Month: March 2016

Freshly picked: Tamworth Garden Flora Gin

 

The end of summer marks the last blooms for New England wildflowers. It was time to capture the essence of these late summer flavors in a floral forward gin.

While juniper berries help ground the top notes to an evergreen base note, the other botanicals take center stage.  Usual gin supporters, such as coriander and angelica, are mingled with the lighter aromatics of geranium, lemon verbena and labdanum. All is balanced with a slight amount of raw honey.

The nose is bright and crisp, with an aroma of wildflower honey and hints of fresh grapefruit. On the palette, the roundness of juniper berries, coriander and angelica finish cleanly and familiar. Clover, elderflower and geranium spread to the olfactory, offering a departure from more common gins.

Starting with a smooth neutral grain spirit allows for easy sipping alone or with just an ice cube. The introduction of water or tonic releases more of the alcohol-bound essential oils of the flowers, making it a great gin to enjoy in all of the classics.

 

You can find Tamworth Garden Flora Gin at our distillery or at the following New York locations:

Prospect Wine Shop

Shawn Fine Wines & Spirit

Wine Stop

La Vid Wines & Spirits

CREATING THE PERFECT VODKA

Water is one of the most effectual ingredients in distillation. Like grain and yeast, water lends its specific flavors and qualities to all spirits as they are created.

Some spirits, like whiskey, are less affected by these nuances. The barrel aging process can account for up to 60 percent of the whiskey’s final character. Vodka however, must persevere on its own. What you begin with is what you get – which is why we use the finest water and grain for our White Mountain Vodka.

Our water is sourced from the Ossipee Aquifer, providing the purest flavor untouched by industrial fracking pollution.  Though our water is pure at the source,  we’re also equipped with at Reverse Osmosis Water Filter, which eliminates any residual elements in the water we use.
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Unlike many distilleries that purchase their pre-made spirit base in bulk, we also mill all of our grains in-house to ensure the freshest flavors possible. Milling grains in-house provides us with control over the particle’s size, which consequently controls the flavor. To better explain this, we can compare it to a more familiar process, such as grinding coffee beans. Like grains, coffee beans that are pre-ground lack rich flavors and aromatics. A ground bean has more surface area exposed to oxygen, and excess oxygen results in staling and flavor loss.

The end result is smooth and distinct. You can taste the sweetness of the corn and the slight grassy bite of the rye. White Mountain Vodka tastes different, because it is the way vodka is supposed to taste.

We say it’s handmade, because it truly is.