Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/597666
november 2015 / the tasting panel / 1 1 1 One of the cornerstones of craft distilling is creative ingenuity and the willingness to accept risks. It takes nerves of steel to go out on a limb and produce something that has no peer. That's precisely what fourth-generation farmer David John Souza and his family have done in creating a range of distilled spirits all predicated on the sweet potato. How could someone not have thought of distill- ing sweet potatoes before this? The likely answer is that they're extremely difficult to distill. A quick sniff, sip and swallow of Corbin Cash Green House Blended Whiskey (SRP $49.99) will reveal Souza was up to the challenge. The farm-to-bottle process begins at Sweet Potato Spirits, a distillery located in California's San Joaquin Valley. There, eight varieties of estate-grown sweet potatoes are fermented and distilled in a traditional copper pot still. The white "whiskey" is then trans- ferred to charred, American white oak barrels for up to four years. Legally a whiskey must contain at least 20 percent grain, so the blend also includes Merced Rye Whiskey. "Our Green House Blend is the first of its kind. It starts with sweet potato alcohol that we barrel at 120 proof. When they've reached maturity, we blend the barrels and taste-test each gallon of distillate to ensure consistency," says distiller Souza. "People are extremely curious about what the whiskey tastes like, but honestly it's simple. This is our version of bourbon. The sweet potato mimics a lot of the characteristics of corn, but we feel it's a little sweeter, smoother and a lot softer whiskey than our rye whiskey." The Green House Blend is indeed reminiscent of a small batch bourbon. It has a lushly textured body and an alluring bouquet of sweet potatoes, caramel and light, floral aromas. The 90-proof whiskey delivers absolutely no esophageal burn as it fills the mouth with bourbon-like flavors. The fade is long and spectacular. The range also includes Corbin Cash Merced Rye Whiskey, an exuberant whiskey made entirely from estate-grown Merced rye and aged for up to four years in custom, charred American white oak barrels. The whiskey is bottled at 90 proof. Rye enthusiasts will swoon over the small batch whiskey's vivacious personality. It's bold and spicy at first, followed closely by the oak-induced flavors of vanilla, caramel, cocoa and soft notes of cinnamon and toasted oak. The finish on this whiskey leaves you wanting another sip. Sweet Potato Spirits also makes an Olympic-class sweet potato vodka, a Western dry gin and a barrel-aged, sweet potato liqueur that's simply wonderful. SWEET POTATO SPIRITS Farm-to-Bottle: Corbin Cash Green House Blended Whiskey