NOW EXPERIENCING:Meet 5 distillers doing things the old-fashioned way
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Meet 5 distillers doing things the old-fashioned way

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 02 Aug 2023

By
Lulu Morris

There’s no school like the old school.

We’ve said it once, we’ll say it again: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This includes, but is not limited to, 20-something-year-old fridges, vintage Levi’s jeans and old-school alcohol production. There’s a guarantee of quality and a consistency that’s sometimes lacking in new products. Most importantly, there’s a story and history that builds the intrigue of the brand – especially with alcohol. We reckon it even sharpens the taste. Look at it this way, you’ve probably had Green Chartreuse in your life, but wouldn’t it taste so much better knowing it was made by a bunch of secret monks from the French Alps? We think so. If that little nugget of info floats your boat, have a read of some of the awesome brands and products kicking things old school.
A bottle of Fortaleza Tequila against a green and white background

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1. Fortaleza Tequila

Fortaleza is the real deal. Made with 100% Blue Weber agave, Fortaleza has been making tequila the same way for 150 years. And you can tell. Not only is it small-batch, but it’s lovingly crafted, and that’s present in every sip. They start by harvesting their Blue agave in the heartland of tequila, Mexico’s Tequila Valley in Jalisco. The plants need to mature for eight years before they can be used, with each plant producing around nine bottles of tequila. Only a very specially trained jimador (a farmer who harvests agave plants) can extract the plants because they can be quite dangerous and sharp. Once harvested, they’re slowly cooked for 36 hours in a super-old stone oven. This very traditional way of extracting the sugars from the plants ensures a quality final product. 
Next, the tequila is stone-crushed. Fortaleza uses a tahona wheel (a two-tonne volcanic stone) pulled by a tractor, though previously they used the OG mule-powered tahona. During the process, the sugars are separated from the fibres. This way may seem inefficient and slow, but Fortaleza and other traditional tequila producers have been championing this method for hundreds of years. The next step is to ferment it in wooden open-air tanks – Fortaleza uses a special yeast that’s been in the family for generations. The liquor is then distilled in 100-year-old copper pot stills and aged in American oak. Not only do they stick to tradition when making the tequila, but they also use traditional hand-blown bottles from Jalisco, too. This means every bottle comes out a little different, but with a hell of a lot of charm – a nice entry point into the Fortaleza family is the Fortaleza Blanco.

2. Ardbeg Scotch Whisky

Of course we have a Scotch on this list. And who better than the distinguished and well-regarded Ardbeg? In operation since 1815, the legends over at Ardbeg have been doing certain things the same way since the very beginning (though there has been a lot of innovation in between – including a Scotch that was sent to age in space). We want to draw particular attention to their collection of water and malting. Ardbeg is distilled and matured on the Scottish Isle of Islay. It’s a wee rugged patch of land famous for its soft water, fertile soil and abundance of peat. This peat is extremely special and the sole reason for Ardeg’s unique smokiness. Although they stopped floor malting (a traditional method of malting grain that dates all the way back to the 3rd century) in 1981, crushing the grist (grinding malted barley into a fine powder) is still done using their rather rare and iconic Boby Malt mill, which has been working hard since 1921. Another beautifully traditional aspect of the Ardbeg distillery is their water, which is pivotal to the production of great whisky, particularly spring water. At the Ardbeg Distillery, it comes from Loch Uigeadail, where the water flows down into the Loch Airigh Nam Beist. The burn (a large stream) takes it the rest of the way to Charlie’s Dam at the distillery. It’s a critical and irreplaceable part of what makes Ardbeg, well, Ardbeg. If you’re keen to try a dram, Ardbeg 10-Year-Old Islay Single Malt is a perfect place to start.

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A bottle of Chartreuse against a green and white background

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3. Chartreuse

If you’re looking for a product with intrigue, mystery and one hell of a story, then Green Chartreuse has to be it. We could wax lyrical about the unique histories, the speculation and danger of the so-called ‘elixir of long life’, but we’ll try to keep it short. Green Chartreuse is made by a deeply traditional group of monks known as the Carthusians. As far as monks go, these ones are pretty intense. They live a very solitary and frugal life (as you’d expect from a group of monks) amid the “emerald of the Alps” – the Chartreuse mountains. So the legend goes, the recipe was developed in 1605 and then refined again in the mid-1700s. It’s supposedly made up of 130 different herbs and plants, but here's the kicker: of the 350 monks and nuns that live and work in the monastery, only two know the full recipe. That’s right, it is an incredibly well-kept secret. “The secret of Chartreuse has long been the despair of distillers, just as the natural blue of forget-me-nots has been the despair of painters”, or so goes an 1886 document referred to in a recent company history doc. This made it sound super sexy and mysterious, but could also present a problem if either of the pair were to have an unhappy accident. Nonetheless, this liquor, in all its emerald beauty, has been made with an unchanged recipe for centuries. If you’re keen to try 130 different herbs and plants AKA Green Chartreuse, we recommend mixing it up in a cocktail. Our pick? A Last Word.

