Sail We Must Dabinett Cider Eau De Vie 2021

WHAT IS A SCOTTISH EAU DE VIE?

'Eau de vie,' french for 'water of life,' is a pure fruit spirit (think colourless brandy) made exclusively from the fermentation and distillation of fruit. Eau de vies are unaged meaning they don't mature in wooden casks like whisky and are therefore completely colourless. The delicate flavours and alcohol are obtained solely from the fermented fruit with nothing else added. No commercial grain alcohols (high strength vodka) are used in making eau de vies. Fruit redistilled with grain spirit is called, by category,  'flavoured vodka,' (think gin without the juniper). This is why true eau de vies are considered the purest expressions of fruit in distilled spirit form. 

All Sail We Must eau de vies are made in Edinburgh in very small batches with passion and care.

FERMENTATION:

Dabinett apples are one of the true hero cultivars in classic British cider-making. These single variety apples were pressed and then fermented in the distillery for 6 months through a very chilly Scottish winter. This exceptionally cold and slow fermentation ensured all of the delicate juicy flavours and aromas were locked into the cider before distilling.

A portion of this fermentation was taken aside, rested further and bottled as a lightly sparkling, bone dry, bottle conditioned SV Dabinett cider, available here Sail We Must Dabinett apple cider batch #1.

DISTILLATION:

Two distillation processes were employed; traditional hot copper and cold vacuum distillations.

Hot copper distillation is the traditional method for producing spirits, it helps provide the familiar sweet baked apple and lightly spiced flavours while giving the eau de vie a greater depth of flavour and gusto.

The custom-made vacuum stills were designed and built in house and operate at much lower temperatures (around room temp) than traditional hot copper distilling and while being the most environmentally friendly method of distillation due to a significant reduction in energy used, they also capture the most delicate, crisp flavours as if biting into a perfectly ripe, freshly picked apple. 

RESTING:

This Scottish cider eau de vie was rested for 13 months in an inert stainless tank before bottling, allowing the spirit to gently mellow while preserving all its clarity and juiciness.

TASTING NOTES:

Fresh french tarte aux pommes with hints of baked in sweet woody cinnamon and nutmeg spices.  

BOTTLES:

A very limited batch of only 244 bottles, 350ml @ 41.7% abv. Each bottle individually annotated and numbered by hand.

PAIRING & SERVING:

Best served neat alongside a chilled glass of Sail We Must Dabinett Cider Batch #1.

Pairs well with all sweet apple desserts or on its own after dinner as a triumphant digestif.