Quinoa Whiskey? Modified Crop List Spurs Distilleries To Try Alternative Grains
By definition, whiskey is a grain spirit. And until now, that "grain" has been limited by federal law to four specific crops: corn, wheat, rye and barley. So when Darek Bell, founder of Corsair Distillery in Nashville, Tenn., wanted to start experimenting with alternatives, there wasn't really a playbook to follow. "We started looking at a whole lot of grains that were coming out of sort of the health food movement, the green movement," Bell said. "We're thinking, 'What would it taste like to distill this?'"
Bell and Corsair settled on quinoa — partly, Bell said, because of its distinct flavor and partly because of the perceived health benefits (none of which, unfortunately, can really withstand the distillation process). The distillery has been producing and distributing quinoa whiskey since 2011. Other spirits and liquor companies have been using quinoa in their products; FAIR, a French distillery, launched quinoa vodka in 2012, while several craft breweries, like Altiplano and Aqotango, use quinoa in their beers.
With a grain profile of 20 percent quinoa and 80 percent malted barley, Corsair's product is a spirit with a distinctly earthy and nutty flavor that may not immediately register on the palate as "whiskey." And until recently, the federal government didn't recognize it as whiskey either, due to its limited definition of "grains."
At first, the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, also known as the TTB, wanted Corsair to classify the product as a quinoa rum (despite the fact that it contained no fermented cane product). Then, they suggested it be labeled as a "neutral spirit" — a clear liquid distilled from a grain-based mash that holds a high content of ethanol — which didn't really describe the crafted and aged spirit in Corsair's barrels. "Supposedly [a representative from the TTB] called the USDA, [which] said 'Yes, these are in fact grains' and gave us the go-ahead," Bell said.
Then, in early December, the TTB took a step to officially include quinoa as a whiskey grain. On Dec. 3, the TTB outlined a new definition for what crops count as grains as part of a 132-page list of updated recommendations for the labeling of wine, beer and spirits. Per the new TTB proposal, the list of whiskey grains now includes "cereal grains and the seeds of the pseudocereals amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa." And this is a big deal for craft distillers like Bell.
Related: Is Quinoa California's Next Niche Crop?
So Tell Me Again, How Do You Pronounce "Quinoa"?
Why Whisky Tastes Better When Diluted With Water
Canadian Whisky's Long-Awaited Comeback
Endless West Wants to Make Artificial Whiskey — But Who Will Drink It?
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Bryce Lundberg is elated, which is saying a lot for a California farmer these days.
"Hop on in," he says, wading into eight acres of ragged stalks, their seed tassels turning russet in the desert sun.
Lundberg, 54, soon is chest-high in quinoa, a crop that is thriving in an unexpected place: on a patch of mediocre soil that lies below sea level in the scorching-hot Imperial Valley in California, more than 4,500 miles removed and some 10,000 feet down in elevation from its native range in South America's Andes Mountains.
If the harvest proves profitable here, California could dominate yet another niche crop, as the grain-like seed graduates from health-craze fad to a popular ingredient in energy bars, cereals and even drinks. Acreage dedicated to quinoa may reach into the thousands in the next two years in California, a state that already is a hub for quinoa imported from South America. That's about where kale was in 2007 before it took off.
Grows on marginal land, is good for you, and tastes good. What's not to like?
From the we-don't-need-your-stinkin-GMO department, the Beeb reports that "Scientists have successfully decoded the genome of quinoa, one of the world's most nutritious but underutilised crops." The team was led by Mark Tester in Saudi Arabia.
The South American grain is a hugely popular "super-food" because it is well balanced and gluten-free. However, prices for quinoa have rocketed in recent years as demand exceeded supply. Researchers believe the genetic code will rapidly lead to more productive varieties that will push down costs.
They go on to say that the genome will be used to direct conventional plant breeding methods. Several traits of the 7000 year old South American grain would improve its utility such as reducing the level of saponins which make it bitter. Also, varieties could be bred for other climates. The plant is naturally able to grow in salty soils and another goal is to breed tolerance to irrigation with brackish water (partially desalinated sea water).
Researchers at Linnaeus University report Why whisky tastes better when diluted with water:
Whisky is a chemically complicated beverage. After malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturing, for at least three years in oak barrels, the whisky is bottled. However, first it is usually diluted to around 40% of alcohol by volume by the addition of water, which changes the taste significantly. For that same reason, whisky enthusiasts often add a little water in their glasses.
But why and how does water enhance the taste of whisky? Up until recently, no one had been able to answer this question, but now Björn Karlsson and Ran Friedman, researchers in chemistry at Linnaeus University, have solved a piece of the puzzle that will help us better understand the chemical qualities of whisky.
"The taste of whisky is primarily linked to so-called amphipathic molecules, which are made up of hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts. One such molecule is guaiacol, a substance that develops when the grain is dried over peat smoke when making malt whisky, providing the smoky flavour to the whisky", Karlsson explains.
Karlsson and Friedman carried out computer simulations of water/ethanol mixtures in the presence of guaiacol to study its interactions. They found that guaiacol was preferentially associated with ethanol molecules and that in mixtures with concentrations of ethanol up to 45% guaiacol was more likely to be present at the liquid-air interface than in the bulk of the liquid.
"This suggests that, in a glass of whisky, guaiacol will therefore be found near the surface of the liquid, where it contributes to both the smell and taste of the spirit. Interestingly, a continued dilution down to 27% resulted in an increase of guaiacol at the liquid-air interface. An increased percentage, over 59%, had the opposite effect, that is to say, the ethanol interacted more strongly with the guaiacol, driving the molecule into the solution away from the surface", Friedman continues.
Wikipedia: guaiacol.
The full-length, open-access report: http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/s41598-017-06423-5
There was a time, in the decades after Prohibition, when Canadian whisky was all the rage in America, when a bottle of Crown Royal sat on the bar cart of any serious imbiber. But by the time the renaissance in whiskey making and drinking began in the early 2000s, the Canadian product had long ago been dismissed as bland and bottom-shelf.
It's a story that Davin de Kergommeaux, a whiskey writer in Ottawa, knows all too well. When he published his book "Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert" in 2012, it was the first serious guide to the category in decades — not that anyone noticed. He would give seminars at whiskey festivals and be lucky if a few dozen people showed up.
"I was very much a voice in the wilderness," he said during a recent visit to New York.
That's starting to change. Canadian whiskys are winning awards and fans as drinkers curious about the next development in whiskey turn their eyes north. In October, Mr. de Kergommeaux published a fully revised and greatly expanded edition of his book, and he is once again on the festival circuit, getting a much different reception.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/dining/drinks/canadian-whiskey-crown-royal-comeback.html
Submitted via IRC for SoyCow4408
For more than two years now — from the second floor of a repurposed warehouse in the Dogpatch district of San Francisco — the young scientists and chemists at Ava Winery have been attempting to save the planet and conduct commerce by producing wine without grapes or fermentation. Recently, the company rebranded and shifted its focus: now known as Endless West, it is attempting to make brown spirits without the hidebound utilization of barrels for maturation.
In Endless West's 1,800-square-foot lab, there are no implements ordinarily associated with making wine or whiskey. Instead, one sees chemists quietly sitting at computers beside beakers, gas chromatography and mass spectrometer machines, and something called a liquid handling robot, which is loaded with test tubes that are filled with liquid from "real" wines and spirits. The white-smocked bio and analytical chemists are measuring and mapping the molecular profiles of standard alcoholic beverages. There is even a scanning area with an "electronic nose" to measure olfactory properties; something you likely won't find in a standard winery lab.
The quest is to tease out which "naturally derived" carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, amino acids, and lipids comprise a wine or spirit, and which components encompass the organoleptic profiles of various alcoholic beverages. Key aromatics and flavor molecules are being identified such as citrus-like esters from ethyl isobutyrate and pineapple-y aromas derived from ethyl hexanoate or the buttery qualities found in the compound diacetyl.