4. Barbadillo Sherry

Barbadillo first began producing sherry in 1821. They’re a perfect example of old-school technique and tradition, so if you like wine and a bit of story, strap in. You might already know how much this author froths a sherry (see here for proof). If you’ve read the aforementioned piece, you’d already know that the production of sherry is traditional, beautiful and unique. If not, here’s a little taste. Sherry’s production method, known as solera, involves blending and ageing sherry vintages in above-ground cellars called bodegas. Basically, younger wine is put into oak barrels and positioned above older wine vintages. Gradually, tiny portions of the younger wine are combined with the ageing wine. The oldest blended barrel is then bottled. A single bottle of sherry can be the result of anywhere from three to 100 vintages. The solera system is thought to have been invented in Spain’s Sanlúcar de Barrameda around 1760, and then adopted by the sherry bodegas of Jerez shortly after. If you ever venture out to the Sherry Triangle and visit the bodegas, you’ll see not much has changed. 
A bottle of Barbadillo sherry against a green and white background

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One of the oldest practices in the production of sherry, aside from the solera, is the position of venenciador. What’s this, you ask? Someone who yields the venencia, of course. The venencia is an ancient instrument – many historians believe it dates back to 490 BC in Greece – designed to retrieve, mix and pour wine. It consists of a long shaft, a small silver or stainless steel cup, and a hook. The veneciador dips the cup into the sherry and then skilfully pours the contents into small wine glasses. Often the venenciador will make a show of it, pouring from a great height for maximum entertainment. If you’re not sure where to start, the Barbadillo Solear Manzanilla is very special, as it undergoes a particularly long ageing process under flor yeast – a technique that six generations of Barbadillo family members have perfected. The result is an extremely elegant, rounded manzanilla sherry that is perfectly dry yet long. Do yourself a favour and grab a bottle.
A bottle of Asabiraki Sake against a green and white background

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5. Asabiraki Sake

When we think of sake, we often think of the very generic kind that’s served hot at your local Japanese restaurant. But we’re here to tell you that not only is it beautifully complex, but the effort and history contained in each bottle of sake is also astoundingly intricate. We won’t dive into every sake style and make because each is different – what we will do is talk about the production brilliance that’s used to by Asabiraki, a sake brewer that’s been working the same way for more than 150 years. Sake is thousands of years old, and while there are differences between styles and regions of sake, the core ingredients remain the same: rice (a specific strain known as sakamai), water (as pure and natural as possible), yeast (essential for the alcohol, aromas and flavours) and koji (the mould spores that make sake brewing possible). 
Though sake is often referred to as “rice wine” its production is more akin to beer. To begin, the rice is ground, washed and steamed. Next, some of the steamed rice is used to make koji, and the remaining rice is mixed with water and allowed to ferment. More rice, koji and water are added to the mixture for flavour. After that, the sake is ready to be filtered and bottled. Asabiraki uses this process to create their Suijin Junmai – a slightly drier, more alcoholic sake made in the Iwate prefecture. Founded by a seventh-generation samurai (yes, an actual samurai) in 1871, Asabiraki has won many awards for their practice and product. This is very much due to their brewmaster, Masahiko Fujio, who’s been steering the helm since 1984. His philosophy? “Always stick to the basics…Sake brewing is agriculture. We must not spare time and effort.” Masahiko preserves the skills of the Nanbu Toji guild, known for its “pretty” sake.
Shop related products
Tequila FortalezaBlanco 750mL
Blanco 750mL
Member Offer
$129 per bottle Non-Member: $145.99 each
 
Ardbeg10 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL
10 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL
Member Offer
$105 per bottle Non-Member: $123.99 each
 
ChartreuseGreen 700mL
Green 700mL
$122.99 each
 
BarbadilloPastora Manzanilla En Rama
Pastora Manzanilla En Rama
$40.99 Each
 
AsabirakiSuijin Junmai Sake 720mL
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Suijin Junmai Sake 720mL
$37.99 each
 
Authour image
Lulu MorrisLulu is a writer at Dan Murphy’s who loves Pina Coladas, but hates getting caught in the rain.
Tags
LearnWhisk(e)ySpiritsFortified WineTequilaLiqueursSakeScotch Whisky
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