Gray Whale Gin
The Spirit of Coastal California
There may be no animal species more closely associated with the California coast than the gray whale. It is the state’s official marine mammal, after all. The eastern North Pacific population of gray whales (or “West Coast gray whales”) summers in the Bering and Chukchi Seas between Alaska and Russia before heading south to its winter home in Mexico, hugging the western coast of the United States on its semi-annual 12,000-mile round-trip journey.
As a result of their shore-hugging path, the ridges of sharp bumps on the backs of gray whales are commonly spotted all along the California coast during migration season. It was on a family camping trip in Big Sur that one such not uncommon gray whale sighting had an uncommon impact on the future of Jan and Marsh Mokhtari.
The Mokhtaris, founders of Sebastopol-based Gray Whale Gin, had always been outdoor enthusiasts, but their busy working lives meant that they did not get as much time by the sea as they would have liked. Marsh, who holds a medical physics degree, spent time in technology sales before becoming an actor (you may have seen him as the host of Food Network’s “Extreme Chef,” in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, or as host of Nat Geo’s “Perilous Journeys,” among others) while Jan developed a creative career in advertising and entertainment at 72 and Sunny, Fox Entertainment and Disney in Los Angeles.
Whale Sighting Launches New Career Path
Despite their time-consuming careers, the couple did make time to expose their two daughters to the great outdoors, and it was that one particular whale sighting off the Big Sur coast that they credit with sparking a “big life talk” conversation on the family’s drive home. The couple questioned their work, their role in preserving for future generations the beauty they had just witnessed [that whale] and a larger “what comes next.”
“We had built up these skill sets, but weren’t using them to better the world,” Jan says. “We wanted [to create] something that gave back to preserve the ocean.” Using Jan’s background in product development and graphic design and Marsh’s science and food experience, could they build something that would do some good for the world?
It took some time to figure out exactly what that might look like, but the flame had been lit. Years passed. There were jaunts to Napa from their home in Manhattan Beach to drink wine and experience uniquely Californian products. The potential development of a unique spirit sparked their interest, so a pot still was purchased. Marsh went back to Chicago, where he and Jan had met, to learn the art of distilling from the founder of Koval Distillery. Gin soon became the answer to their “what’s next” query. Why gin? “Gin is vodka with botanicals. We thought it was a wonderful way to represent California in a glass. You can taste the whole of the state in gin, not just Napa,” Marsh responds.
The Taste of California
So, what, exactly, does California taste like? Before figuring out the “flavor of California,” the Mokhtaris first had to sort out their preferred gin style. They landed on London Dry, which is a process designation meaning a base spirit of agricultural origin and a strength of at least 95% alcohol by volume. Raised in the United Kingdom with British-Persian heritage, Marsh had grown up with London Dry style gin. “The smell of old-school London Dry makes me remember my grandfather and his little dog,” he says.
London Dry gin is unsweetened, and its botanical flavors must be imparted through distillation. Gray Whale’s base distillate is made from corn that Marsh distills six times in order to create an ultra-clean blank canvas for the seventh distillation, when dried and fresh botanicals are added.
With the style of gin settled upon, the couple turned to choosing the botanicals, the essence of this California story. Organic almonds from Capay Hills northwest of Sacramento are flash-blanched and slivered to add a creamy viscosity, a backbone if you will. Hand-zested citrus—lemons, limes and oranges from Temecula Valley—made natural partners with juniper berries professionally foraged in and around Big Sur. Mint from Santa Cruz and fir from Sonoma round out the palate, but the California aromatics basket did not yet contain a component from the ocean—a must for the Mokhtaris’ mission-driven gin. Marsh trialed a number of different sea vegetables before landing on foraged kombu from the Mendocino coast to add a briny flavor that captures the essence of the Pacific, all along the whales’ migratory path.
Giving Back to the Source of Inspiration
True to the reason they began their gin journey, the Mokhtaris next developed a partnership with Oceana, a nonprofit whose stated mission is to protect and restore the world’s oceans.
One public-facing outcome of the partnership is a 2019 video produced by Gray Whale Gin in partnership with Oceana that helped to raise awareness of the danger of drift gill nets used by commercial fishermen along the California coast. I spoke to Ashley Blacow-Draeger, Pacific policy and communications manager for Oceana, based in Monterey, about the gill net issue.
She told me that one of the primary threats to gray whales is becoming entangled in fishing gear. “These mile-long drift nets (or large mesh drift gill nets) can span the length of the Golden Gate Bridge,” says Blacow-Draeger. Positioned about 200 feet below the ocean’s surface, the nets’ main target is swordfish, yet they indiscriminately entangle and kill whales, seals, sharks, sea turtles and other by-catch. “The U.S. West Coast is the last place in the United States to allow these nets. They are prohibited internationally,” Blacow-Draeger says. California, usually a leader on environmental issues, has been behind on this issue.
That is changing. In 2018, as a result of the efforts of Oceana and other allies, California passed SB 1017, a state bill that compensates fishermen for turning in their gill nets and incentivizes the use of other, cleaner fishing gear, such as deep-set buoy gear, to fish for swordfish. In September of 2020, Oceana delivered $1 million to the state, which matched funds via SB 1017 for the voluntary transition program. “It triggered a four-year phaseout of remaining state drift gill net permits,” says Blacow-Draeger, who noted that fishermen must turn in their state permit and nets to receive the funds to purchase deep-set buoy gear.
To date, 35 gill net permit holders have completed the program and at least 20 miles of nets have been turned in for destruction and recycling into other products, such as sunglasses and Jenga sets—there is no chance those gill nets will end up back in the ocean. There are still a few holdouts remaining, but Blacow-Draeger says the remaining California state drift gill net permits will be off the market by 2024.
Concerned about the impact on fishermen? According to Oceana, during the 2020–21 fishing season, deep-set buoy gear caught four times more swordfish than drift gill nets—and did not catch any marine mammals or other protected species. In fact, using 2019 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oceana estimates that transitioning the California swordfish fishery from drift gill nets to more-sustainable methods of fishing will save at least 27 whales, 548 dolphins, 333 seals and sea lions, 24 sea turtles and 70 seabirds over 10 years.
A Federal Problem Persists
The gill net problem, however, is not entirely resolved. Fishermen can still carry a federal permit and use gill nets under the rules of that permit, undermining California state law. Federal legislation is needed to close the loop and align federal and state policy. As of this writing, two different bills have passed the U.S. Senate and the House this year and Oceana is working with Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office to find a common legislative vehicle to further the legislation and pass it through both houses of Congress this year.
The Mokhtaris are not slowing down their efforts to make the ocean a safer place for whales and other marine creatures. One percent of all Gray Whale Gin sales are contributed to Oceana and other environmental causes. The label paint on the gorgeous ocean blue glass bottles is organic, and the bottles are topped with biodegradable corks. “We are 4 years old and already have one legislative change under our belt,” Jan said. “We are motivated by what change we can effect.”
Now we can all feel great about enjoying a delicious Gray Whale Gin cocktail, perhaps while gazing at gray and other whales migrating up and down our beautiful California coastline between December and April.