Once recognized, neutral distillates or grain alcohol is then added to the recipe to synthetically formulate a wine or whiskey.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday January 17 2019, @07:17PM (13 children)
I'll stick to proper scotch whisky, thank you, not any of this whiskey swill!
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 17 2019, @08:18PM
Waiting for Mary Jane Whiskey...
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday January 17 2019, @09:23PM (11 children)
I have been distilling my own whisky (and other flavoured spirits) over the last 6 or 7 years, since Mrs. Zombie bought me a still.
Some of my batches have been pretty drinkable (although I would be lying if I said they have all been great). The best taste I have been able to get is when I leave the raw spirit in a bottle with chipped barrels (usually bourbon) for a few years, then filter it through a coffee filter.
I am drinking tequila at the moment, because it's warm, and a cold margarita is nice in the evening. That is just a flavour added to spirit though, so cheating really.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Sulla on Thursday January 17 2019, @09:43PM (10 children)
Here in the states distilling has been in that gray zone where its very illegal in most places, I think that the laws have loosened recently though. I have been wanting to buy a still and make applejack but don't want to deal with the feds
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday January 17 2019, @09:51PM
Hey U! Nice catch!
Here where I live, distilling is perfectly legal, as long as the batch is below a certain size, maybe 10 litres. The home still kits tend to conform to our laws, so I don't need to worry about that sort of thing.
I am also not allowed to sell the product obviously. People do however.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 17 2019, @11:01PM
Scumble?
It's made from apples. Well, mostly apples.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 17 2019, @11:25PM
real applejack, as made in colonial times, is freeze distilled. put it in a barrel and roll it outside in the cold. periodically scrape off the water ice. in springtime what is left over is booze. no still necessary.
(Score: 2) by dry on Friday January 18 2019, @02:09AM (4 children)
You don't distill applejack. You leave it outside in the winter, assuming you're somewhere where winters are cold, and remove the water ice, therefore concentrating the alcohol. Distilled cider would be more like a brandy.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Friday January 18 2019, @04:55AM (3 children)
When I lived outside of the contiguous United States I was making some apple cider and the carboy got left outside in -10 for a bunch of days. When I remembered it was there I poured out the unfrozen remains to make sure the carboy didn't crack from the expansion.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by dry on Friday January 18 2019, @06:54PM (2 children)
Didn't sample it? Too bad as that would have been applejack.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Friday January 18 2019, @07:20PM (1 child)
For people who live in the land of the free:
https://www.ttb.gov/spirits/home-distilling.shtml [ttb.gov]
But at least we can buy spoons and pointed knives without a license, I guess thats something. From what I understand it is much easier to get a license in the states than it used to be.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by dry on Friday January 18 2019, @08:00PM
Seems similar here in Canada, with the law being part of the Federal excise act. At that a strict reading makes owning any type of still that can be adapted for alcohol illegal. Here it seems to be mostly aimed at tax avoidance and it seems there has never been a case brought forward for personal distilling with the cops commenting that they wouldn't bother about a still unless it was involved in selling alcohol, giving to kids and such.
Really it is mostly a Provincial responsibility, so more likely to be covered by Provincial (and Territorial) laws, many that have their roots in prohibition, which was a Provincial thing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @07:21AM
In the UK, it's illegal if you haven't a license see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spirits-duty [www.gov.uk]
All those stills being sold on Amazon? water purification only..of course, you know what the Gaelic is for water...
The deil's awa' the diel's awa....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @09:59AM
It appears that distilled spirits have been legal for the past 30ish years, so long as your still was registered with the BATF and no more than 100 gallons per person, or 200 gallons per household are produced in a year. Furthermore there is a registration fee and maybe a yearly fee to continue being registered and might eb documentation requirements for your yearly production (in case they decide to audit you.)
