Black Dirt

"I went to Cornell as a fruit science major because I was really into apples growing up," says Jason Grizzanti, the master distiller at Black Dirt Distillery. As a child, Grizzantis family owned and operated a small winery in upstate New York and he became enamored with fruits. After he graduated college, Grizzanti at the age of 23 applied for a $50,000 grant to start New York States first fruit micro-distillery. The state obliged and Grizzanti was soon producing a thousand gallons of eau-de-vie annually. When the state of New York amended its laws to accommodate craft distilleries, Grizzanti jumped at the opportunity.Black Dirt Distillery takes its name from the dark, fertile soil left by an ancient glacial lake that once covered thousands of acres of upstate New York. Prior to the 19th century, farmers generally avoided the land because the soil although rich in nutrients was poorly drained and often flooded. After a drainage canal was built in 1835, farmers began harvesting highly-prized Black Dirt onions on the land. Perfectly suited for growing fresh, sweet corn, Black Dirt has never been used for bourbon production until now.Black Dirt Bourbon is made from a mash of 80 percent Black Dirt corn, 12 percent malted barley and 8 percent rye. After fermenting the mash for approximately three to four days, Grizzanti distills the wash through his Christian Carl copper-pot still imported from Germany. After distillation, the bourbon is aged for a minimum of three years in new, American oak barrels with a #3 char before being labeled and bottled by hand.Black Dirt Bourbon has a dark amber hue, along with notes of dark chocolate, coffee, cinnamon and vanilla. In addition, notes of roasted corn, caramel and honey are well-balanced by a touch of spicy cloves.Pick up one a bottle today!