Mike Selberg views himself as an artist or craftsman of distilled spirits rather than a businessman building the next big thing. The medals Cannon Beach Distillery has won at the American Distilling Institute for his Easy Buoy Gin, Sunset Session Whiskey and Strata 3 Single Malt Whiskey have proved his talent. Still most customers rave about his rum.
Growing up, Selberg lived in Portland and spent his summers at a cabin in Cannon Beach, Oregon. He journeyed to Tacoma, Washington, to attend the University of Puget Sound, where he initially majored in music. Then, he changed to psychology and finally, graduated with a degree in biology. It was his college biology and chemistry classes and a foray into homebrewing that helped get him to where he is today.
Because he wanted to live in Cannon Beach, Selberg opened the Cannon Beach Distillery in 2012 as the sole employee. Operating the business, manufacturing and selling his product by himself in a 1,100-square-foot facility worked for a while. When he hired employees, he needed more space and moved production down the street where he also opened his Midtown Whiskey Tasting Room. You can’t buy bottles of whiskey there yet, just samples, but Selberg is working on the proper licensing so he can sell bottles. He kept his first address as his Downtown Tasting Room. Here, Selberg talks about his technique, his quest, his rum and the future.
1) You’ve made it known you don’t want to make the exact same spirit twice. How do your customers feel about that when they’ve found one they love?
I never make the same whiskey twice in the Carronade collection. I don’t change the recipe, but am on a constant quest to improve the technique. The minor variations from batch to batch are hopefully, for the better. Customers do want the same taste all the time, especially when it comes to whiskey. But, I didn’t get into this industry to make one or two recipes on a large scale and never change them. That would be my worst nightmare. I crave refinement and progression. I believe there is art in my work and I want to see how far I can improve my artistic abilities.
2) What makes your rums so good?
I won’t sell rum that I don’t enjoy drinking neat at room temperature. Our rums aren’t developed with a cocktail in mind, so a sweet drink can mask the quality of the spirit. Instead, I use high-quality ingredients and high-purity distillations to achieve a more refined quality of alcohol that expresses the flavor of the sugars in the fermentation. No sweeteners, thickeners or artificial colors have been added. Customers expect sweet, heavy rums, but we give them the opposite.
3) What spirit would you like to make in the future?
So many, in the whiskey category alone. I can think of dozens of grain combinations and barrels I’d like to try, but we are limited due to our equipment. Most of the equipment here is retrofitted from other industries or I built it myself. We don’t have the equipment to process fruit yet, but I’d love to get into the world of brandy. There’s a bounty of local ingredients I’m missing out on right now.
4) What would you like future visitors to Cannon Beach Distillery to know?
This is a distillery for people who enjoy spirits and are looking for something new and different. I want our visitors to understand the process of how these liquids are made. Because an educated consumer is our best friend, our staff wants every person that walks through the doors to leave more knowledgeable than when they arrived.
