cocktails distilled

When you think of New Zealand, you probably think of extensive green hills and forests full of lush vegetation. But Mark Simmonds, one of the three founders of Broken Shed would also like you to think about the purity that can be achieved in a distilled Vodka. 

Launching in 2009, Broken Shed has brought the future to Vodka drinkers around the globe and shown that with a little New Zealand ingenuity an amazing liquid can be created from only three ingredients (two of which are water). 

We talk to Simmonds about the purity of water, whether whey really is the way and how difficult it has been for a New Zealand brand on the global spirits stage

When creating a distilled spirit, it is usual to start either with an established spirit type or with flavour, but when Seth O’Malley and Brad Whiting created Wilderton they approached it from a very different standpoint. 

Starting instead with a layering of botanicals, that could not be easy identified as any particular flavour, the friends wanted to create a liquid that would function as a spirit without trying to be an already existing one.

The result is their two expressions, Lustre and Earthen, both of which were born out of curiosity about the depth of feeling that the botanicals used could express. 

To find out more, we speak to Seth O’Malley about botanicals, distilling and what it means to live and drink wild and free. 

In recent years, many vodka distilleries have relied on the marketing buzzwords such as clean, crisp, and pure, but there are few that can back up these claims as fully as Reyka vodka. 

Distilled on the west coast of Iceland in the shadows of the majestic Mt. Hafnarfjall. The distillery is part of a land like no other, a land of Vikings, volcanoes and crystal glacier waters. 

To find out more, we talked to US brand ambassador Trevor Schneider, about stills, geothermal power and flavour in vodka. 

While a lot of us did drink perhaps a little more than we should have during the pandemic, the real winner from our time of isolation was the non alcoholic drinks industry. 

Already picking up steam before COVID, the sale of non alcoholic beverages has skyrocketed over the last 18 months. 

One relatively new brand to the market but one that has definitely been making an impact is Everleaf, a complex and captivating range of non alcoholic aperitifs based in the UK. 

To find out more about the brand, what they are offering and the true nature of the appeal, we talk to Paul Mathew, the founder of Everleaf. 

In the world of cocktails, it's usually the spirits and the liqueurs that tend to get all the love. 

But as anyone who has made drinks knows, it's the syrups and mixes that are often the true stars of the show. But taking the flavour profile of your drinks up to the next level with a flavoured syrup is often more difficult than that sounds. 

Going through the rigamarole of having to find the ingredients and ensure consistency means that it's simply easier to turn to a pre-made syrup. 

One business that is sweetening the experience is Cocktails & Sons. Started by award-winning bartenders, and husband and wife duo,  Max Messier, and Lauren Myerscough, the brand aims to bring simplicity to your bar. 

To find out more, we talked to Lauren about flavours, simplifying syrups, and of course the drinks that you can make with them. 

For many, the process of creating an outstanding whisky is akin to a religious experience. And that could easily be the analogy you use when describing the processes put in place by Waterford Distillery in Ireland. 

Although Single Malts are best known from the Scottish side of the industry, Ireland has been producing outstanding examples for centuries. 

Laying down their first liquid in 2015, Waterford may be a newcomer to the field but they believe the unwavering level of craftsmanship they bring to the whiskey will speak for itself

To find out more, we talk to Head Distiller, Ned Gahan about the nuances of terroir, traceability and transparency. 

For many of us, the idea of distilling gin is a mix of alchemy and mysticism. But for Dr Anne Brock, the head distiller at Bombay Sapphire, it is pure science and sensory memory. 

As the latest custodian for the brand, Brock has spent the last four years leading a team of 16 distillers at the brand's Laverstoke Mill Distillery but maintaining the core expression, while adding in innovation, isn't always easy. 

We talked to Brock about creativity, agility, and adding a little personality to an established brand. 

When you think of Wyoming, you probably think of towering mountain peaks, wild rivers, and wide-open plains. It is a land of National Parks, of prairies and of cowboys. It is big sky country.

But near the centre of the state, near a little town called Kirby, this land is also gaining a reputation for bourbon. And while this liquid will seem familiar, it is not your typical Kentucky bourbon, but instead of liquid that reflects its environment. 

It is a whiskey that's true to the land from which it comes forged from the dry summer heat and sub-zero winters. It is a whiskey that reflects the plains, the skies, and a pioneering spirit.

To understand more about the barrels and the liquid they create. We talked to David DeFazio from Wyoming Whiskey. 

It would be quite easy to say that Alexandre Gabriel has a unique sense about spirits. Not only did he take Maison Ferrand, a dormant Cognac house and turn it around, but he's also created some of the most iconic brands in a variety of spirit categories. 

One of the most notable is Citadelle Gin. 

Created in the mid-'90s, Citadelle was a front runner in the craft gin movement and set an example that raised the bar for the category, an example that many have tried to follow. 

Although Gabriel created the brand as a tribute to early French distilling, the brand has taken a unique approach to the production process from its botanicals through to its distillation.

To find out more, we talk to Alexandre Gabrielle about the brand, its philosophy and how best to use the expression in a cocktail. 

In the history of cocktails, we've spent more time trying to mask the taste of spirits than we have actually celebrating them. But recently the intricate marriage of unexpected flavours has not only become fundamental to cocktail making, but also to the distillation of the various spirits we put in these drinks.

Add to that, the number of techniques that bartenders have borrowed from the kitchen. And it's surprising that we've not seen more chefs, not only behind the bar but also beside the still. One such chef that has stepped forward to transfer his culinary skills into liquid is renowned celebrity chef Robert Irvine.

