Liquor? Check.

Pizza? Check.

Fixin’s for Bitters? Check

16 Bartenders. Check and Check!

Nothing’s more fun than having folks over to our humble “Fruit Lab.” We love having people understand how we make our spirits. Today was extra special because it was bartenders. Who else would understand (and appreciate) the geekery of what we do?

Melkon talked about the various base spirits and how no matter what the final product (grappa, vodka or brandy) is, each base spirit — potato, wheat, grape, etc. — had inherent qualities.

We also tasted TRU2 Gin two ways: in its final, macerated form, and as an experiment, going through a still. As you know, we are all about maceration as a final step. But the experiment was to see what our gin would taste like if it were to be redistilled. The aroma and flavor were super concentrated; not unpleasant but different. But the complexity and balance among the 14 botanicals were gone. This experiment illustrated what the properties of each method are.

The afternoon ended with a shake. Shakin’ jars, that is. We set out more than 30 different ingredients that our bartenders could use to make their very own bitters. Gentian? Got that. Oris Root? Yep. Foraged botanicals from LA parks? Got those too. We learned that bartenders are some very creative folks. Can’t wait to see how they all turn out. The next Pechaud’s could be out there, so keep us posted.

The bitter truth? Our hearts are still pumping from yesterday’s competition…and possibly from the avalanche of sugared beignets we snuck in to commemorate our last day in New Orleans.

In an hour and a half, our esteemed guest judges, Livio Lauro (USBG President), Allen Katz (Slow Food USA) and John Deragon (PDT) along with yours truly (Litty and Melkon) tasted and tested the final 15. We started first by nosing for aroma while the finalists explained their inspiration and process. Then, we tasted them with water, vodka and whiskey. The latter two in simple cocktail forms. The only extra ingredients available to our “fellowship of the bitters” were lemon juice, lime juice and simple syrup and ice. It was tough! Each one had strong merits.

(Esteemed judges looking mighty serious.)

We had plenty of company as we judged.  About 100 attendees also got to meet the very talented bitters makers and taste their handcrafted wares as they vied for the top prize: a chance to have their bitters professionally manufactured and sold later in the year with a cut of the profits ($$$…or more likely…$).

The Semi Finalists on the Fruit Side…

Blair Reynolds - Grapefruit

Kathy Casey - with a whopping 3 entries Golden Era, Harvest, & Kathy’s special bitters

Marshall Altier - Baked Apple

And the Spices…

Alex Smith - Anise

John Hogan & Tobin Ellis - English Lavender & Spice

Alex Velez - Chocolate Curry

George A. Costa - Smoked Curry Ginger (except this guy ain’t George, it’s his friend, Nick)

Michael Gehron - Kaffir Lime

The contenders on the Herb side…

Ron Oliver - Pachamama & Backhouse

Adam Seger - Swedish herb

Frederic Yarm - Celery

Bradley Dawson - Rose Petal

After a period of tasting, retasting, wringing of hands, etc., this is how the competition panned out:

FRUIT
Winner — Baked Big Apple bitters (Marshall Atlier)
Second — Grapefruit bitters (Blair Reynolds)
Third — Golden Era bitters (Kathy Casey)

HERB
Winner — Swedish bitters (Adam Seger)
Second — Pachamama bitters (Ron Oliver)
Third — Backhouse bitters (Ron Oliver)

SPICE
Winner — English Lavender & Spice bitters (Tobin Ellis & John Hogan)
Second — Anise bitters (Alex Smith)
Third — Smoked Ginger bitters (George A. Costa)

(Phew! The winners don't look shady!)

I'm tasty in cocktails!

We’re not good at sitting still, so instead of taking a vacation, we’ve created a line of organic liqueurs called, Fruit Lab — that’s what we call our factory.  We made Fruit Lab Liqueurs because people kept telling us they couldn’t make a decent margarita without something like Cointreau but alas, there were no organic versions.

Look no further environmentally (and flavor!) minded friends…

These three eco friendly, easy-to-use liqueurs that are vivid and fruit forward. Designed to add depth to your cocktail without adding chemicals to our soil.

* Citry - Based on three types of orange. Bright and complex and ideal in any cocktail that calls for orange liqueur.
* Crism - A powerful balance of hibiscus flowers and special organic tisanes. Fiery red, it functions like tangy fruit liqueur. Ideal for colorful, modern martinis.
* Theia - Flowering jasmine tempered with a hint of citrus. Comfortable in champagne cocktails and in martinis or with soda and a squeeze of lime.

Wanna try? Now available through Hi Time Liqueurs.

Chinese-Five-Spice, Curry-Chocolate, Kumquat-Cranberry, Saffron and  Celery. These are just a handful of bitters entered in TRU’s first Barmade Bitters Challenge. We tried them all in a blind tasting…with soda, then vodka, gin, bourbon, cognac and rum…and we’re still drunk!

We’ll post the semi finalists shortly.

Thanks to all who entered. You’re a talented bunch!

We’ll be getting our green on between 8:30-9:30pm on March 28 for Earth Hour by turning off our lights…and then falling asleep. But that’s conserving energy, right?
http://www.voteearth2009.org/home/

This Labor Day weekend, San Francisco hosted the first U.S. Slow Food Nation, where farmers, makers and purveyors came together to share their passion for organic, sustainable and fairly-produced food with 60,000 consumers from all over the world. That’s a whole lot of interest in sustainability!

As a Slow Food member, I had planned to attend to cheer on my favorite cheesemaker and discover some new favorites. Then I received an invitation to present my own handiwork at the spirits pavilion. The what pavilion?

Spirits certainly have come a long way to be considered worthy of the Slow Food movement! Here’s why I think spirits earned their spot at Slow Food Nation:

• At their core, spirits are agricultural products. An 80-proof bottle of vodka requires up to 140 square feet of farmland for growing raw ingredients (wheat, rye, corn, etc.). Organic and sustainable practices become a big deal in the context of the 2+ billion bottle U.S. liquor industry.
• As bar chefs move away from pre-made mixers toward fresh ingredients, drinks take on qualities critical to sustainability, such as seasonality and locality.
• The rise of artisan spirits in the U.S. is the final driving force. In 2006, there were less than 40 producers. Today, there are more than 150, with a dozen that were invited to participate in Slow Food Nation SF.

Go Slow spirits!

Photos by Emma Reiners