DSP CA 162
ARTISANAL VODKAS STRAIGHT & TRUE-FRUIT INFUSED
Well-made artisanal vodka doesn’t need to go in the freezer. It should have zero alcoholic bite and be as easy to sip as a fine rum
Vodka DSP 162 derives from conversations between Crispin Cain of Tamar Distillery and Ansley Coale of Craft Distillers. Fed up with artificial flavoring, they thought there was room for significant improvement by using a mix of traditional and innovative craft methods. Basic was to use real fruit and to pay unusual attention to the fruit’s quality. The stuff should actually taste and smell of authentic fruit.
Serious experiments started in late April, 2013; Devin Cain, Crispin’s son, took on much of the responsibility for creating the fruit infusions, which took several months of trial and error The first bottlings were released in January, 2014.
Here’s what Geoff Kleinman of DRINK SPIRITS had to say:
“It’s hard to remember savoring and exploring a vodka as much as we did with DSP CA 162 Citrus Medica var. Sarcodactylis Vodka. The complexity of citrus notes along with how they are presented is nothing short of outstanding The DSP 162 vodkas are a presentation of the essence of things and represent an exciting new direction for the vodka category.”
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A lot of the work is simply thinking seriously about what you’re doing.
Vodka DSP 162 is produced by infusing real (and exotic) fruit in well-made wheat vodka. We use wheat because good wheat vodka has a soft, round mouthfeel, . We then blend the infusion into the “straight” vodka. The residue of the fruit in the infusion gives a faint blush to the real-fruit vodkas.
Holstein still assembly diagram
The “straight” vodka is a blend of wheat vodka with a vodka we distill from aromatic wines (riesling, viognier = beautiful flavor). Local prime grapes are vinified, then put through a first distillation on the Germain-Robin cognac still. The resulting brouillis is then brought to high proof on a Holstein potstill.
Before bottling, the vodka is cold-stabilized and given a slight (polishing) filtration. There may be slight sedimentation in the fruit-infused versions
Grapes used for blending into the “Straight” Vodka DSP CA 162 are premium wine varietals grown in Mendocino County, CA. Experimentation led us to grapes used in aromatic white wines: muscat, riesling, viognier. The grapes are vinified into a low-alcohol, high-acid distilling wine at local wineries; the wine receives a first distillation on the former Germain-Robin cognac still, which takes the distillate to about 29% abv. This intermediate distillate is then taken to 95% on a small Holstein potstill.
Blending tank of type 316 stainless steel. To save money, a lot of distillers use the softer type 308 used for wine tanks, which imparts a slight metallic taste to stronger alcohols.
The fruit used for the infused vodkas comes from the exotic-fruit orchards of John Kirkpatrick in Exeter, Tulare County, CA, “citrus capital of the world”. We go to some trouble to get the fruit as freshly picked as possible. Citrus fruits/leaves lend themselves to infusion because of their crisp (acidic) flavors and forward aromas
For the Malaysian Lime (limau purut, also known as kaffir lime), Crispin and Devin favored the deep-flavored leaves
For the Tangerine, we mix in some tangelos. Tangelos are a cross between tangerine and grapefruit/pomelo. adding some nice aromatic acidity= clean definition of flavor. The fruit is infusing in the vodka the morning after it’s picked.
The Citron infusion uses the ultra-exotic Buddha’s Hand, a citron so beautifully aromatic that in Southeast Asia it is used to perfume people’s clothes closets.
DSP CA 162 is the federal registration number of the 1982 craft distillery (under construction in photo) on Ansley Coale’s ranch where Germain-Robin brandy was born and where Crispin Cain perfected his distillation skills. You learn a lot about the finer points of purifying and focusing a distilled spirit when you’re working with an entirely hand-operated antique cognac still.