Eldest Daughter Vermouth
Vermouth for summer.
Pairs best with an ice cube run across the back of your neck or a cool body of water in which to dangle your feet. Our signature serve is chilled, in an ornate thimble, at 2 PM in a grapefruit grove. But 10 PM in the middle of winter on your couch is perfect too - this is all about vibes.
750 mL
19% alc. by vol.
Origins
Our biodynamically grown (and certified) Pinot Gris hails from Oregon, harvested from the final grapes nurtured by the revered hands of Craig Keeler before his retirement and the sale of Keeler Vineyards to Antica Terra.
Crafting Process
We began by fermenting the juice to wine and distilling half of it to an Eau-de-Vie. Freshly picked elderflowers from Briermere were shuttled to the distillery, where I spent a Sunday meticulously separating petals from stems and stirring them into the spirit. The fragrance of elderflowers filled the air, melting into the Pinot Gris eau de vie.
After just a few days, we strained the potent elderflower tincture into the vermouth and began the wait. Over about 20 months, the vermouth evolved. Initially, it burst with pineapple, melon, honeysuckle, and elderflower.. reminiscent of the greenhouse Hortus Botanicus, built in 1590 to house the world's healing botanicals and explore the world of exotic fruit and flower cultivations. This greenhouse is ornate, made of steel framed glass window panes. The personality of this vermouth is beginning to reveal itself.
Development
In June 2023, Briermere Farms notified us of their flourishing elderflower trees. They harvested a truckload of stems at dawn and we shuttled them over to the distillery where we added them to the Pinot Gris Eau-de-Vie. The infusion was intoxicating.. we blended into the wine days later. Then, weeks later, the flavor shifted to a dominant apple note. All we could smell and taste for months was single note, grocery store apples. I decided to give it space. A lot of space. For the next 6 months we barely disturbed it but continued to honor it with prime real estate inside a temperture controlled, stainless steel tank.
Final Touches
Everything changed with the arrival of Timur Peppercorn from Rare Tea Cellar. This botanical caught me so off guard. To open a sealed bag of Timur (aka Timut) Peppercorn is to be transported to a grapefruit grove. It just envelopes you with the aromas of the fruit and its flowers and its bark all at once. I immediately think of Tank number 5 holding the elderflower vermouth.It's March 2024. I open the tank and pull out a taste. The apple is gone. The Greenhouse is back! I add the peppercorn. Scotty adds a bit of sugar. We let it integrate. A week later we taste again. It was a rush. It was a slow walk through Hortus Botanicus one again. The elderflower. The pineapple. The melon. The geranium. Eldest Daughter Vermouth was ready.
The Label and Bottle
Our label design is the work of Lindsay Kate, an artist we met at LA favorite All Day Baby in Silver Lake. Lindsay’s first project with us was the popular Double Dutch label, and she’s back with Eldest Daughter. We bottled it in a mix of brown and green wine bottles we had on hand, capturing the essence of elegance in simplicity. Eldest Daughter lives on the coast, surrounded by farms, and ventures to the city on weekends. Lindsay and the bottling team beautifully captured this spirit.
Enjoy
Savor Eldest Daughter Vermouth, whether in the warmth of summer or the chill of winter, and let it transport you to a serene grapefruit grove or an exotic greenhouse, wherever you may be.
Cheers!
Leslie