Matchbook Distilling 'My Bitter Earth' Bier Mash Amaro

Matchbook Distilling Co. is an experimental distillery located in Greenport, NY, that draws inspiration from the intersection of agricultural anthropology, scientific innovation, and the multifaceted role of plants as food, medicine, and the source of perfume, flavor, and human pleasure. At the heart of it all is the firm belief that healthy soils produce the healthiest - and tastiest - ingredients. Co-founder Leslie Merinoff happens to have distilling in her blood - as a direct descendant of Hiram Walker, the 19th century American whiskey mogul who created Canadian Club during his work in Canada. But this small, diverse distillery eschews empire building for a firm focus on local agriculture, with each bottling seeking to capture their fascination with the natural world into a tasty snapshot by sourcing herbs and produce from nearby farms. 

‘My Bitter Earth’ is Matchbook’s one-of-a-kind take on amaro, the result of a collaboration with Vasilios Gletsos of Wunderkammer Bier in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. A beer mash and grain distillate were both created in a process over two years in the making, each using nearly identical mash bills. The bier mash base is made of malt, wheat, naked oats, and hops, and is combined in the mash tun (formerly the cheese vat for the cheese cave, which is now the Wunderkammer cellar), boiled using a wood burning furnace, then cooled. Vasilios then usually takes the wort (unfermented beer mash) and barrel ferments it with a mixed culture, often using his own foraged botanicals, including yarrow, pine, and lichen. The fortifying spirit is distilled from organic malt, oats, and red wheat grown in NY, which are then milled, mashed, fermented, and distilled at Matchbook. A unique blend of botanicals including rose hips, beach rose petals, crabapples, sumac, chokecherries, yarrow, pears, plums, and quassia were macerated in the distillate for a year before being strained. Redolent with fruit, floral, and herbal notes, this infusion was then used to fortify the bier mash, and the whole thing was finished off with a hint of quassia and a dash of sugar. More grainy and herbal in character than aggressively bitter (quite contrary to its name!), the blend of botanicals takes the spotlight, while malted barley, hops, and sugar lend a supporting candied richness to the midpalate. A subtle bitterness on the finish - thanks to the infusion of hops and quassia - concludes the show. Earthy, velvety bittersweet layers intermingle with citrus, herbal, and spicy botanicals for a bold, singular quaff. Serve neat, on the rocks, or as a base for creative cocktails.