Other than that however it's been possible for years, and there is even a company in the bay area that sells stills mail order and has for years, in addition to normal beer brewing supplies.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday January 17 2019, @09:16PM
We launched a vodka that became tremendously successful. My book went to Number One and we think the vodka, likewise, will be Number One. It's been one of the most successful launches ever in the history of this business.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday January 17 2019, @09:24PM (7 children)
Those 'health benefits', or the perception thereof will withstand the marketing process. Just mention 'quinoa', and those real or perceived health benefits attach to your product -- even if they don't withstand distillation.
Sort of like saying "all natural ingredients".
Soylent Green is made from all natural ingredients.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 17 2019, @10:57PM (6 children)
talking about "all natural ingredients"... I saw "made with real ingredients" on a bucket of ice cream... wtf are unreal ingredients is this imaginary food the kind perterpan eats?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 17 2019, @11:02PM
Dark Matter
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday January 17 2019, @11:12PM (2 children)
Despite the label I've seen no indication they contain any less silica etc. than the foods that lack that label. Quite the opposite, in fact.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 4, Funny) by dry on Friday January 18 2019, @02:23AM
You think that's bad, you should see what astronomers call metals.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @07:14AM
Behold: Certified CarbonFree Sugar [livingnaturally.com] (PDF WARNING).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 17 2019, @11:13PM
Chemicals. Straight from a lab.
As opposed to ingredients from a farm.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @03:25PM
Was it real, or Real(TM).
Real(TM) is a mark of a dairy standards body, I don't know exactly what their standards are, but I presume they have some (looking it up, it seems that it means dairy from cows, and something about manufacturing practices).
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Gaaark on Thursday January 17 2019, @10:08PM (5 children)
I was drinking potato vodka, cos I couldn't drink gluten filled booze, and had a laugh when I saw in a magazine some dip shit who was supposed to know vodka saying that flavoured vodka was 'in' because regular vodka "had no flavour, no taste" to it.
Fuck.
WATER has flavour and so does vodka: a swig of potato vodka tastes different from wheat vodka. Premium vodka tastes different from lower price vodka.
Don't tell me, Mr Vodka specialist, vodka needs flavouring or it has no taste.
Dont know what quinoa vodka would taste like but I'm betting it wouldn't be tasteless.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Friday January 18 2019, @04:58AM
Maybe the guy wrote the article after drinking a bottle of fireball, switching to vodka, and realizing that it tastes just like water (in comparison).
Not that I would know
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday January 20 2019, @01:59AM (3 children)
Have you ever done blind tasting? I highly recommend it. You may realize the "distinctive" flavors aren't so distinctive.
The general definition of vodka favors no flavors or odors. Many other distilled spirits do various things to deliberately retain flavor, but vodka by the nature of its production is intended to destroy that distinctiveness.
What you're really talking about are adulterants left over that make the vodka less pure. Not saying you can't like some of them -- everyone has their tastes. I was into some pricey potato vodkas myself years ago briefly. Then I did a blind taste test with some friends and realized a lot of marketing BS influences people more than you might think.
Over the years I've found amazing wines for around $5, and a scotch that costs 1/3 of what I thought would be necessary for a decent bottle in blind tastings.
I note these are my evaluations. Everyone likes different things. My point is blind tastings rarely show the most expensive "premium" liquor coming on top for most people. Vodkas are particularly bad this way -- sure, most of the really cheap stuff is awful, but a lot of the "premium" idea is mostly in the price and in your head, rather than in actual taste.
Hence why flavored vodkas are popular now... They're perceived as "in vogue" and people are willing to pay. And because most premium vodka marketing is BS anyway. (Most premium alcohol marketing is too... Not just vodka.)
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday January 20 2019, @02:35AM (2 children)
I'm not talking about premium tasting better than low cost. I'm talking about even WATER having a distinctive taste. Vodka has a taste to it, no matter what kind you drink.
If I want a flavoured vodka, I'll have it, BUT vodkas have a taste, a flavour all their own.
And yes, even water from ANY source has a taste, a flavour.
And I made a Chablis once from a kit and it was waaaaay better than most any I've had from a winery, so yeah: 'high price' doesn't always mean good.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday January 20 2019, @02:59AM (1 child)
Okay, I misunderstood the mention of "premium" in your post.
