IF
you ever find yourself up and around the San Diego area, you
just might want to drop by a local watering hole and have
a misadventure. Now, that really isn't quite as precarious
as it sounds since Misadventure is the brand name of a new
vodka being distilled in the region. You might rightfully
assume the misadventure might come from finding out that this
particular vodka is not distilled from the usual suspects:
corn, wheat, potatoes or rye - but instead is made using discarded
baked goods such as Twinkies, Ding Dongs, donuts, jalapeno
cheddar bagels, bread and even fruit cake. You can literally
have your cake and drink it, too!
As
crazy as all that initially sounds, it actually makes a great
deal of sense! 40% of all food grown in the United States
gets thrown away and on average 21% of American landfills
are filled with food that could have been eaten. Knowing that
and the fact that those discarded baked goods contain a lot
of the sugars that can be transformed into alcohol, the co-founders
of Misadventure Vodka, Sam Cherskin and Whit Rigali, formed
a relationship with the San Diego Food Bank. Although the
food bank receives and distributes most of the food it receives
to people in need, they still throw several tons of bread
and sugary treats out each week. Every Monday the Misadventure
crew goes down and picks up 1,200 pounds of excess baked goods
that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill somewhere.
They
bring those discarded Twinkies and Ho Ho's to the distillery
where they break everything down to crumbs, stir in water
to make a porridge like wort for the yeast to feed on and
distill the resulting liquor to a 96% pure vodka. And believe
me that process isn't as easy as it sounds. They had to modify
their still with a custom column designed to increase efficiency,
then the pre-cut spirit runs through a sequence of 6 filters
30 times. And to top it all off, this entire process is crafted
to remove Gluten.
Well
well I do believe it's time for me to have a Misadventure.
This vodka comes in a tall dark green bottle with the words
"Misadventure Vodka" printed in white and framed
by a bit of golden artwork. Considering what they start with,
the nose is actually quite clean with the slightest hint of
ethanol and yeast. The palate presents as slightly minty sweet
with a suggestion of cinnamon but otherwise is clean with
a trace of peppery spice. The finish is sweet and just a bit
spicy and lasts a medium amount of time and leaves me feeling
like I had just eaten something although I obviously hadn't.
A bit of ice in the glass rounds out the flavors, accents
the minty sweetness and tames the spiciness but leaves me
with a very pleasant mouth feel and a sweet finish.
I
am absolutely amazed at this finished product. Who knew you
could essentially take refuse and transform it into a truly
drinkable and enjoyable vodka? And the cherry on top of this
treat has got to be the price of only $22.00 per bottle! I
do believe that this vodka will soon find a place on a liquor
store shelf near you in the not too distant future.
Misadventure
Vodka is 40% ABV or 80 proof and can be found for
a very reasonable $22.00 per 750ML bottle.
By George Brozowski
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
http://www.misadventure.co/
