If you’ve been reading the HSA blog lately, you see my fascination with herbs and alcohol. After all, herbs flavor so many liquors and liqueurs – absinthe, chartreuse, gin, Jägermeister, crème de menthe, crème de Violette and so on. And, today’s mixologists are relying double on herbs when they use plant material in cocktails.
Given that fascination, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon Lord Starling Botanical Infusions during a recent trip to Pittsburgh. The State College, Pa, company sells make-your-own kits for gin, aquavit and more. They’ve done the research, all you do is add vodka (or other liquor) and wait for herbal magic.
“We’ve always loved playing with our food, cooking from scratch, eating local food, sourcing local ingredients,” says Aaron Spak, a research engineer at Penn State. His “we” includes wife Mary and brother David.
So, the trio asked themselves how to translate today’s foodie sensibilities to cocktail hour. “We started experimenting at home with herbs and different botanicals from our garden,” he says. “We realized we were on to something and wanted to provide this experience to others. People want to be more engaged in what they’re eating and, now, in what they’re drinking.”
For the gin, Spak says, “We experimented over a couple of weeks. We wanted something you could make quickly. We tried botanical combinations. Then, we set up the infusion, poured vodka in and tasted daily for a week. We noticed a tremendous change in the flavor profile over time. Three days gave the product its best balance. It could get bitter if you let it go too long.”
After deconstructing and reconstructing the basics of a good gin, Spak and family bottled the botanicals. Next up was the hard-to-find aquavit, celebratory Scandinavian liqueur made with herbs and dominated by caraway.
Once creativity was unleashed, the Spaks couldn’t stop. “We started playing with other flavor combinations like ginger-peach-habanero and blueberry-vanilla.” The latter is sold as Blue and White, a nod to Penn State colors.
Current research includes hibiscus-lavender and coffee-cocoa. “We feel it is important to keep coming up with different ideas,” says Spak.
Consumers can determine the price, quality and proof, based on the liquor brands and alcohol percentage they choose. Spak says it’s unnecessary to get too pricey as the botanicals create the flavor profile. (Note: Alcohol sold separately.)
Watch for product sales to move throughout the region and beyond. Until then, order kits at www.lordstarling.com or purchase at Una Biologicals, 4322 Butler Street, Pittsburgh.
