Backstage

A collection of 26 posts

Whiskey

117° West Spirits Is All About Malt

When Justin McCabe was finishing his PhD program in chemistry and environmental science at the University of California San Diego, he’d already been brewing beer at home for years. In 2007, as environmental science funding hit an all-time low and a case of academia burnout settled on McCabe, he

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Introducing Ambix Spirits

“Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits. Let the most beautiful or the swiftest have it. That should be the 'going' price of apples.” - Henry David Thoreau America loves apples. The fleshy, hardy fruit is hard-coded into our national DNA—”as American as apple pie” is

Amaro

Amaro

If you remember your first sip of coffee, beer, or cough medicine, you are likely recalling memories of your childhood palate’s introduction to bitterness. At first, you probably recoiled at the sensations this bitterness caused—maybe a prickle on the back of your tongue, a "yuk" face,

Recipes

Summer Drinks, California Bounty

Hi Friends, We don't want to brag, but we're pretty lucky living out here in California when it comes to sourcing produce. With so many farms and farmers markets nearby, it's easy to keep an eye on the seasons and watch them unfold in

Liqueur

Hold on to your walnuts, we're making Nocino!

Hi Folks, We just hauled 175 pounds of green walnuts from Santa Cruz back to our Berkeley warehouse and have been hand-slicing our way through the enormous pile for maceration in grape brandy. What are we up to? We’re making nocino! If you’re not familiar with nocino, it’

Whiskey

The History of Punch

You may talk of brisk Claret, sing Praises of Sherry Speak well of old Hock, Mum, Cider or Perry; But you must drink Punch if you mean to be Merry. (18th century song lyric) What is punch? To the modern drinker, the word "punch" might imply a trash

Ethics

Why Independent Bottling?

We occupy a unique position in the distilled spirits industry. We co-brand. We import, blend, bottle, rectify, and distribute. We don't distill, but we work with farmers, fruit growers, and distillers. We even do private label bottling. We're testing the boundaries of making, marketing, and selling

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Genesis

A few years ago, I toured two of my favorite whisky producers in Campbeltown (Scotland) and Osaka (Japan). I stood in a dunnage warehouse soaking up the smell of damp earth, black mold, and a sweet, piercing high note of oak and ethanol from hundreds of single malt, single grain,

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Unmarketing our marketing

When you buy anything these days, you’re not just purchasing a product. In these modern times, marketing and branding is everything. Jack Daniels is the world’s top-selling whiskey brand for a reason. In 2019 the company spent $27 million on broadcast advertising. And it’s no accident you

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About grain

A while back we mentioned that we’re working with Spirit Works Distillery in Sebastopol, California, to release some of their excellent wheat and rye whiskey. Those projects got us thinking about grain, and how this is our first foray into whiskeys not made from malt (remember malt? we'

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2021 equity benchmarking

The end of the first quarter has passed (wow that flew by), so here are some updates on progress since the new year. If you haven't already perused our website, I posted some of my thoughts on being a white small business owner in an economy built on

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How to taste at cask strength

It can be challenging to get into drinking cask strength spirits. You've got the marketing hype cheering you on (elegant bottles, beautiful labels, engaging content), but that almost makes it worse if you're struggling to get around the high alcohol content. Here's how F.

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How we made the label

Light is easy to think about. It's one orderly progression from short wavelength to long wavelength. Kind of like getting on a crowded Delta flight - everybody's got a number and has a place in the boarding queue. You might be tempted to think that aroma

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Do we really need another flavor wheel?

Flavors and aromas aren't that easy to categorize. Light is easy to think about. It's one orderly progression from short wavelength to long wavelength. Kind of like getting on a crowded Delta flight—everybody's got a number and has a place in the boarding

Ethics

We Are Not Alone! A Rant

Last week we were flipping through a reputable craft spirits industry publication, keeping our eyes peeled for topics we are passionate about, like how the spirits industry can do better from a sustainability standpoint. We read a large spread about US-based craft rum distillers. Many companies were mentioned, and the

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Bamboozled by booze (advertising)

In our search for the answer to life, the universe, and everything booze-related, we keep getting carried off by deluges of starry-eyed anecdotes, pontifications on polished copper contraptions of yesteryear, and plain old misinformation. Modern-day distilled spirits marketing is whack if what you're after is real information. Take,

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The cost of sugar

As you know, we’re nuts about rum. Distillates of sugar cane are the delicious, versatile, and under-sung heroes of the booze world, if you ask us. But the problems with sugar supply chains are immense, and as we’ve only lightly touched on them in these newsletters, we thought

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Our story

California is a land of sun-drenched valleys California is a land of sun-drenched valleys, rain-soaked mountains, salty sea air, and redwood forests. The air is filled with the scent of sagebrush, burning wood, and fresh citrus. The light here is softer, more golden than red, but no less intense. We

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How to read our bottles

Take a peek behind the curtain on our label design! By now, you're sure to have seen the flavor projection (it’s on our bottles and all over our website): Hannah Coward designed this graphic to be a precise, but not overly dogmatic, representation of what *we* want

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Three cheers for the three tiers!

Last year (2020), President Biden signed the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. Biden's remarks that day began and ended with some light banter, but the 72 specific actions that he undersigned cover lots of ground—from net neutrality to fair poultry pricing. These actions

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Why independent bottling will save the world

I was standing in a Campbeltown warehouse when I decided I wanted to be an independent bottler. "Sure", you say. "And you were probably at least five drams in." It might have been six or seven. I was in Scotland and had driven 3 hours down

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Green bell peppers in my whiskey?

Hopefully this blog is getting you into the idea of how deep the distilled spirits rabbit hole goes, and how excited we are to deep dive it with you. Here, we talk about flavor science, supply chain equity, manufacturing techniques, and so much more, all through the lens of some

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Prohibition and social justice

The Gastropod podcast has an episode called "You're Wrong About Prohibition". Eager for distraction from a monotonous pile of dishes, I popped in my earbuds. Temperance was a progressive movement!?!? Modern booze marketing promotes a starry-eyed view of Prohibition tropes (see Tommy guns, fedoras, flappers, the

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Do you need special water to make distilled spirits?

We're crazy about water Raging debates and mystical beliefs about water quality have a long history here in the US - especially when they get mixed up with claims about health. Mineral water is a good example of this, also "medicinal" hot springs – both are late

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It tastes so smooth

I've been to a few distilled spirits tasting events. Here's what happens: An enthusiastic audience sits down in front of a knowledgeable speaker who provides education, entertainment, and likely at least a little inebriation. Someone usually uses the word "smooth" and someone else is