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?
(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.
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(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).