It took a few beats to wrap my head around just how music could influence the flavor of a spirit. That’s the whole idea behind those produced at Jeff and Christa Duggan’s new concept, Stone Groove Stillhouse. It’s a distillery, bar, and 50-seat restaurant that, in addition to musically infused spirits, also serves up delicious, satisfying fare from an open kitchen headed by Executive Chef Jessica Luevano, who honed her talents at Disneyland’s exclusive Club 33. Bar Director Matt Fitzgerald—whose experience spans the globe—uses Stone Groove whiskeys and other liquid pleasures to create a lineup of sophisticated sips that are layered and balanced, and super-original. (More about all of that in a bit.)
In all, the Duggans have created a uniquely memorable experience with music at its core. And if the name sounds familiar, it’s because the couple’s first venture—the popular Portola Coffee at Costa Mesa’s OCMix, which grinds and brews its own line of premium handcrafted joes—garnered a Micro Roaster of the Year title. The coffee also have been used in a number of award-winning beer collaborations through the years.
Given their success with Portola, I figured the Duggans were on to something swell with Stone Groove. But the concept seemed a bit far out. How can a straight rye taste like rock ’n’ roll or a single malt taste like jazz? But it’s not quite so literal as that. It’s about the vibrations of a genre and the way sound waves impact the barrel-aging process, which in turn influences taste.
“The spirit pulls its color, flavor, and aroma from the barrel,” says Jeff, who studied chemistry in college and, in earlier days, played the drums in a band. “That’s basically the dissolution of the soluble compounds of the wood, and from there, the whiskey becomes whiskey. So we’re subjecting our whiskeys to different vibrations and musical genres.” Those genres—at least right now—are jazz fusion, classic rock, country, and blues. They developed a playlist of 100 tunes for each genre that plays throughout the barrel-aging process. (The couple plans to add other selections like hip hop and classical. And a mini-still positioned at one end of the bar allows the team to cook up other specialty spirits like vodka infused with flavored yogurts.)
I recommend starting your Stone Groove experience with a tasting flight of SG whiskeys. It’ll get you four half-ounce pours. On my visit, that meant samplings of the Blues Bourbon (soft with a warm, lingering mouthfeel), the Country Bourbon (sweet notes and a nice tingle on the tongue), and two “sneak peek” whiskeys—a single malt (light and crisp with a pleasant caramel-like finish) and a rye (smooth, full-bodied, with an aroma that hints at ginger or root beer).
Of course, the cocktail menu beckons with concoctions named after songs—Tragic Kingdom, Electric Love, and A.O.B.T.D. (an abbreviation for Another One Bites the Dust), among them. I wanted to sample some of the establishment’s most popular food and drink offerings, so Fitzgerald teamed up with Luevano on a few pairings—two starters, and a main with a side dish. I began with King Oysters Al Pastor—thinly sliced seasoned mushrooms placed atop tiny squares of pineapple with verjus, micro citrus, and puffed quinoa for a little crunch. The Acquainted cocktail paired perfectly—it boasts SG Classic Rock Rye with a shiitake essence that wafts off the top, and ponzu and miso to add an unexpected tangy-sweet-salty profile.
Honey Miso Shrimp came next—five large plump shrimp dusted with crushed toasted almonds and threads of Korean chili, imparting an earthy flavor to complement the miso glaze. For this dish, Fitzgerald mixed up a Mariposa, made of tequila infused with kombu (a type of brown kelp), ancho, and tomato-tomatillo water. It looks like a margarita, but its flavor is more comparable to a Bloody Mary—but without the strong tomato taste. It’s a surprising concoction and unlike anything I’ve ever had.
It happened to be National Cheeseburger Day on the evening of my visit, so I couldn’t resist ordering The Burger—a sizeable patty between halves of a brioche bun, with confit tomato, a dreamy black garlic aioli, white cheddar, and perfectly caramelized onion, with an arugula salad topping all of that. It ranks high among the best burgers on my list. (Luevano says it’s become one of the most popular items on the menu.) As a side, I ordered the Country Bourbon Glazed Carrots, the heirloom root veggies resting on a bed of whipped goat cheese and sprinkled with crushed hazelnuts, making for a perfect fall accompaniment. Paired with its SG Blues Bourbon and hints of green apple, the Velvet Elvis cocktail delighted, cutting the richness of the burger with the softness of the SG Blues and brightness from the fruit infusion. I ended the night with the Crescendo Martini made with Portola Coffee—a rich, smooth sip that served as a sublime finish.
But the whiskeys are, undeniably, the showstoppers. Jeff crafts them in-house with a Holstein still imported from Germany. Once the distilling process is complete, the spirit is transferred to oak barrels outfitted with a patent-pending technology that the Duggans have trademarked as Musically Mastered. The gadget attaches to the barrel and infuses the vibrations from a playlist into the liquid. “We built several prototypes over the years, so we were able to test the idea on a smaller scale to prove that the concept was valid,” Jeff says. “When we were finally able to taste the blues up against the country, not only did what came out of the barrel taste different from what went into it, they each tasted different up against the other. The blues whiskey tasted different than the country.” They kept repeating the process and achieving the same results. “We used the same music tracks every time.”
Sound fills the entire place, and music is reflected in the decor. The still’s coppery machinery gleams behind a wall of glass opposite the host stand, which displays a wall-mounted reel-to-reel tape recorder and a tabletop record player. Tuesdays are BYOV days—bring your own vinyl. “So you can bring in your favorite vinyl records, and we’ll play them for you,” says Christa, who greets guests as they enter and, before showing them to their seats, guides them to a barrel outfitted with a small round gizmo that picks up the vibrations from the music.
“It’s a good way to show guests what it is that we’re doing,” she explains. Pendant lights hang from the ceiling, the irregularly shaped amber glass conjuring images of giant drops of liquid raining down. Behind the bar, panels with knobs and sliding tabs look like sound mixers but are used to hide the ice machine and other equipment. Speakers are built into shelving units similar to how art adorns a wall. “I’m super happy,” says Jeff. “I think it hits all the marks we were going for.” Good vibrations, indeed.
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