But my point still stands that vodka by definition and by manufacturing process is designed to be basically the LEAST flavored alcohol. The "ideal" vodka should be as close to flavorless as possible, if you go by textbook or legal definitions of vodka and the very reason it is made the way it is.
Thus, of all the spirits out there, I think vodka is the one where it makes perhaps the most sense to deliberately "flavor" it, since it naturally is supposed to be as "neutral" in flavor as possible.
Note that I agree with you that it's still a ridiculous marketing scheme. And I also agree that all vodkas have SOME flavor. But I don't think it's quite so preposterous to say that vodka is as close as you're going to get among distilled spirits to a "blank slate" of flavor, hence the fad to produce flavored vodkas.
If you were going to market some random sports drink with 19 different random flavors, for example, I'd probably recommend you start with water as a base, because it is RELATIVELY flavorless. You wouldn't start with grapefruit juice or tomato juice or iced tea or whatever unless you wanted all of your drinks to taste like grapefruit or tomato or tea.
But water is neutral enough to be malleable. So is vodka. And thus the fad. Arguing against the logic is like arguing that 19 flavors of Gatorade shouldn't exist because water always has some flavor (and Gatorade is mostly water). Of course it does, but that's beside the point.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday January 20 2019, @01:04PM
I was just railing against the 'expert' saying it is tasteless when I can tell the difference between vodkas JUST from the taste, and certain vodkas I enjoyed and others I didn't because I didn't like the taste.
Just like saying water has no taste, then saying you flavour your water to give it flavour: NO, you flavour your water because you want it to taste of oranges or whatever, whereas I prefer the taste of plain water (and can tell one water from another JUST by the taste), just as I enjoyed the taste of plain vodka.
Meaningless because I don't drink anymore (except for a couple expected set-backs).
If you want flavourings in your vodka, that's fine: just don't set yourself up as an 'expert' and tell me vodka has no taste (he was just probably trying to push more expensive flavoured vodka and not really an expert)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @12:45AM
They are the devil's beverages.
Our Lord Jesus Christ didn't drink those abominations!
He drank only water and wine as do all good Christians, as we are commanded to do in Mark 12:67:
We must all heed the word, as God is powerful, but also insecure -- like Barbra Streisand before James Brolin. Oh, he's been a rock.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Pax on Friday January 18 2019, @05:30AM (3 children)
Speaking as a Scotsman and a lover of a good Islay Malt whisky.. these guys can fuck right off with their bullshit.
Now America has driven a larger divide between what is actually whisky and the swill normally sold there as "Whisky"(yeah no "E" in whisky.. with the "E" it's Irish.)
Mind you this is good news for the Scottish whisky makers and exporters that another means differentiation between real real whisky and the shite sold elsewhere
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @07:55AM
Ach, maybe you should have said 'with the "e" it's in the the Irish tradition of distilling any old shite to get drunk on..'
With apologies to the Irish ancestors*...sorry, I've never found any of the Irish whiskey brands to be that nice a drink...the Poitín made in the anonymous looking unit on the industrial estate in SE London which was being sold in the spielers in Brixton back in the 90's was a lot more potable.
*Especially the Martins, drinking and gambling away a fortune, serious piss-artists to the last, both the men and the women of the tribe.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 18 2019, @08:01AM
Most of your country's whiskay is blended with some kind of grain. Are you so sure quinoa tastes worse? Have you even had the best America and the rest of the world has to offer?
You seem quite confident in your whiskay, but your precious fluids will be replicated synthetically by machines [soylentnews.org] before long. There is no Scottish magic.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday January 18 2019, @05:33PM
Now, now.... Don't be jealous, or someday people may prefer to belly up to the bar and ask for a nice Andean [wikipedia.org], or even a nice Titicaca [wikipedia.org] instead of Scotch! As it is right now if you ask someone for a Titicaca you're more likely to get a boot to the head, the way it should be.
This sig for rent.