I admit to being quite irritated by the last round of exchanges, but will probably get over it sooner rather than later. But I think next time I want to rant about the macroeconomy, I'll write it down rather than looking for somebody to talk about it with.
Anyway, I've moved on to a new passion, grappa/marc, which has become an artisanal/niche product in California but not here yet. I'm researching what it would take to make it here (Virginia) which has a fairly decent wine industry. You don't need wonderful wine to make good grappa, either, just good pomace, it seems.
I have read that there are similar products made in China, mostly from sorghum, very high proof, not all that tasty. Do you have any idea what kind of stills they use? Pot stills, alembics, columns? Fancy German equipment costs about $50K, but much simpler equipment doesn't cost nearly that much.
Apparantly the first ardent spirits in the New World were made from sugar cane (rum) as we all learned in school, but equally popular was arrack from Indonesia ("Batavia") -- from palm toddy and/or coconut flowers. Thomas Jefferson's father sealed a big land deal over a bowl of arrack punch. History doesn't tell us whether he was buying or selling. |