We talked to Robert about the inspiration behind Irvine Spirits, the vodka and gin he has produced and, of course, the cocktails that you can make with it. 

When most people think of Japanese spirits, they often think of sake, but it is in fact shochu that is the national spirit of Japan. 

Outselling sake in Japan for the past decade, shochu is a clean, crisp white spirit that is rich in flavour that has been distilled and drunk in Japan since the 16th century. 

Iichiko, has been Japan’s best-selling shochu producer for the past 30 years or so, which makes sense as the word literally means “it is good”. 

Although shochu is unique among spirits in that it can be made from a variety of materials including rice, sweet potato or buckwheat, Iichiko made all their shochu from barley, which gives it rich malty notes. 

To find out more about the spirit and iichiko’s variations, we talk to Tetsuro Miyazaki, General Manager of iichiko USA about nature, taste and of course the cocktails you can make with their liquids. 

With a journey that starts in the sugar fields of Venezuela, the various expressions of Diplomatico Rum are infused with a rich heritage, so as to achieve a blend, that is a perfect balance of flavours and aromas. 

But the story of this rum is as much about family as it is about the liquids themselves. And it's not just about the families that produce it, but also the sense of family that is forged when the cocktails this rum can create a shared amongst your own family and friends.

To find out more about the rum, but specifically, the cocktails that you can create with the brands Planas, Mantuano, and Reserva Exclusiva expressions. We talk to Pacific Brand Ambassador Sai Hamsala. 

Located in a land of turbulence, Ron Santa Teresa is Venezuela's oldest rum distillery, and actually the third oldest distillery in the world. 

For over 200 years, the brand has walked the delicate tight rope of political and economic upheaval, looking to their rum and their community as a way through the chaos.

Santa Teresa 1796 was created in 1996 to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Hacienda and has proved its ongoing popularity with rum drinkers due to both its flavour and production method. 

To find out more, we speak to Brand Ambassador, Alex Noriega about the brand, Solera systems and how the rum can be used.

We're used to craft distillers turning their hands to primary spirits, such as gin, whiskey tequila and even vodka, but one category that seems to have been mainly left alone is that of liqueurs. 

Apologue Liqueurs is not only taking a craft approach in terms of production but also trying to shake the drinks category up with the use of unusual flavours that possibly fill a gap we didn't even know was there. 

To find out more, we talked to Chicago bartender, Robert Haynes from Apologue about uncommon ingredients, educating consumers, and, of course, the drinks that can be made with their liquids. 

Aperitivo comes from the Latin meaning to open. Traditionally, it refers to a pre-dinner, appetite-stimulating drink, yet the word can also be applied to the opening of flavours within a drink, as well as the social moments with friends that these drinks can create. 

Select aperitivo has been a favourite in Venice for over a hundred years, with the bright red liqueur drunk in cafes and bars across the city and around the grand canal. 

To find out more, we talk to Tad Carduicci, Director Of Outreach for Gruppo Montenegro about Venetian aperitif culture, their 30 botanicals and, of course, the cocktails that you can make with it. 

There is a long history of ageing liquor at sea. Starting in the 16th century, brandy and later whiskey was often transported in barrels on ships to its final destination and the movement of the ship on the waves were believed to have accelerated and improved the spirit. 

But ageing whiskey on the road has been a far less common occurrence … well, until now. 

US whiskey brand, WhistlePig has just released their Roadstock Rye where barrels were placed on what could best be described as a rolling rickhouse and driven along Route 66 across America. 

To better understand the journey, we talk to blender Meghan Ireland and distiller Mitchael Mahar about taking whiskey on the road and what changes that makes to the flavour of the blend. 

Where there is a wealth of sugar cane, there is also a fair chance that you will find rum. And that is very true for Panamanian rum brand Ron Abuelo.
With a name that literally means grandfather's rum in Spanish. The story of this brand is one of location, fermented molasses and family.
We speak to global brand ambassador Cristóbal (Cris) Srokowski, who is in Rome, about rum expressions and of course, how best to explore the Ron Abuelo range.

Liqueurs have the ability to transform spirits into elegant cocktails. And most of what we see on the back bars have histories that go back hundreds of years.

So it's not very often that we see a new liqueur come across the bar, but this year we have seen the birth of Fleur Charmante. With a name that means charming flower, the liqueur is made in a small village of Saint Sauvant in France. 

To understand more, we talk to Eddie Varsalona, New Product Development Manager at Blue Ridge Spirits And Wine Marketing about maceration, versatility and the cocktails you can make with this new liqueur.

Tequila has come a long way from its reputation as simply a shot based spirit into a liquid that people feel equally at home drinking in a cocktail or a sipping beverage. 

But tequila's popularity hasn't come without challenges, both in terms of  authenticity, environmental concerns and the blending of traditional methods with innovation. 

One brand that is walking the tightrope of craft tequila distilling is Tequila Tromba. 

We speak to co-founder James Sherry about the agave liquid, distillation, and of course, how to best use his tequila in a cocktail. 

Craft distilling is all about experimentation and the ability to release new flavours and tastes. 

So it's not surprising that in New York, a state known for its apple production, craft distiller, Barking Irons has concentrated on apple based spirits. 

But rather than just look at AppleJack variations, the brand has now released a gin made from apples. Some would say this new gin is New York to the core.