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SPIRITED REVOLUTION
Historic legislation spurs Reno-Tahoe craft distillery movement.
WRITTEN BY ANN LINDEMANN
PHOTOS BY JEFF ROSS
Ladies and gentlemen, fire up your stills! Prohibition is now passé in Nevada thanks to landmark legislation that breathes new life into the state’s craft spirit distillery movement.
Not unlike the craft-brewing boom that started 10 to 15 years ago, the craft distillery bandwagon is gaining momentum nationwide. According to the American Distilling Institute website, 90 craft distillers in the U.S. were creating spirits in 2010, but by 2012 that figure had doubled. Experts at the institute predict that by 2015 upwards of 1,000 certified craft distilleries will be operating nationwide.
To join the boom, potential craft distillers in Nevada would have had to navigate through antiquated post-Prohibition-era legislation. Many threw up their hands in defeat, while others such as Colby Frey of The Nevada Distillery in Fallon, Tom Adams of Seven Troughs Distilling Co. in Sparks, and George Racz of Las Vegas Distillery soldiered on in search of critical legislative support for a new law. Assembly Bill 153 passed on June 1, 2013 due to efforts of a statewide consortium representing both liquor distributors and eager craft distillers. In a nutshell, the new legislation allows craft distillery owners to partially circumvent the liquor distribution tier and offer complimentary 2-ounce samples, and it permits two-bottles-per-person, per-month sales on site.
On-site sales allow craft distillers to profit by shaving off a percentage of the steep tax overhead, while welcoming customers into an intimate tasting room setting fosters brand loyalty. These modern-day spirits makers also partner with state-mandated spirits distributors, such as behemoth Southern Wine & Spirits, to place their products in bars and specialty food and liquor stores.
Northern Nevada’s newly minted craft distillers (defined as having 10,000 cases for sale in the state and 20,000 cases for out-of-state export) say the law is not ideal and some lament the limited on-site sale stipulation. However, they also acknowledge that it is a positive legislative step that ushers in a spirited new Nevada-centric industry. Going further along those lines, all of the distillers we talked to are using a large percentage of local ingredients in the manufacture of their spirits. To them, it’s a point of pride to use locally grown grain and other commodities to create distinctive spirits that are just like them: 100 percent Nevada produced.
Estate Style
“Come on up, put your nose in there, and take a whiff,” says Colby Frey, who is winemaker/owner of Churchill Vineyards and spirits maker/owner of The Nevada Distillery in Fallon. He pries off the cork of an imposing oak barrel.
And then, like magic, a rich, complex aroma escapes like a mischievous genie, beckoning one to go deeper and deeper into this evocative journey of the senses. But alas, the taste buds don’t get to join in, as this brandy is a couple of months short of the 5-year aging threshold.
“It’ll be ready in time for the holidays this year,” Frey promises.
The Syrah grapes were harvested a few yards away on the historic Frey Ranch, which is home to Churchill Vineyards and, now, The Nevada Distillery. Pivotal in the new legislation efforts, Frey holds the state’s first craft distillery license. (Though, Nevada’s first distilled spirits producers and bottlers permit was granted to Francovich Distillers — see story in this edition. Since 1999 the Francovich family has blended existing products to make its beloved holiday eggnog and award-winning manhattan cocktail. To date, the Francoviches haven’t distilled raw ingredients to create base spirits — such as bourbon, vodka, or rum — as some of the new craft distillers are doing now.)
Frey is a fifth-generation Nevada farmer whose winery produces the only Nevada grown, produced, and bottled white wine. So it stands to reason that he’d try his hand at grain-based spirits, as he also farms more than 1,200 acres of rye, barley, wheat, and corn on the family property. Besides the brandy, Frey plans to produce whiskey, gin, vodka, and absinthe.
“To make any quality product, you need good ingredients,” Frey explains. “The best way for anybody to know (he or she is) getting good ingredients is to grow them (him or herself).”
In true “estate spirit,” Frey plans to take these ingredients from field to bottle.
“This will allow me to have 100 percent control over the product,” says Frey, whose wife, Ashley, takes care of the marketing and other aspects of the operation.
