These spirits give weird a new meaning

Tamworth Distilling has always been a company that takes risk when it comes to bold flavors and combinations when making spirits. The distillery first took a crack at breaking out distinct blends when releasing their beaver castoreum, but now Tamworth is bringing the boldness up a notch. 

According to a release, launching on Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 respectively, The Deerslayer Whiskey and death-scented Corpse Flower Durian Brandy, will join Grave Robber and Eau De Musc in The House of Tamworth lineup of rare and evocative limited-release spirits. The outdoors is a major source of inspiration for the team there, and past releases have included gin infused with spruce tips and cordials made with black trumpet mushrooms and blueberries.

Tamworth’s style of creation has always been unique, in fact, their website states their unique process when thinking up new creations: “Taking a cue from the 19th-century Transcendentalists of New England, we pull our inspiration and our ingredients from the environment that surrounds us. From start to finish, each spirit embodies our scratch-made ethos: local, house-milled grain, pure White Mountain water, herbs and botanicals from the woods and our garden, and local fruits and vegetables.” 

For this particular blend, Tamworth used venison flavored whiskey as a celebration of Tamworth Distilling’s core mission of wilderness to bottle. The Deerslayer is crafted with three-year-old white wheat whiskey that allows the venison flavor to truly come through and distilled with slow-smoked red deer venison and seasonal ingredients including porcini mushrooms, cranberries, juniper berries, and green peppercorns. The blend is obviously non-vegan and holds all the weird aspects that make the distillery one-of-a-kind. For the brandy in the blend, Tamworth made a combo that boasts key ingredients durian fruit and indole, both known for their pungent aroma that reportedly keeps crowds both repulsed and fascinated in a way that does provide an unorthodox tasting experience.

“No matter what the world thought 2020 would be like, it’s safe to say that everyone was wrong,” said owner Steven Grasse. “I have been interested in the idea of using venison and durian fruit as flavoring agents for some time. The gaminess of the venison lends itself as a savory complement to the sweetness of the wheat whiskey creating a truly creative carnivorous concoction, while the juxtaposition of death and decay to delicate and floral notes of the brandy, is purely divine.”

On top of the new Deer Slayer, those who have adventurous palettes can also Tamworth’s new Corpse Flower Brandy and the Eau De Musc. 

The Corspe Flower Brandy is distilled with indole and the famously stinky durian fruit dubiously dubbed the “corpse flower.” Tamworth clearly states that this blend is said to not be for the faint of heart, but the rewards are plentiful. According to the release, while the sweet and ethereal scents of most flowers are meant to attract bees and other pollinators, the grittier blooms use the scent of decay and death to attract all manner of insects. It’s this very tactic that is infamously employed by the Corpse Flower. Tamworth Distilling Corpse Flower Durian Brandy explores the relationship between funky and floral, decay and bouquet with its diabolical mix of the some of the most pleasingly unpleasant petals in the botanical world. This cryptic libation is meant to be sniffed before sipped as well. 

The Eau De Musc follows in a similar fashion with the different flavors and features an old-world flavoring technique that uses the oil extract from the castor gland of the North American beaver, which exudes a leathery, raspberry taste, and acts to fortify the whiskey flavors. The full-bodied, two-year aged bourbon whiskey has a vanillin nose and notes of spice, plus birch oil, raspberry and Canadian snakeroot.

According to the release, Tamworth Distilling is pleased to offer an exclusive gift set consisting of these three rare spirits, The Deerslayer venison whiskey, the acrid-smelling Corpse Flower Durian Brandy and this year’s autumnal re-release Eau de Musc Whiskey, made with beaver castoreum. The gift set will be available at the Art in the Age in Philadelphia, as well as at Tamworth Distilling’s tasting room in Tamworth, NH, for $175.

The Deer Slayer venison whiskey and Corpse Flower Durian Brandy are both available for national distribution through seelbach.com and more information can be found at tamworthdistilling.com