Posts Tagged ‘processing’
Sparkling Vodka
We covered several sparkling spirits products about three years ago, here, and so it may be about time for a redux. There is quite a bit of action on this front, in recent months, perhaps due to the high profile of Nuvo Sparkling Liqueur.
Here is a Sparkling Vodka under the brand name Le Grand Saint. Technically, it is a distilled spirits specialty more than a “vodka” or a specific class/type. The statement of composition (“vodka infused with carbonation”) appears in gold letters near the top of the front label.
Another good example is Prévu. It is unique in the sense that it is sparkling, and liqueur, and organic. It is made with vodka and Cognac, and imported by Simont Enterprises of Los Angeles, California. Prévu also happens to have a great looking website and bottle. If the product is even half as good as what is shown there, I should step away from the computer and go get several bottles.
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Ethyl
Here it is. What all the controversy is about. EtOH. It is quite possibly the most popular psychoactive substance in the world, running neck and neck with caffeine, at least among substances that don’t require a prescription or jail time.
EtOH is otherwise known as ethanol or alcohol or ethyl alcohol. Ethanol is a contraction for ethyl alcohol and ethyl derives from “ether.” This particular EtOH is bottled by Ballast Point Spirits of San Diego, California.
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legally interesting/controversial, processing
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Vodka Distilled 18 Times
L’Chaim Vodka is distilled no less than 18 times. In an excellent website (www.theendofvodka.com), VeeV Acai Liqueur pokes fun at the vodkas distilled 3, 5, 23, 570 times. The site is funny, pretty, and makes a good point. It tends to suggest that after the first couple of distillations, and after pushing the spirit past 190 proof, it’s a fairly pointless exercise to distill it more.
Virtuoso Distillers, of Mishawaka, Indiana, is undaunted. In box 19 of the L’Chaim approval, Steven Ross patiently explains that the vodka is distilled 18 times. TTB frequently asks for such a confirmation, when the label sets forth the number of distillations or filtrations. This is odd because the label already claims it under penalty of perjury, the certification doesn’t seem to make it any more likely to be true, and it would seem to be a minor point in any event (for the reasons suggested by VeeV).
Mr. Ross has a lot more going on, on this label. He further explains that L’Chaim (or, “To Life”) is similar to “cheers,” carefully avoiding any suggestion that it’s about health. This is not a small matter because, prior to this approval, the term was rarely used in a prominent way on US alcohol beverage labels. Mr. Ross explains that the letters that spell L’Chaim also “add up to the number 18.”
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Two Products, 24 Flavors
Here are two recent spirits products with an unusal and unusually large assembly of flavors. On the following list, the first 13 flavors are on the Root label, and the next 11 are on the Pink Spruce label.
- Birch bark
- Smoked black tea
- Cinnamon
- Wintergreen
- Spearmint
- Clove
- Anise
- Orange
- Lemon
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Cardamom
- Pure cane sugar
- Spruce oil
- Cucumber
- Juniper berries
- Angelica root
- Orange peel
- Lemon peel
- Coriander
- Ginger
- Orris root
- Grains of paradise
- Tangerine oil
The Pink Spruce Gin label also mentions that the product is made with “free range coastal water,” it is “Seasoned in Oregon Pinot Barrels,” and distilled from grain. The Root product strangely does not mention the commodity from which distilled and probably should. It was “inspired by a potent 18th century… recipe. … It is an alcoholic version of what eventually evolved into Birch or Root Beer.” There is almost no overlap in the list of flavors from one to the other.
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ingredients, processing, unlikely combinations
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Beer with Civet Droppings
Flying Dog has their “Good Beer, No Sh*t” Road Dog Porter as chronicled here.
The Dog is not to be outdone by the Weasel. Whereas Road Dog, apparently, has no sh*t whatsoever, this ingredient is the centerpiece of Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch. It is made with weasel excrement. Literally. The label explains that:
This imperial Oatmeal stout is brewed with one of the world’s most expensive coffees, made from droppings of weasel-like civet cats. The fussy Southeast Asian animals only eat the best and ripest coffee berries. Enzymes in their digestive system help to break down the bean. Workers collect the bean-containing droppings for Civet or Weasel Coffee. The exceedingly rare Civet Coffee has a strong, distinctive taste and an even stronger aroma.
Lest you be scared away by the “droppings,” here is at least one connoisseur who can vouch for it.
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ingredients, processing, would you drink it?
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