Craft Spirits Weekly
Welcome to the 34th issue of Craft Spirits Weekly, a service dedicated to bringing you the news most important to the craft spirits distiller. Check your inbox every Thursday to find a curated selection of articles and news pieces from the American Craft Spirits Association.
Change in Ky. Law Sought for Distilling Curricula
Universities across Kentucky are offering classes in distilling, brewing, and wine making, but students can’t necessarily taste the spirits they’re studying in class—even if they’re of drinking age. Rep. James Kay, D-Versailles, said he wanted to address that in testimony Friday before the Interim Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations. He spoke in favor of proposed legislation that would allow accredited universities to conduct alcoholic beverage sampling for students who are old enough to drink as part of an educational program. (The Lane Report)
Lyon Distilling Partners with Land Conservancy Group 
A nonprofit known for land preservation and town planning on the Eastern Shore of Maryland has hooked up with one of the state’s finest distilleries for a good cause. Lyon Distilling Co. of St. Michaels, Md., has released its latest concoction—a special, limited batch black rum with a percentage of every bottle sold benefitting the projects and programs of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. (Kent County News)
Caledonia Spirits Teams with Liquor.com for Bee's Knees Week 
Barr Hill Gin by Caledonia Spirits is announcing Bee’s Knees Week in partnership with Liquor.com. Bee’s Knees Week is a week to celebrate, educate and drive awareness of the importance of bees to agriculture, and our ecosystem as a whole, through the Bee’s Knees Cocktail. (Vermont Business)
Sun King Distillery to Open in 2018
Sun King announced that its Carmel, Ind. distillery will open in spring 2018. Construction has begun on the $5 million, 15,000-square-foot Sun King Spirits, which will be located along the Monon Greenway in Midtown. (Indy Star)
Misadventure & Co. Makes Vodka from Twinkies and Trash
Misadventure & Co., a distillery located in San Diego, has concocted a vodka that uses food waste as the starch . " We get Twinkies, Ho Hos, French baguettes, crullers, you name it,” co-owner Whit Rigali tells NBC San Diego. “The whole bakery aisle goes into our vodka.” (Grub Street)
Indianola Distilling to Open in Houston
After years of rumors, Agricole Hospitality partner Morgan Weber has officially announced that he will open Indianola Distilling Company in Houston. The new distillery is more than three years in the making for Weber, who’s spent an extensive amount of time at the distilleries of Kentucky and beyond learning about the craft of making fine whiskey. His new project will use “near-extinct,” heirloom varieties of rye, wheat, and barley to produce a variety of spirits. (Eater Houston)
L.A.'s Lost Spirits Tour Has Theme Park Vibe
Lost Spirits Distillery is like an amusement park for adults, fueled by whiskey and rum and peppered with allusions to pop culture. Guests who embark on its unusual tour gather in a lobby where a pair of topiary triceratops spring to life with a disarming coo. Using the restroom introduces you to TESSA, a computer with a warm, disembodied voice not unlike the computer on the Starship Enterprise. Yet this is only the beginning. There's still a boat ride through a rainforest ahead. (Time Out Los Angeles)
Scientists Say Adding Water to Whiskey is Ideal Drinking Method
It's a common refrain among whiskey enthusiasts: Add a few drops of water to a glass to open up the flavors and aroma of the drink. But the science behind this claim has been murky. A couple of chemists in Sweden set out to figure out why adding a little water would improve the drink's taste. (NPR)
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