Short Take: Old Nick Williams Vodka
In late February and early March, when COVID-19 seemed rather more remote, Lazarus and I continued our tours of local distilleries, and re-visited some of our friends to sample their new releases. This is the second in a series of “short takes” that discuss the latter.
Lazarus and I are doing our best to stay positive, but it is a little harrowing to see the death toll rising to 1500-2000+ every day here in the States. We hope these little vignettes will offer some relief.
Lazarus and I puzzled over the announcement. Our friends at Old Nick Williams were releasing...a new vodka.
“What do you make of this?” I asked.
“Well, it wasn’t what I expected, certainly.”
“I’d always heard that a good vodka had neither flavor or aroma… which would seem to eliminate any reason for drinking it.”
“Perhaps.” Lazarus looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “You know, boss, vodka isn’t really my specialty: maybe we should talk to a polecat or a sable?” Lazarus suggested.
“Where would we find one?”
“There’s an Eastern European population in the mountains… but I haven’t been out that way for some time.”
“Seems a little unlikely.”
“I trust the folks at Old Nick, though. If they think this is a worthwhile product, then I’m in.”
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. After all, I didn’t know anything about white whiskey before all this, either.”
“There are several local distilleries that make vodka… maybe this could be another side project.”
“We’d have to go shopping… but let’s not get too carried away just yet.”
We drove up on a Saturday evening. There were three or four people at the Busted Barrel bar, which had officially opened a few months before. We settled in at a table near the presidential letters. As always, the atmosphere was warm and intimate.
I ordered bourbon on the rocks while Lazarus munched some roasted peanuts, and we asked about the vodka. The bartender smiled and brought us a tiny tasting cup.
“Ready?” I asked Lazarus.
“You do the honors, boss.”
I lifted the cup to take in the nose.
“Whoa… what? This is… creamy!”
Lazarus jumped to my shoulder and sniffed at the glass, then blew the air out of the sides of his nose like a dog: “phffft!”
“Like, what? Crème brulèe maybe?”
“A little rich for my blood, boss, but yes…’
I took a sip, and could hardly believe it. “Wow! It’s like ice cream!”
I handed the cup to Lazarus, who licked at it tentatively. He looked at the ceiling as he ran his tongue along the roof of his mouth, then took a larger sip.
“Well, boss, this is something,” he said finally. “Really smooth, good body, and a nice warmth on the finish.”
“Well, if this is vodka, maybe we should be drinking vodka!”
I ordered a full pour of their vodka on the rocks for the second round, but when I asked about the product, the bartender demurred and said she wasn’t really involved in production. Shortly afterward, however, our friend Van Williams stopped in and was generous enough to talk with us for several minutes.
As it happened, their license for the Busted Barrel bar required that they make all the liquor they sold. When enough people started asking for vodka drinks, they made the decision to expand in that direction. Since making vodka from scratch would require an investment of at least $20,000 in a column still, they had elected to source the base spirit from MGP in Indiana.
The “grain-neutral spirit” was distilled from a 100% wheat mash and arrived from MGP at 192 proof. ONW then filtered the batch and added LeBleu water (known for its purity) to proof it down to 90. The carbon filtration, according to Van, was the crucial step: unless the water and the alcohol were the same temperature, the vodka would be cloudy.
The object of the filtration is to remove any remaining impurities, which gives the spirit its clean flavor. Carbon, usually in the form of activated charcoal, is the most effective (it’s used in most commercial water filters) and the more contact the spirit has with the carbon, the better. Accordingly, it’s better to go slowly and when possible, filter several times.
Van said they might be looking at some flavored vodkas in the future, but (sadly for us) no gin, as “no one here likes it.”
As we drove home carefully, with our bottles of ONW vodka and bourbon (I was running low) in the back, Lazarus sighed and said, “We are going to get to gin someday, right boss?”
“Yes. In fact, I talked my wife into a weekend getaway in Asheville, so…”
“Chemist?” he asked, excitedly.
“Yes, and Oak and Grist.”
“Oh! That’s the right place to start! When do we leave?”
“Next week.”
“Excellent! Now boss…
It was a good night.