"Craft distilling is the next big thing for restaurateurs ," said Kent Fleishmann, owner of Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane, Wash. The appetite for small-batch products is skyrocketing and "cocktail culture is exploding," Fleishmann said. Walking the floor of the International Wine, Spirits & Beer event at NRA Show 2009 provides plenty of evidence that he's right.
Dry Fly has been in the craft distilling business for only 17 months, but already the company is running a school to teach "wannabe" distillers. That's because Dry Fly is a pioneer of a "grain to glass" approach. Rather than buy neutral spirits to concoct their offerings, they run the entire process, starting with the acquisition of all the grains and botanicals sourced from local, sustainable producers in Washington state.
Fleischmann, a longtime foodservice marketing executive, and his business partner came up with the idea on a fly fishing trip four years ago, after a high-end, distantly produced vodka left them thinking that they could do it better by taking greater care for the process. "Doing things right pays off," Fleischmann said. A few years of self-education later the company was rewarded with a prestigious best of show and double gold for their vodka at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Dry Fly also produces gin and whiskey, several varieties of which are currently aging.
It's a good thing Fleischmann believes the increasingly crowded market for craft distillers is good for business, because there are plenty of new spirits to know and love at IWSB. A few include:
- Superfruits and sustainability. IWSB exhibitor VeeV was mixing pronunciation of their 60-proof spirit's principle ingredient (the superfood of the hour, acai berries) with facts about the business. As for the berries, they're pronounced "a-sigh-ee," and VeeV claims those little purple wonders have "57 percent more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries, and 30 times more heart-healthy anthocyanins than red wine." As for VeeV, the company says it's the first certified carbon-neutral spirits company in the world, partially powering its distillery with renewable wind energy. They donate $1 per bottle to protect and replenish the Amazon rainforest where the berries are born. Visit VeeV at Booth #8222.
- Slow boat to Vietnam. Domaine de Canton is a small-batch ginger liqueur produced from exotic, hand-cut Vietnamese ginger in the Cognac region of France. The company is using its IWSB presence (Booth #8213) to help move from their first push to high-end restaurants in major markets to case-moving accounts across the country. Their impressive array of recipes from well-regarded chefs and mixologists and a flavor profile on target with the hottest trends leads us to believe that will be happening soon.
- The Heartland, distilled. American Craft Distillers, represented by four operations from the Midwest and West, represent the local spirit of this beverage segment at its most vibrant at IWSB Booth #8111. Leopold Brothers, at eight years of existence, is the oldest kid on the block, offering award-winning spirits and liqueurs from Colorado. North Shore Distillery is the first artisan distiller in Illinois and part of what the company calls a "distilling renaissance" in the Midwest. Indiana Vodka and Great Lakes Distillery from Wisconsin provide further evidence.
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