Options are always good except when it makes you wonder if you’re missing a new experience when you are at The Still House at Gervasi Vineyard Resort & Spa and you order your standard drink — a bourbon straight up.
A little information and background on Gervasi Vineyard Resort & Spa’s award-winning spirits can extend your options when ordering and knowing a few details can help enhance your experience.
Getting to Know Gervasi’s Bourbon
The Still House is all about Gervasi Spirits. GV’s Still House offers three unique flavors in their small-batch bourbons.
Details always matter. The first detail in learning more about bourbon is that it is different than whiskey. Bourbon is made from a fermented grain mixture that has to be at least 51% corn and whiskey is made from any combination of fermented mashed grains. There is some debate about when bourbon was invented, but it is believed that it was sometime in the late 1700s when the Scot and Scot-Irish immigrants moved into the region that is now known as Kentucky.
Bourbon is also unique because it needs to begin the aging process in new, charred, oak barrels. The Lincoln County Process of 1825 helped separate what was known as Tennessee whiskey from Kentucky bourbon.
Bourbon can be aged, matured, and rested – all terms to describe a spirit that has been given time to rest – often in a barrel, but sometimes it can be rested in stainless steel tanks.
There are a variety of bourbons such as a white dog bourbon, a bourbon that is straight off the still and usually not touched by a barrel.
Gervasi’s head distiller, Shae Pridemore, said, “I enjoy white dog bourbons a lot because you can tell a lot about a distiller from his clear/white product before it touches a barrel, from his mash bill/recipe, fermentation, and how he likes to run his still.”
Then, there is a blended bourbon, a product with spirits from multiple distilleries brought together for a specific flavor profile or produced with products from the same distillery.
Small-batch bourbon refers to bourbon distilled in small batches or quantities. Each distillery determines what is considered a “small batch.”
“For Gervasi, our small batch is 40 gallons at a time. In other distilleries, it could be 100 gallons, 10 gallons, or maybe 1,000 gallons for some larger distilleries. There is no legal definition of what quantities make up the description,” Shae said.
Gervasi spirits are rooted in Gervasian artistry with passionate craft and creativity, offering mystique, intrigue and glamour. Gervasi distills three amazing bourbons including:
- Rum Barrel Bourbon — finished in South American rum barrels that lend elevated sweetness, smoothness and body from the legacy rum. Enjoy notes of crème brulee interlaced with light spice and barrel tones. 47% ALC/VOL (94 Proof) | 750 ML
- Hand-selected wine barrels lend to the Wine Barrel Bourbon an elevated character and reflect Gervasi’s winemaking craft. Enjoy notes of sweetness and spice with elegant grain and barrel tones. 47% ALC/VOL (94 Proof) | 750 ML
- Maple Cask Bourbon is finished in maple syrup casks that previously held bourbon. Enjoy nuances of sweet maple syrup interlayered with bourbon’s spice and honey tones. 47% ALC/VOL (94 Proof) | 750 ML
“Gervasi’s bourbon is focused on local sources of raw ingredients,” said Shae. “When people drink Gervasi Bourbon we want them to experience what the local area offers. Sourcing as much as we can from our local farmers and malt houses, along with the great climate to age bourbon all makes for a unique bourbon you will only find at Gervasi.”
Enjoy GV’s bourbon your way:
- On the rocks – Served on Ice.
- Straight up – Just the spirit with no additions
- With water – Usually a splash of water.
- Cordial – A sweeter drink usually served after dinner as an aperitif or in a drink as a mixer with lower alcohol and higher sugar content.
- Shot – 1.5 oz pour of spirits.
- Sour – Sour is a mix used behind the bar for cocktails like Bourbon or Whiskey Sour that adds a tartness to a drink, often contains simple syrup and fresh citrus.
Sweet and Spicy GV Rum
Another great spirit Gervasi distills that would be a nice break from one’s usual cocktail is the Spiced Rum. Below are a few interesting and fun facts about rum:
- The origins of the word “rum” is unclear.
- Back in history, rum was considered medicinal.
- Rum was also used as a trading currency.
- There is no universal rum regulation.
- Rum has five major types (see below).
- Rum gets drier with age versus getting sweeter.
Making rum varies depending on the place and the type of rum being produced. The grades or styles of this spirit are classified by several factors including origin, flavor, color, and taste. Most rums are made from molasses which produces light, soft rums and dark, strong rums. Other rum markets use sugar cane juice or sugar cane honey.
Major rum types include:
- White rum is usually stored in stainless steel vessels or casks and aged for a very short period (1-2 years) or in barrels with charcoal filters producing a rum with a lighter taste than gold and dark rums. This rum is often used in cocktails.
- Gold rum is aged in oak barrels longer than white rum. Caramel may be added after the aging process to provide color. Dark rum is aged for a maximum number of years. It has a sweeter and more chocolatey flavor.
- Over-proofed rum, the most popular rum used on the Caribbean Islands, has a higher alcohol content than the typical 37–40% ABV. It is mostly used for the creation of rum-based fruit cocktails.
- Spiced rum is infused with strong spices such as cinnamon, aniseed, ginger, rosemary, or pepper during the blending stage. This delightful rum is usually dark in color, and caramel is occasionally added for sweetness.
Gervasi added a Spiced Rum to their offerings for the excitement and adventure of rum and rum-based cocktails. It is a finely tailored blend of aged rums creating an amber amalgam of aromas and flavors. Connoisseurs will experience notes of caramel and butterscotch with harmonic layers of vanilla, cinnamon and hints of cherry. Enticing and alluring, the Spiced Rum tastes great! 47% ALC/VOL (94 Proof) | 750 ML
Shae said, “Gervasi Spiced Rum is unique because we use aged rum. Aging gives a deeper and more complex flavor to the other unique flavors that go into our rum. We are always looking to elevate our spirits. Taking the extra time shows in the taste of the final product.
Guests love drinking the rum in one of our unique and delightful cocktails, The Blu Mojito. It is definitely a crowd favorite and features not only the GS Spiced Rum, but also the GS BLU Liqueur. You can also drink the Spiced Rum neat or with a splash of water. “The Spiced Rum is definitely one of our sleeper products. Once someone tries it such as in a spirit flight, it quickly becomes one of their favorites. It has its own small cult following of dedicated drinkers,” Shae said.
Other GV spice rum-based cocktails include The El Presidente; Mai Tai; and the Dark ‘n Stormy.
Before, During or After Dinner Enjoyment
Gervasi Bourbon or Spiced Rum? Try both these amazing spirits — either on the Gervasi property or grab a take home a bottle of each for a private drink with friends and family.
Cheers to you from Gervasi.
