Creative Distilling in New Orleans

While working in the wormwood garden, we have found an occasional mushroom. Some of these specimens have been rather large and the shapes have varied.

On this occasion, we found several medium sized mushrooms lurking under the wormwood and removed them. We checked with our local expert, Indiana Jones, who advised that since they were growing in the soil, rather than on the plant, they weren’t plant pathogens.

However, Dr. Jones also advised that while he couldn’t “positively identify those mushrooms,” we should “just assume they are poisonous.”

Perhaps some expert mushroom hunters can weigh in further.

In the meantime, the wormwood is recovering nicely from the extreme heat in August and we look forward to a nice harvest later this year.

Do you know what time it is? Yes, it’s that infamous last week in July. The heat is burning, the air is glowing, and a giant cocktail festival has landed in New Orleans.

Yes, it’s time for Tales about all sorts of cocktails, spirits, and related matters. We’ll be in that number with several options for linking up.

First, on Wednesday, July 26th, we’ll be at official TOTC event “Indie Spirits that Rock.”
Look for us in the depths of the “Riz-Carlton” at 921 Canal St. We’ll be pouring Euphrosine Gin #9 Barrel-Finished Reserve; Barrel-Aged Calio Rum; and Riz, Louisiana Rice Whiskey.

On Thursday, we’ll be at Toulouse Theatre from 12-3pm, pouring tastes of Toulouse Green, Absinthe Verte; Calio Rum; and Euphrosine Gin #9. Meanwhile, Nathan will be mixing excellent cocktails with our spirits.

Taste, then enjoy these cocktails!

Tales Reviver No. 9
Euphrosine Gin, Makrut Lime Aperitif, Lemon, Ginger, Absinthe.

La Lil Weezy Ana
Toulouse Green Absinthe Verte, Rye, Blood Orange Aperitif, Amaro.

Slip and Berry On
Calio Rum, Banana Liqueur, Blackberry Liqueur, lime.

On Friday, we’ll be back in the official TOTC action with “Meet the Distillers” from 2pm to 6pm once more at the “Riz-Carlton.”

Bonus Round: visit the distillery.

See our Visit page for details and text us at 504-534-8590 to make a reservation.

This past weekend, at the grand tastings at the New Orleans Bourbon Festival, we poured Louisiana Single Malt Cask Strength, Riz, Louisiana Rice Whiskey, and a surprising entrant, Barleycorn Magic.

What is it? Is it whiskey? It’s certainly the “weirdest tasting” spirit poured at the festival, as we told a number of festival visitors at our table.

Barleycorn Magic is “spirits distilled from grain with natural flavors.” The government says that whiskey is a spirit distilled from grain. But since we had “natural flavors” in the mix, it’s classified as a Distilled Spirits Specialty, rather than any form of Whiskey.

But you can taste for yourself and reach your own conclusions.

Barleycorn Magic was distilled from a medley of beers. First, we distilled several varieties of “fluffy” IPA; and then we distilled a witbier with citrus. All beers were produced by Zony Mash and we opened thousands of cans of beer to complete the distillations.

After distillation, we aged the IPA distillations in a 15 gallon barrel for 28 months (2 years, 4 months). The witbier was distilled the following year and we aged it in a 5 gallon barrel for 14 months (1 year, 2 months). After aging, we blended the two barrels and brought the spirit to a bottling strength of 84 proof.

At the Bourbon Festival, almost everyone who tasted Barleycorn Magic declared that is was one of the most interesting spirits they had tasted at the festival. Even some dedicated beer haters enjoyed it.

What does it taste like? A concentrated hops flavor with a touch of citrus; it’s a concentrated version of the individual beer components.

Barleycorn Magic is bottled in 750ml at 84 proof and is only available at our tasting room. Purchases for pickup can also be made at our online store. All visits to our tasting room are by appointment. Text 504-534-8590 to make a reservation at our tasting room.

We’re pleased to announce that Toulouse Red, Absinthe Rouge, is now available in Pennsylvania, thank to our partnership with innovative craft spirits store BOTLD.

BOTLD has created a fascinating business model in which they acquire spirits in bulk from a variety of distilleries and then bottle them under license in Pennsylvania. While independent bottlers have been around for a long time, BOTLD gives this model a new twist by bottling spirits under the name of the original producer and with identical packaging.

Thus, if you buy a bottle of Toulouse Red from BOTLD in Pennsylvania, it will look (almost) exactly the same as the bottles we distill and fill in New Orleans. The only difference is on the back label, which indicates that BOTLD bottled the bottles. (Try saying that three times fast.)

Another interesting aspect of the BOTLD model is the way they have used Pennsylvania’s extremely restrictive liquor laws to their advantage. Pennsylvania is a “control” state, where the state controls both distribution and retail sales of spirits. Navigating the byzantine regulations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is a major challenge for small distilleries. Getting listed by PLCB and then selling through Pennsylvania state-owned liquor stores requires significant effort and investment.

With that said, Pennsylvania has created a rather enlightened system for in-state producers. If you produce spirits in Pennsylvania, you can sell directly to the public and you can have up to five retail stores located around the state. On top of that, these stores can ship directly to in-state residents. Furthermore, if you bottle a spirit, you are considered the producer as a matter of law.

Are you catching on to the astoundingly clever nature of the BOTLD business model? Andrew Auwerda and his team at BOTLD source spirits from distilleries that would typically be unable to enter the Pennsylvania market the traditional way. (We know all about this as we looked into it previously and tried.)

The BOTLD Beta Shop at Rittenhouse Square, Philiadelphia, PA
Photo credit: BOTLD

After bottling them, they sell these spirits directly to the public at their store and via their web site. (Buy Toulouse Red in Pennsylvania.) So far, they have opened their “Beta” store and are taking orders on their web site. But we suspect a bigger presence may be coming in the future. Likewise, we’re just getting started in Pennsylvania with Toulouse Red. For now, we’re saying “CHEERS!” to BOTLD and to Toulouse Red arriving in Pennsylvania.

We recently wrapped up a series of gin runs and are looking ahead to our next absinthe runs. Wormwood is the key ingredient in absinthe and our home grown wormwood is essential for Toulouse Green, Absinthe Verte.

Anyone who cooks knows that a fresh herb has an entirely different flavor quality to one that may have been sitting on the shelf for some time. Overcoming extreme summer heat, insect attack, drought, and other perils, enough wormwood has survived and thrived to provide a bountiful harvest.

True winter weather including a hard freeze was predicted for several days, which also made this an opportune moment to harvest. The wormwood roots can survive the cold temperatures, but the leaves may be damaged in the freeze.

After harvesting and trimming off any dead leaves, we hang up the wormwood to partially dry. After drying, it’s a wonderful silvery green color.

We trim off the minor stems and leaves and discard the main stems. When production begins, the wormwood instantly turns a brilliant green when it is submerged in the spirits for infusion.

When spirits are entered into barrels for aging, a portion of the precious liquid is lost over time. These lost spirits are called the angel’s share. Legend has it that the term originates with ancient monks in Scotland and Ireland.

The monks would distill the “water of life” and store it in barrels. Over time, they noticed that some of the spirit disappeared. Their explanation was that angels were so tempted by the slumbering whiskey that they made off with a surreptitious swallow under cover of night.

While the alleged guilt of said angels has yet to be conclusively established, we can attest that liquid does disappear from the barrels through evaporation over time. Regardless of the reasons for the disappearance of the spirit, the term remains in common use.

That brings us to why this story accompanies this picture of two cheerful visitors who came to the distillery recently. Greg (on the right) and Angel (on the left) are smiling, among other reasons, due to the delights contained in the rather large box shown with them.

At the conclusion of their lively discussion over which bottles to select, Angel remarked that half of the box was “Angel’s share.” Indeed! Fortunately, the sealed bottles prevent any interloping angels from making off with even a single drop.

Would you like to visit the distillery, make some memories, and leave with your own precious cargo of amazing spirits? Just call or text the distillery line at 504-534-8590 to inquire and make your reservation. All calls to this number go to voicemail, so please leave a message if you call. You can also purchase bottles via our online store for pickup at the distillery.