While the family prides itself on sourcing everything either locally or from Nevada, the Freys did venture out to the heart of whiskey and bourbon country to procure a set of stills from Vendome Copper & Brass Works Inc. in Louisville, Ky. Frey says the company’s plaque can be found on the stills of virtually every big name on the Kentucky bourbon trail.
“They have made stills to produce whiskey, brandy, vodka, gin, and absinthe,” Frey explains. “This is the first still, or set of stills, that will be integrated to produce all of these (spirits) in (each of their own) traditional way(s). People can buy a pot still and make any product in it, but it isn’t ideal for all products.”
At press time, the three stills were en route to their new Nevada home. Frey says the two column stills will be 23 feet tall, and the pot still will be 16 feet tall. To house the formative equipment, the Freys are building a new structure that will sit over the old horse corral that his grandfather built in the 1950s. With its saloon doors and tall ceilings, the building also will serve as the home base for tastings and sales.
After the stills are up and running, the Freys plan to roll out their gin and vodka in early 2014.
“We need to come up with some names soon!” Frey says. “As for the whiskey, we have a little time to come up with the name.” (See sidebar, below.)
He anticipates the whiskey will take four to five years in oak barrels to achieve the necessary aging.
“It’s not worth it to rush, or bottle whiskey before its time,” Frey says.
Churchill Vineyards and The Nevada Distillery are located in Fallon. Spirits can be purchased on site by appointment, or in Northern Nevada specialty food and liquor stores. For details, visit http://www.Churchillvineyards.com.
Recession Proof Moonshine
Named after a long-gone Nevada mining district, Seven Troughs Distilling Co. is conjuring up spirits of the 19th century.
“I spent a lot of time at the library looking at manuscripts from moonshiners to see how they did it in 1804,” says Tom Adams, the company’s chief financial officer, lead distiller, recipe developer, and mash master.
And now, after extensive recipe experimentation in an unassuming industrial space in Sparks, the native Nevadan believes he and his crew of college-buddies-turned-business-partners have come up with the perfect moonshine recipe. (His partners are chief financial officer Leland “Troy” Sullivan, whose “real job” is with Northern Nevada Emergency Physicians in Reno, and chief operating officer Jason Dondero, who works in the construction industry. Like Adams, they also are native Nevadans.)
“What we are offering is more of a Nevada, Pony Express kind of product that gives a nod to the past,” Adams says. “People don’t know what to expect when they try it. I think they are sometimes a little scared of moonshine, and they think it’s kind of illicit. Or they want to share stories with me. It’s iconic Americana kind of stuff. Old-timers will say ‘I’m from Georgia, and it better be as good as the stuff from my grandpa’s still.'”
With the discerning palate of a sommelier, Adams describes the taste of the clear, un-aged spirit made from corn, malted barley, yeast, and water.
“I taste creamed corn at the top and biscuits in the middle … it’s very visceral,” Adams says of his company’s Recession Proof Moonshine.
The Seven Troughs production model is decidedly low-tech, with corn processed in an antique grinder on site, sour mash fermenting in open barrels, and a still crafted by the hands of the distiller. The entire process takes about 60 hours and renders only 20 bottles of liquor.
“We are totally bootstrap here with limited debt,” admits Adams, who works as a construction engineer by day. “But really, if we were doing this for our primary livelihood, the numbers wouldn’t be there.”
Adams says his Nevada-born spirits, which largely are made from Nevada ingredients (most come from Winnemucca Farms in Winnemucca), are in a league of their own.
“It’s not Kentucky, and we’re not trying to be Kentucky,” he says. “We are making a distinctive product. It’s not going to taste like Maker’s Mark and, frankly, we don’t want it to!”
For details on tasting and retail store hours, visit http://www.7troughsdistilling.com. Recession Proof Moonshine hit the shelves of various local specialty food and liquor stores and bars in the fall of this year.
Nevada Heritage
Carson Valley entrepreneur and businessman Christopher Bently joins the craft distillery drive with a philosophy that embraces and preserves Nevada history, while reinvigorating the local economy … without big box stores and new subdivisions.
