Feeling crabby? There's a whiskey for that
STORY: [Will Robinson, Product Development Associate/ Tamworth Distilling]
“Most people have the yuck factor, the gross out factor. However, once they smell and taste the whiskey, it totally changes their opinion.”
This is ‘green crab flavored’ whiskey
Location: Tamworth, New Hampshire
It’s made with a 4-year-old bourbon base
over 90 pounds of green crabs
and blended whiskey is steeped with spices
“Part of it for me is expanding people's palate and their their, you know, their horizon on what they think. You know, it's always good to to not pass judgment before you try something.”
Green crabs are a threat to the local ecosystem
Making the whiskey is one way of raising awareness
“So, the crab started coming across in sailing ships about 200 years ago to the coast of New England. Their numbers were kept at bay because our estuaries would freeze solid in the winter for periods of time, killing a lot of the young crabs. Now, with ocean temperatures warming, the estuaries are not freezing like they used to. And so, the crab numbers are becoming prolific, and they didn't have on our ecosystem. So, they devour lots and lots of bivalves and other crab, such as scallops and oysters. And they're damaging, they're damaging the ecosystem for those type of marine products.”
“You're trying to bring awareness to the issue. Obviously, we're not going to put a dent in it with the amount that we use in our whiskey, but we can bring awareness to that, it is an issue.”
They've also made whiskey with elements of beaver, deer and turkey
Eau de Musc, The Deerslayer Whiskey, and Bird of Courage
Robinson says his Crab Trapper Whiskey has ‘gone viral’
and they are having trouble keeping up with demand
“I only make about 500 gallons a batch and I hand make and hand clean and dress all this perhaps myself and bottle it by hand. And so, it's I'm working on my third batch currently. Are you going to start a fourth one right after that.”
