The Clever Root

Spring / Summer 2016

Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/689634

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 72 of 92

7 2 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t "We ended up with a group of beautiful German guys with handlebar mustaches in a forested village," James said. "We were the first in Europe to [buy] stills from them for making vodka and gin." It was a philosophic match, too: Christian Carl, the small family-run Bavarian distillery maker, is the oldest such fabricator in Germany. "We really wanted the bespoke equipment and to distill from copper," James explained, adding, "The tall stack plays a huge part in our story." The stack to which he refers is the 70-foot-high copper rectification column that goes through the roof, the tallest in the world, and at £900,000, the most expensive. Once established with vodka, made from Lady Rosetta and Golden Wonder potatoes, Chase expanded into other spirits, including two types of gins—one from the potato vodka base, and the other from an apple cider vodka base. "We're giving the same messages as fine wines by calling out the varieties of the potatoes and farming techniques we use," James said. "You wouldn't dream of buying a lovely bottle of wine without knowing the vineyard, terroir, the vintage; but yet in spirits, this message has often been lost." To keep that top of mind, the family hosts bartenders for tasting labs on their farm, foraging amongst the farm offerings, and themselves offering up suggestions on new tastes. From this lab came the Orange Marmalade–flavored vodka (think Lady Sybil). "We've had some wrong recommendations that haven't worked out too well," James admitted, recalling the nettle vodka a bartender suggested after noticing the farm's abundance of weeds. "It didn't taste too great at all, but we always like experiments, and some have worked." One such success story: the new elderflower liqueur rolling out in the U.S. market. Piqued by the success of similar spirits, James said they were "inspired to make something better." "We want to give people the story and the value of all the production methods that went behind it. When I thought about the competition, I thought it was too much about marketing and less about production." Using a pure potato vodka base at 96% ABV, which is distilled five times—three times through the copper pot and twice though the rectifying column—the base is chill-filtered and diluted to 40% ABV using the farm's well water. Fresh elderflow- ers are pressed, mixed with water, and filtered out before the final blend with just enough sugar to sweeten but not cloy. Housed in a tall frosted bottle with elegant etched flowers (think Lady Mary), the resulting spirit is light gold, citric and floral with layers of clean white fruits like pear and lychee. The future includes plans to capture the heat generated from the distillery for greenhouses, where they can grow their own botanicals and herbs. "It does rain a lot, which is great for potatoes and apples but not so much for other things," James said. "But we're getting here, and we can show people that we're experi- menting." Another recent experiment: a vodka made from water smoked in the farm's smoke- house. "I don't think there's anything else like it on the market. It's incredible," he enthused. "In a Bloody Mary, it's a game-changer" (hello, Marchioness Edith!). Chase potato vodka is made from Lady Rosetta and Golden Wonder potatoes. COURTESY OF CHASE SPIRITS Lightly sweet, but not cloying, Chase potato-based vodka and Chase Elderflower Liqueur combine in a Moscow Mule variation that's a perfect match for the charred crunch on the toasted sourdough, which makes up the base for Chapter One: The Modern Local's Heirloom Caprese Sandwich.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Clever Root - Spring / Summer 2016