Calwise Spirits and Firestone Walker Brewing Company have collaborated together to create “Old Tom Big Sur Gin,” using a special mash made at the brewery. According to a press release, Firestone Walker generated a mash of traditional brewing grains with a complement of wine grape juice, all fermented with native yeast and bacteria.
The base was then distilled by Calwise, imparting a unique imprint into the flavor profile of the original Calwise Big Sur Gin.
“This was an opportunity to elevate the Big Sur Gin experience with ingredients and input from an iconic California brewery,” said Calwise Master Distiller Aaron Bergh in a press release. “Old Tom Big Sur Gin reflects a meeting of the minds, with grapes, grains and botanicals coming together to create a gin like no other.”
Then, in the established Big Sur Gin fashion, Bergh infused the gin with organic wild herbs that are largely native to California’s iconic Big Sur coastline, including white sage, yerba santa, bay, fennel and elderberry as well as the essential juniper.
“We also enhanced the traditional recipe by including botanicals such as coriander and orange peel, which were suggested by Brewmaster Matt Brynildson,” said Calwise Master Distiller Aaron Bergh. “We added rose petal as an ode to brewery co-founder David Walker’s British roots.”
In addition to the main Old Tom Big Sur Gin, Calwise also released a separate “Rested in Oak” edition, which was matured for three months in American oak barrels inherited from Firestone Walker’s Double Barrel fermentation program. The moniker “Old Tom” is a nod to the original 18th century British gins known by that name.