* PROOF
“ Proof ” is a concept we inherited from the height of the British Empire . Sailors aboard ships in the Caribbean embraced the Royal policy of bolstering pay with regular rations of rum from local plantations . However , the ever-parsimonious captains became known for diluting these rations to stretch them further . As it happened , angry ( too sober ) sailors without their fair portion of rum were riotous . How did they prove the rum was watered down ? Alcohol at less than 50 percent concentration will not light from a match . When the rum would catch fire at 50 percent plus , it was “ proof ” that their ration was full strength .
standards . Just as their essential oils for medicines were far less potent , what we know as vodka would seem watery at their 30 proof concentration . Today , industrial distillers of alcohol easily make alcohol 95 percent pure ( 190 proof ) and our essential oils carry warning labels for their intensity .
Farm to Flask at DRY FLY
Spokane , Washington
Despite Washington State ’ s delayed entry to the world of legal distilleries , Dry Fly Distilling has made a massive impact in both the quality of spirit and the legislation allowing Washington craft distilling . Amazed at all of the craft distillers popping up all over Washington ? ( Eighty-six as of this writing .) You have these two entrepreneurs to thank for it .
Don Poffenroth and Kent Fleischmann ’ s appreciation for the great lifestyle of Eastern Washington brought them to many a river with their fly rods . Conversations about the sport evolved into a metaphor for crafting quality whiskey — as the patience , persistence and perfectionism required for one also serves the other . Yet , distilleries were not legal in Washington when their idea took hold .
Happily , in the decades since Prohibition , small , quality-driven distillers have sprung up in states willing to license them . Oregon was first in the Northwest in the 1930s . Idaho came along in the late 1990s and Washington got its first distillery in 2007 .
DID YOU KNOW ...
Idaho and Oregon still operate state-run liquor stores that feature these small producers — Washington ’ s privatization of liquor sales incentivizes big retailers to nudge small producers off of shelf space in favor of international brands — so Pacific Northwest craft distillers must often be supported from the distillery itself .
“ Our idea was to use farms close to Spokane to raise all of our grain .” Don explains , “ Today , all these farms are 30 miles or less from Spokane . They are also all farms that have been in business for more than 100 years — so these are also legacy farms producing both ancient and hybrid grains for us .”
40 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE