In a not so recent blog post, Chuck Cowdery sent this message to craft distillers: don’t make vodka.
If you are not familiar, The Chuck Cowdery Blog is a gold mine of no-holds-barred whiskey and spirit insight. Now I have a great deal of respect for Chuck, despite not knowing him personally, and he has forgotten infinitely more about whiskey and the spirits industry than I will ever know. I follow his blog, and routinely reference his well researched work. But in saying that “there is really no point” in craft distillers making their own neutral spirit, I feel Mr. Cowdery is actually missing it.
This difference in opinion, I believe, revolves around a notion that the term “craft” relates specifically to the product. Personally, I dismiss this perception, believing rather that “craft” denotes the process. The product is certainly crafted, and arguable some better than others. But to state that there is zero value in making one’s own neutral spirits seems to me somewhat akin to saying that you shouldn’t grow your own garden.
Much of this relates to the fact that I am more intrigued by the social and economic facets of the craft movement than by which spirit tastes the best. Taste is such a subjective factor that I struggle with it as a measure of what constitutes worth. Each of us has our own tongue, connected to a brain wired in its own unique fashion, with physical and emotional predispositions that preclude establishing any objective baseline for what is good and what is not. I have yet to see any empirical evidence that any spirit really “tastes” better than any other. This is not to say that none exists, only that I have yet to see it. If you know of any, send it my way. My wife loves science.
For me, the biggest consideration in craft, and the reason I think people are interested in it, is the ability to say I made this here; I didn’t decide to buy NGS. I’m your local distiller, and maybe my vodka is a little more raw and a little less sterile but you’ll always know where it came from and the person who made it. Want to see how it’s made? Let me give you a tour.
Ultimately, I believe craft is about rebuilding community and reviving the economic model that sustained us for millennia. It is about personal relationships. Now how does that factor into spirit competitions, international distribution deals, and a craft distiller’s bottom line? I couldn’t say. But I am glad to see micro-distillers making vodka. It’s the only kind I’ll buy.
cheers ~ cobey
