copper Collar Distillery story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a craft distillery that specializes in small-batch spirits that uses high-quality ingredients and high attention to detail to produce a premium spirit. Currently, we specialize in vodka, rum, and gin spirits. We are most proud of our Star Anise vodka. It has a potent candied liqurice flavor without any sweeting added during the distilling process. It’s been called Sambuca’s less braggadocious cousin but a local reviewer and continues to be one of our top sellers.
What sets us apart is we’re a small business that is able to give a very personal experience into the distilling process and create relationships with our customers that they wouldn’t otherwise get the opportunity elsewhere. Our customers are able to approach Jason (our distiller) and ask any questions about the distilling process.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Hopefully, the legislation would loosen and allow the craft distilleries to provide more extensive tastings outside of getting a restaurant license. We don’t see a whole lot of new entrance of other craft spirit brands until this happens. The alcohol beverage legislation is very restricting.
Pricing:
- Tasting/Tour of the Distillery is $10, allows you a tasting of all our spirits up to 1.5 oz or a cocktail
Contact Info:
- Address: 8733 N. Magnolia Ave., Ste. 126, Santee, CA 92017, US
- Website: https://coppercollardistillery.com
- Phone: (619) 758-5926
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coppercollardistillery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/285209381834782
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/copper-collar-distillery-santee
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