Artisan Spirits; the newest trend in the libations industry

The wine industry experienced a Renaissance about thirty years ago. The bulk wine industry spawned a movement that soon proved California was a contender in the fine wine world. The nineteen-eighties brought an increased demand for imported beers, which quickly led to the domestic microbrew explosion. Breweries popped up all over the United States and Canada, serving fresh, handcrafted, small production beers and gourmet food. Twenty-two ounce bombers were just as in style in the early nineteen- nineties as the martini.
      Consider the overwhelming success of the grassroots wine and microbrew movement, it would only be fitting that our artistic talents would soon be directed toward spirits. A spirit revolution is happening in the United States.
      This new trend demands small copper stills, the finest oak barrels, and handpicked ingredients. Although the distillation equipment may resemble the same vessels used for thousands of years, the tools for calculating the process reflect the most accurate and modern of measures. Painstaking and time consuming, re-distillation creates smooth spirits, setting these products above their mainstream, mass produced peers.
      Distillation has been around as long as fermentation techniques. There are records of ancient peoples extracting oils and perfumes from practically anything that grew. Although the process of fermentation and distillation are different, the ingredients are the same. Spirit distillation uses grains, herbs, flowers, and fruit, just like fermented beverages. Distillation and fermentation also share the artistic process. Brewers, winemakers, and distillers have a love of color, aroma, flavor, and texture.
      It started with single-malt whiskies. It was an obvious next step because of the grain malting process in beer making. Soon, every type of spirit and liqueur was being reproduced. Today, we are endowed with a wide variety of artisan spirits. For those of us who love to ponder our libations by savoring their flavors, it is yet another appetizing landscape to explore.