photo credit: iowadistilling.com
BY: RACHEL SMITH
Okay, so it’s the cheer as old as time. Don’t tell me you were never once a scrawny, awkward high school kid shouting the title to this post at your rival school from the bleachers during the big game.
And maybe it’s the corniest title for what I’m about to write about, but it works.
The definition of spirits, as it pertains to alcohol, means the strong distilled liquor such as brandy, whisky, gin or rum. Scary, right? Well, it is for me. I’ve always been a beer or wine drinker. To me, spirits are meant to be drunk by old men wearing wire-rimmed glasses with salt and pepper hair. I mean… its hard liquor, meant for the hard core drinker with a gut of steel to handle it. It’s an acquired taste that for many is scary and just plain yucky, right?
Wrong.
The Iowa Distilling Company, located in southern Iowa, says while they want people to really taste what is in their glass, Spirits can be developed into a number of taste profiles. In fact, they encourage people to play with flavors to find the unique combination to fit their taste buds. So it’s not so much about drinking liquor – that scary word that makes most people shiver from the memory of some nasty shot they took in college – but finding that perfect combination to make a flavor explosion.
For instance, the Vodka from Iowa Distilling is great in Bloody Mary’s and Moscow Mules, but can also be enjoyed straight in a Martini glass. The Straight Bourbon, similar to wine, has a unique flavor depending on the batch and what the season was like for each barrel. They also have a very tasty Apple Pie called “Sinners ‘n Saints” that has enticed many women to drink instead of wine. Another option perfect for creating a Caribbean style concoction is the wood aged Steel Drum Rum.
So you see? Liquor does not have to be a scary thing. And to top off all of these options, our friends at the Iowa Distilling Company are working tirelessly to create a signature drink just for Harvest Fest. While they haven’t yet worked out the perfect blend to hook all you wine drinkers out there, I’ve been promised it’ll be something yummy!
So this year, as you stroll through the streets of downtown Clear Lake to sample wine and do some fall shopping, make sure to stop in to Rookies. To your right and up the stairs will be an eye-opening experience. One your palate will thank me for later!
And thank you, to the Iowa Distilling Company, for joining us this year. Just another reason Harvest Fest 2017 is going to be so amazing.