Tamworth Distilling is a small-batch distillery in

Tamworth, New Hampshire Tamworth is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,812 at the 2020 census. Tamworth includes the villages of Chocorua, South Tamworth, Wonalancet, and Whittier. The White Mountain National Forest is to th ...

, known for producing small-batch spirits with local ingredients.

History

Tamworth Distilling was founded in 2015 by

Steven Grasse Steven Grasse (born September 19, 1964) is an American advertising executive, author, distillery owner and the founder of Quaker City Mercantile. Throughout his career, Grasse has cultivated an avant-garde image, and he was called the "punk rock p ...

, a student of transcendentalism who grew up summering in New Hampshire. Grasse, who had previously developed brands like

Hendrick's Gin Hendrick's Gin is a brand of gin produced by Allan Hendricks & Ashwin Hendricks(son) at the Girvan distillery, Scotland, and launched in 1999. The brand was created by spirits marketer Steven Grasse, while the gin itself was conceived by Lesl ...

and

Sailor Jerry Rum Norman Keith Collins (January 14, 1911 – June 12, 1973), known popularly as Sailor Jerry, was a prominent American tattoo artist in Hawaii who was well known for his tattoo designs. Early life Norman Keith Collins was born on January 14, 19 ...

, came up with the concept for the distillery after discussing with whiskey enthusiast Jamie Oakes and Matt Powers. Tamworth Distilling was intended to revitalize the town of Tamworth, which Grasse described as the most idyllic place possible, by employing local farmers and attracting young people. The distillery was built on the grounds of the former Tamworth Inn, with Tamworth Garden (formerly a venue for theater, music, and boxing matches) serving as the barrelhouse. The distillery's products include vodka,

rye whiskey Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey: * American rye whiskey, which is similar to bourbon whiskey, but must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye grain * Canadian whisky, which is often referred to as (and of ...

eau de vie An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 ) is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light. In English-speaking countries, ''eau de vie ...

, gin,

applejack AppleJack was a command-line interface for Mac OS X that provided a simplified user interface for single user mode system repairs. It allowed for permission repair, disk repair, cache cleaning, validation of preference- and property list file ...

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

s and infused vodkas. It operates under a wilderness-to-bottle model and is known for using foraged ingredients in its spirits. Since its founding, the distillery has produced themed spirits such as ''Eau de Musc'', a whiskey flavoured with

castoreum Castoreum is a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers used in combination with urine to territorial marking, scent mark their territory. Both beaver sexes have a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands, located in two c ...

. In 2015, the distillery produced ''Skiklubben Aquavit'' as part of a fundraiser to restore the

Nansen Ski Jump Nansen Ski Jump, also known as The Big Nansen and The Sleeping Giant, is a ski jump located along Route 16 in Milan, New Hampshire. Built in 1936, it was the largest ski jump of its time. It is now within the Nansen Ski Jump State Historic Site ...

. An updated recipe of the aquavit was made available in 2018. In October 2019, the distillery released Graverobber Unholy Whiskey, which was produced using

maple syrup Maple syrup is a sweet syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Ma ...

from cemetery maple trees. Beginning in 2017, a selection of products from Tamworth Distilling became available in Philadelphia via the retail shop and bar Art in the Age. In March 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the distillery began producing

hand sanitizer Hand sanitizer (also known as hand antiseptic, hand disinfectant, hand rub, or handrub) is a liquid, gel, or foam used to kill viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms on the hands. It can also come in the form of a cream, spray, or wipe. W ...

which was donated to the Tamworth Community Nurse Association. In November 2020, the distillery released The Deer Slayer, a whiskey infused with

venison Venison refers primarily to the meat of deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible, including the internal organs. Venison, much like beef or pork, is categorized into spe ...

. The distillery released Corpse Flower, flavored with

durian The durian () is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognized species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species ...

and indole, in December 2020. In October 2021, the distillery released Bird of Courage, a whiskey flavored to imitate a traditional

Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving is the largest eating event in the United States as measured by retail ...

. A review in the ''

Robb Report The ''Robb Report'' is an American, English-language, luxury- lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. Founded in 1976, it is currently owned by Penske Media Corporation. It also ...

'' described its palate as "alternating between young wood, fresh sage and parsley, butter-roasted root vegetables". In June 2022, the distillery released Crab Trapper, a bourbon distilled with the invasive

green crab ''Carcinus maenas'' is a common littoral crab. It is known by different names around the world. In the British Isles, it is generally referred to as the shore crab or green shore crab. In North America and South Africa, it bears the name Europe ...

. Distillers at Tamworth developed the whiskey after learning about the ecological damage caused by invasive green crabs in the Northeast coast. The whiskey is made from a spiced and distilled crab stock, which is combined with a

sour mash Sour mash (or sourmash) is a process used in the distilling industry that uses material from an older batch of mash to adjust the acidity of a new mash. The term can also be used as the name of the type of mash used in such a process, and a bo ...

base. The mixture of spices include seasonings traditionally used in a

seafood boil Seafood boil in the United States is the generic term for any number of types of social events in which shellfish, whether saltwater or freshwater, is the central element. Regional variations dictate the kinds of seafood, the accompaniments and s ...

, such as

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...

and

allspice Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm par ...

, and has been compared to "a briny Fireball". Crab Trapper went

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

, and was featured on ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'', ''

Delish Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', '' Smithsonian'', ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'', and ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.'' On March 14, 2023, Grasse was recognized as one of the "Drinks Innovators of the Year" by ''Food & Wine'' for his work with Tamworth Distilling. On May 9, 2023, Grasse is publishing the cocktail and wilderness guide ''Backcountry Cocktails'' with journalist Adam Erace and publisher

Running Press Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group, a division of the Hachette Book Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 43, 51, 33, N, 71, 15, 59, W, type:landmark_region:US-NH, display=title Microdistilleries 2015 establishments in New Hampshire American companies established in 2015 Food and drink companies established in 2015 Distilleries in New Hampshire