Exclusive Interview October 2019
Q: What is your full name, title, company name and company location?
Terrell “Bear” Caffery, Owner, Lula Restaurant Distillery, 1532 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Q: What inspired you and your business partner, Jess Bourgeois, to build a restaurant and distillery? Why in New Orleans, Louisiana? And what was the inspiration behind the name “LULA”?
Jess and I met in New Zealand in 2009. I was practicing emergency medicine in Invercargill. Jess and his wife tagged along with mutual friends on a vacation to visit.
Jess had restaurant experience—as a chef and general manager—and wanted to open his own restaurant. At that time, my home hobby was brewing beer. I then began to set my sights on learning how to distill liquor because I found out I had a gluten allergy and beer was no longer a libation I could enjoy. Lucky for us, home distilling is legal in New Zealand. That’s when Jess and I realized that his restaurant experience coupled with my chemistry and distilling knowledge would make a unique business concept.
South Louisiana was the perfect place to build our concept because of the accessibility of sugarcane which we planned to use as our raw ingredient for spirits. New Orleans specifically seemed to fit because it is a hub for innovative food and drink in the state.
The name Lula comes from the Lula Westfield sugar mill which is one of the 11 sugar mills in the state and happens to be very close to where Jess grew up.
Bear at his distillery
Q: Anyone who’s opened up a restaurant or a distillery knows how hard it is to be successful in the beginning. Opening both at the same time sounds like a monumental challenge! Did your experience as an Emergency Medical Physician help you stay on top of the chaos?
Opening a restaurant and a distillery at the same time was certainly a monumental challenge. Although very different in context, the ability to rapidly switch tasks and manage the occasional chaos was a definite advantage.
The idea of uniting a full-service restaurant with a micro-distillery wasn’t a legal concept when we began to plan out Lula. From local zoning to federal permitting, the needed approvals took countless hours. Needed approvals even led us in the spring of 2015 to the Louisiana State Capitol to seek approval through House Bill 233 to allow the concept to exist. The bill passed on the very last day of the legislative session and was signed into law in the summer of 2015 allowing Lula to exist and paving the way for future restaurant-distillery concepts in the state.
Q: Do you think the toughest challenges are finally behind you?
Yes and no. I think getting the needed approvals for Lula to exist were a huge hurdle and those are behind us. And, we can take that experience with us as we set our sights on growth and tackling the new challenges that will undeniably present themselves as a part of our growth model. That being said, I am confident that new challenges will present themselves daily.
Boudin Stuffed Quail
Q: Can you tell us more about the restaurant side of the business? Does the chef incorporate rum into some of the dishes? If so, which is your favorite rum-infused dish?
Yes. From Rum Lacquered Shrimp to our Boozy Cakes, our chef incorporates our spirits as much as he can in our dishes. My personal favorite is our Boudin Stuffed Quail (see photo above). It has a Lula Rum glaze with corn maque choux on the side and it’s gluten free—delicious!
Q: Has the chemistry and biology training from medical school helped you in this new venture?
I think that my biology and chemistry training from my undergraduate training has helped more than anything. The fermentation and distillation equipment that we use on a daily basis are very similar to bench top laboratory equipment that I used in college, but the scale is just much larger.
Fermentation and Distillation Equipment
Q: What else have you done to sharpen your knowledge about the craft spirits industry?
I’ve attended multiple classes and workshops at micro distilleries (Dry Fly in Spokane, WA and Catskill in Bethel, NY). Also, The Rum University was incredibly helpful at increasing my overall rum knowledge. These experiences coupled with over a year in my lab performing different fermentation trials resulted in the Lula spirits recipes.
Q: What rum are you currently producing?
We are currently producing a silver rum (Lula Rum). It is light bodied with a fruity banana-like nose with notes of vanilla through the middle with a soft finish.
Q: You use molasses and raw sugar to ferment your Lula Rum. Can you tell us why the combination of the two?
We source our molasses from the Lula Westfield sugar mill. We use the addition of sugar to the molasses to increase the fermentable substrate and increase our yields. This gets us where we need to be for production without sacrificing flavor.
Lula Rum, Vodka and Gin
Q: In addition to your rum you also have a vodka and a gin, can you tell us more about them?
Our vodka and gin are both made from Louisiana sugarcane. Our vodka is our purely neutral cane spirit. It has a delicate sweetness on the nose from the sugarcane and blends very easily with any mixer, but also holds its own in a Martini. Our gin uses the same base spirit and is infused with 5 botanicals (juniper, coriander, Angelica root, orange and lemon peels). This results in a balanced, lighter, cordial style gin. There is definitely juniper up front but it is balanced with coriander. The Angelica root gives it an earthy sweetness through the middle and it finishes with citrus from the peels.
Lula Restaurant and Distillery
Cocktail with Lula rum
Q: Where are your products currently available for purchase?
Currently, our permit only allows us to sell our spirits directly from Lula in New Orleans. We aren’t allowed to distribute.
Q: Do you have plans to produce additional rums or to age Lula Rum?
Yes. We are currently aging our rum in American white oak barrels and eagerly anticipating its maturity.
Q: Do you offer tours of your distillery? Are the tastings done at the distillery or at the restaurant? Are reservations recommended/required?
Yes. We offer distillery tours during regular business hours. Tastings are done in the restaurant and our flights are $15 each. Reservations are recommended via lulanola.com or by calling 504-267-7624.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about what a customer will experience when they arrive at your distillery/restaurant?
Lula customers will experience an open and casual atmosphere with rustic touches and a clear view of our distillery from the main dining room. They can expect expertly crafted food, spirits and cocktails.
Q: If people want to contact you, how may they reach you?
They can reach me via info@lulanola.com
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
I don’t think so, thanks for this opportunity!
Margaret: Again Bear, thank you so much for this interview and I wish you and your team much success.
