How To Create Smoky Flavors, Sans Peat
Malting day at Highland Park Distillery, Orkney, means more than just the scent of toasting grain in the air. There’s a smoky edge from peat burning in the kiln, which is a local fuel here that you’ll taste in...
Low Proof, High Impact
Five years ago when longtime San Francisco bartender Eric Ochoa was opening his first bar, Elda, one of his revelations was vermouth from local winemaker and distiller Ian McCarthy's Artemis Spirits served on tap.
Ochoa and McCarthy had gotten to...
Takamaka Distillery
Distilling rum in the Seychelles, a lush, tropical archipelago nation located northeast of Madagascar and about 1,000 miles off the Kenyan coast, comes with a few perks.
Rum can be mixed with the same delectable produce enjoyed by the country’s...
California Agave: The Birth of a Movement
With oil derricks pumping near his roll-up door, Henry Tarmy wraps both arms around an overstuffed carton of bottles and hauls its chiming treasures through the length of a 94-year-old lemon-packing plant. Today, the space is a distillery, but...
Backyard Botanicals
Ryan Christiansen throws his tractor in reverse as clouds sail over the countryside of central Vermont. He aims the machine’s steel auger into the grass, drilling holes that his teammates fill with long posts. They’re creating a big wood-and-wire...
Ingredient Spotlight: Salt
Salt: good old sodium chloride. It brings flavor to food and has been the object of armed rebellions and wars on most of the Earth’s continents. But what has it got to do with spirits? Beyond its use as...
Coffee and Whiskey: A Match Made in Beverage Heaven
In early 2021, Aimsir Distilling Co. in Portland, Oregon, had only been open since the previous December and COVID restrictions were finally scaling back. “We were talking about things we could do in the bar for St. Patrick’s Day...
Distilling Research Grant Report: Bacteria in Rum Fermentations
As a rum distiller, I’m always on the lookout for novel production methods capable of increasing the organoleptic complexities of pot-distilled rum. Often you hear enthusiasts wax poetically about Jamaica’s famed dunder pits and their historic use, other fermentation...
Source Juniper Like a Pro
Within gin production we spend a huge amount of time trying to control the variables. This ensures a balanced and consistent product for both the distiller and customer. What follows are some thoughts on achieving consistent results with juniper...
How to Maximize Flavor from Specialty Grains: A Practical Guide
Heirloom, specialty, and terroir-driven grains are drawing increased interest from distillers and whiskey connoisseurs alike. At the same time, with more distilleries and more whiskey, the market is also becoming more competitive. The need for a spirit with unique...