Bently says he plans to initiate retrofitting the circa-1906 Minden Flour Milling Co.’s four, tall, boiler-plated silos and brick buildings on U.S. Highway 395 in Minden in 2014. Bently still is deciding just which spirits to make, but one thing is certain: All of the ingredients will be grown in Carson Valley, including grain farmed on the Bently Ranch.
“I want to introduce a business that will enhance Minden by supporting the local community, and also by attracting visitors to the area,” Bently says. “Originally, I had wanted a farm-to-table-type business, such as an organic market, but knew it would need far-reaching support. This became an exciting challenge and opportunity to create something new we call farm-to-bar.”
With an interest in the environment and sustainability, Bently plans to retrofit the landmark to LEED Platinum standards — the highest rating in LEED certification principles.
For details, visit http://www.Nevadaheritagecraftdistillery.com.
New Directions
In the rush of new legislation excitement, other local businesspeople are examining the possibilities. For one, Chris Shanks, co-owner of Louis’ Basque Corner in Reno, and brewmaster Brandon Wright will transform the 103-year-old, Frederic DeLongchamps-designed railroad passenger depot on Fourth Street in Reno into Nevada’s first combined brewery and whiskey distillery. They expect to open The Depot Craft Provisions Co., which will include a restaurant, in the summer of 2014. They will focus on using locally sourced, quality ingredients from Nevada in their product line. In addition, Art Farley, owner of Reno’s hip Brasserie Saint James and Saint James Infirmary, will open a distillery, gin mill, and late-night diner at 761 S. Virginia St. in midtown Reno in 2014.
In the end, the true power of the Northern Nevada distillery movement comes from supporting Nevada agriculture and producing a distinctive spirit onsite — Nevada style.
“We all are learning about this process,” says Tom Adams of Seven Troughs, “and there’s a lot of goodwill out there.”
After learning about the intricacies required to create fine, complex spirits, writer Ann Lindemann has a newfound respect for the moonshiners of yore and the pioneering craft distillers of today.
Churchill Vineyards Picon Punch
(courtesy of The Nevada Distillery. Serves 1)
1 teaspoon grenadine
2½ ounces Picon or Torani brand amer
Shot carbonated water or club soda
1 ounce Churchill Vineyards Nevada Brandy
Lemon twist (peel only)
Put some ice cubes in an old-fashioned glass. Add amer and grenadine syrup, then add carbonated water. Agitate with spoon in an up-and-down motion. Leave enough room for the brandy, which should be layered on the top. Add a lemon twist and enjoy.
Brandied Pumpkin Soup
(courtesy of The Nevada Distillery. Serves 8 to 10)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds fresh pumpkin, skinned, seeded, and diced
1 cup diced yellow onion
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup Churchill Vineyards Nevada Brandy
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
10 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
Melt butter in soup pot. Add pumpkin, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook until soft. Add brandy and seasonings, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add stock and cream, and let cook another 20 minutes. Remove from heat and purée in blender. Reheat before serving.
Colby’s Hot Toddy Cold Remedy
(courtesy of The Nevada Distillery. Serves 1)
3 ounces Churchill Vineyards Nevada Brandy
2 ounces honey
1½ ounces lemon juice
Put all the ingredients into a microwavable coffee cup. Stir until mixed well. Place coffee cup into microwave for 1 minute, making sure it does not boil. Be careful, this drink can be hot! Drink it as hot as you can stand it, and it will help relieve an irritating cold.
Sangria
(courtesy of The Nevada Distillery. Makes 1 large pitcher)
4 750 millileter bottles of Churchill Vineyards red wine
1½ cups Churchill Vineyards Nevada Brandy
1½ cups Triple Sec
2 cups sugar
4 oranges, peeled and sliced
4 lemons, peeled and sliced
2 limes, peeled and sliced
Splash soda water
Mix all ingredients into a large container, cover, and store for 24 to 48 hours. Stir once before portioning to re-mix any remaining sugar. Remove marinated fruit after 48 hours and discard. Serve chilled or pour over ice, and add a splash of soda water. Garnish with fresh fruit slices.
