Distiller magazine

fall 2020 | 13 "In the past few years, our local community has been threatened by floods, wildfires and now this weird pan- demic," Timo said. "We've managed not to lose sight of why we built Spirit Works. is award and the recognition that comes with it is humbling beyond measure." Ashby added, "Timo and I can't begin to tell you how proud we are of the team here," and then turned the camera to show their crew, masks on, gathered in the background. RTDs Ready-to-drink cocktails were the fastest-growing spir- its segment last year, even if you don't count hard seltzer. (Because, why would you? But consumers tend to lump them together.) Two sessions dealt directly with RTDs, why they're popular and how to make them. According to Keli Rivers of Sipsmith Gin, the category has actually been around since the late 1800s when a bar bottled Manhattans they'd prepared for a picnic that got cancelled. Of course, they haven't always been as wildly popular as they are now. Virginia Miller of e Perfect Spot admitted to being a reluctant convert: "When one is well done, there's such a huge market: picnics, sitting in the park, or for many people, they can't make a great cocktail at home." Aaron Polsky of LiveWire pointed out that RTDs can be a great way for a bar to feature a bartender and for a bartender to diversify his or her income. Science of Spirits Among several panels presenting the findings of scientific studies on aspects of fermentation and distilling, Shawn Patterson of Good Libations gave a surprisingly fascinating talk on "Water: e Endgame for Distilled Spirits." Good Libations took their previous water studies to the next level and discovered that "proofing water may be an effective tool to modify the chemical composition of distilled spirits." In other words, your proofing water is not a neutral variable in your production process. Indeed, the same proof- ing water will have different results in different spirits. "It is likely that the water selected to proof a spirit is the distill- er's final move in finishing a distillate," Patterson announced. The Rum Summit e final day of the conference was dedicated to all things rum, from the history and care of sugarcane to the rum cocktail craze of the early 20th century to the various forms of rum derived from different parts of the plant and differ- ent processes. Jonny VerPlanck of Vagrant Distiller sampled several rums to show how the "same" spirit can taste clean and peppery if it's made from mostly refined sugar, smoky and chocolaty if from molasses and Belgian beer and Brett yeasts, or light and grassy and citrusy if from fresh-pressed cane juice. Karen Hoskin, whose Montanya Distillers is the only B-Corp certified rum distillery in the world, described the lengths she goes to satisfy herself that her rums are respon- sibly produced, including working closely with a co-op in Louisiana for sustainably sourced sugarcane. "For me as a B Corp," she says, "I have to think about the lives and the livelihoods of the people who are harvesting the sugarcane, living near the sugarcane fields, drinking the water that flows out of the sugarcane fields and interacting with the air around the fields." The Future Is Virtual One panel specifically featured distillers putting the virtual environment to good use during shutdown by creating online experiences. Nels Wroe explained how Dry Land Distillers created virtual tasting kits not only for customers but for retailers and restaurants, too, as a way of staying relevant. Most panelists pivoted to virtual out of necessity and a Screenshot of panel discussion on Ready-to-Drink cocktails

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