This article was taken from the November 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
When alchemists invented distilling, they were trying to extract the essential "spirits" that lived within all matter. Alcohol was just a happy accident. Today, Lance Winters, the distiller at St George Spirits in Alameda, California, is still experimenting with the essences of life, but now in pursuit of booze.
Winters makes familiar tipples -- vodka, rum, brandy, gin and bourbon -- which he ages on racks in his distillery, a former aircraft hangar. But this alchemical adventurist really shines in his work with OPENrestaurant, a San Francisco art/activist/foodie group that hosts pop-up dinners. For those, he fires up two lab-sized stills -- mini versions of the giant copper ones he normally uses -- to make eaux-de-vie, or unaged spirits, out of the most unlikely ingredients. Mint was the least unusual; from there he tried seaweed, mushroom, crab and even foie gras.
What's astonishing is that Winters's creations taste fantastic.
The crab is like visiting a fishing dock; the seaweed is like getting hit by a wave. It's a process that requires some pretty arcane knowledge. "I've learned more about distilling from old perfume books than from distilling books," he says. So what is his next concoction? "If I can get enough sandalwood, I'll do that," he says. "I want to move in a savoury direction, something that smells and tastes like leather."
A selection of Winters's other unorthodox distilling ingredients
Douglas fir
"Bay laurel, sage and douglas fir were all distilled individually and then blended to contribute the aromas of our coastal forests to our Terroir gin distillation," says Winters.
Carrot
"A sweet, grassy, earthy eau-de-vie that smells and tastes of carrots. The main reason we do 'strange' distillates is to explore distillation as an art form, rather than pursue the commercially viable."
Cacao nibs
"These are as rich and chocolatey as you'd expect. Sometimes we discover something that could sell, more often we're just inspired by a pure love for ingredients and the way they smell."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
