ALMA Rakija - Lees Brandy (Drozdenka)

This is the least common of this trifecta, a brandy distilled from the yeasty sediment left at the bottom of wine barrels and fermenters. Historically it was produced in all wine producing nations, the Hefebrand of Germany, the Fine of France, the drozdenka of Serbia. My favorite term is from Hungary, Seprő palinka, or “broom brandy” in reference to making it from whatever you sweep up off the floor. In the time before cross-flow filtration and centrifuges, the yeast sediment contained a lot of wine and distillation was a perfectly logical way to recover every bit of goodness out of it without harming the quality of the wine.    

But as traditional distillation has faded away and wine filtration technology has advanced, commercial bottlings have become scarce and I’ve never seen one produced in America (fingers crossed others are out there!). It is a shame, as the flavors of a good one are irreplicable, rich and fat and perfumed, like white wine aromatics on steroids. The challenge of making lees brandy is that it is completely dependent on the quality of the lees, which are highly perishable and prone to spoilage. I am lucky to be down the street from Barnaby Tuttle, of Teutonic Wine Company, who produces beautiful low-intervention, barrel-fermented wines and also has a keen interest in distillation and waste reduction. During the racking process Barnaby collects the fresh lees from each barrel and forklifts it to the distillery where I immediately distill it. This bottling is a blend of two distillation lots, one from Pinot Noir rosé lees and the other a mix of Teutonic’s white wines, it reminds me of strawberry cheesecake, brightly aromatic with a creamy lactic tinge. Limited bottle available online for pick-up at the distillery, $44/750ml 51.7% abv