One of These Things Is Not Like the Other W Comingled bottlings bring together different spirits WRITTEN BY MARGARETT WATERBURY
W W W . ARTISANSPIRITMAG . C O M
hen people talk about “blending” in the context of spirits, they’re usually referring to one of two things: Mixing a light-flavored whiskey with a richer one to create a product that lives somewhere between the two, or mixing multiple barrels of an aged spirit to create a batch that’s similar to the one that came before. In both cases, the constituent components are made from, roughly, the same basic ingredients. But a small number of producers are challenging the notion it has to be that way. Bartenders have mixed entirely different types of spirits for generations: the Vieux Carré, the Long Island iced tea, Tiki concoctions that need a Gantt chart to successfully construct. Why shouldn’t spirits bottlers partake in a little concocting of their own? The result is more bottles that contain not just different styles of whiskey or rum, but two spirits that come from entirely different categories and are made from entirely different primary ingredients. The approach opens up an uncharted territory of flavor possibilities — and an entirely new challenge when it comes to marketing to consumers.
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