10 Liquor Factoids Absorbed at St. George Spirits

Post-Libation Thoughts from Susie:

How often can cocktail conversation trivia actually revolve around cocktails? Not very. During our Epicuring Spooky Spirits event at St. George Spirits at Hangar 1 in Alameda, we not only enjoyed several creative libations such as The Root of All Evil – a root beer / absinthe concoction – we laughed and learned several important bits of information while touring the distillery:

1. Bourbon only comes from the United States. Anything bourbon-like made elsewhere can’t be called bourbon. Consider it our “champagne.”
2. California liquor manufacturers cannot directly sell their booze to the public. They have to sell it to a distributor then buy it back from the distributor, who delivers it to them. Who makes money with this law? Who loses? Clearly an antiquated law ready for an overhaul–and here’s a petition. However wine and beer can of course be sold directly; some liquor falls under those rules.
3. Making vodka kills any unmentionables. St. George takes entire fruits, bugs and all, through their distillation process. It ends up so pure, there’s no concern for what got in there.
4. Vodka is gluten free by default due to the aforementioned purification process. However wheat beer does have gluten.
5. Bad produce makes bad liquor. Rotten potatoes make bad vodka, the kind  you want to douse with other infusions to cover the taste.
6. Hangovers are not from mixing alcohol. It’s more likely dehydration.
7. Don’t swirl vodka unless you want the alcohol to evaporate.
8. Vodka lasts forever, so when romancing it can make a nice substitute for a diamond.
9. Absinthe requires wormwood, anise, and fennel. Any of those missing, it’s not “real” absinthe. It wasn’t absinthe itself that caused hallucinations. We heard about Mad Hatter’s Syndrome–which we call mercury poisoning–which may have been a cause.
10. Asking for what you want me just get you that, hence the shark in the hangar. You’ll need to get to the tour to hear the rest for yourself!
11. Buddha’s Hand has a very interesting history. Click here to download our PDF.

 

It was a great time, and the group learned about “scary” fingered fruits – Buddha’s Hands and finger limes (check out the tasting video!)

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