Trending
MOST READ
2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List

2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List

Best of 2012: 2012 Best of San Antonio Food Winners List 4/25/2012

Best Sex Toy Shop

Best of SA 2012: Porn online we can understand, but to properly order pleasure products you need an expert guide. It helps if you can see and feel what you're getting yourself into... 4/25/2012
¡Ask a Mexican!

¡Ask a Mexican!

ASK A MEXICAN: Dear Mexican: Like many Americans, I’ve heard about the “Fast and Furious” scandal in which our own ATF was shown to be guilty and corrupt of... By Gustavo Arellano 5/19/2013
Best of SA 2013 - Shopping

Best of SA 2013 - Shopping

Best of SA 2013: 4/24/2013
2013 Tejano Conjunto Festival Explores The Genre's Family Tree

2013 Tejano Conjunto Festival Explores The Genre's Family Tree

Music: If San Antonio is the mecca of conjunto, then the Tejano Conjunto Festival serves as the genre’s hajj — a chance to pay homage to accomplished... By Jeffrey Wright 5/15/2013
Calendar

Search hundreds of restaurants in our database.

Search hundreds of clubs in our database.

Follow us on Instagram @sacurrent

Print Email

Food & Drink

Texas whisky beats Scotland's finest in London blind tasting

Photo: Photo by Scott Andrews, License: N/A

Photo by Scott Andrews

Chip Tate and his hand built condenser.


No wonder getting extra investment is tricky business.  “Big companies buy small crafty makers — it’s what I call ‘petting butterflies,’ something that almost always results in killing the butterfly,” explains Tate. As if to acknowledge the rather atypical position they are both in, and Tate’s control of it, Germer recollects, “A year ago, when Chip was making Brimstone, he told me that he was really learning an incredible amount about how wood and alcohol interact at the molecular level. I know that Chip is a really bright guy, but I wonder half the time — is he crazy?”

Not crazy — crazy people (and companies) don’t succeed as many times as Balcones has, or as quickly. “This is the biggest whisky boom ever,” says Germer. “What used to be referred to as developing countries — India and China, are consuming increasing amounts. We ship our first shipment to Japan in four days, to Australia four days after. We’re already in Norway and Sweden, and we’re about to re-ship to the UK.”

Meeting demand is the issue.

But idealist? Hell, yeah. “You’re obsessed with truth,” I tell Tate.

“He has a masters in divinity,” says Germer, on cue.  Later, Tate will explain that the school, Union Presbyterian Seminary, in Richmond, Virginia, does not specialize uniquely in developing clergy. He attended for personal reasons. But Tate does acknowledge that though he is “less religious than I used to be,” his parents “grew up Baptist.”

“Brimstone. Think about the name,” challenges Tate. “Baptists are if anything sociologically unique. They are not easily captured, but what defines a Baptist is that they are congregationally run, rather than structurally based — like Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and such. And whatever they think about things — many of which they are not sure about — they’ll be damned if anyone else is going to tell them.”

Academics, a Presbyterian divinity degree, and the nuclear industry aside — I think Chip Tate is making Baptist whisky. And I, for one, am sure as hell not going to tell him how to do it. 

Recently in Food & Drink
  • Pairing Food and Beer The Granary Way That beer goes with barbecue is a Texan article of faith, but as smoked meat purveyors gain cult status and the craft beer culture explodes, a Shiner... | 5/15/2013
  • Cooking With Beer Cold beer is a staple in Texas. As the mercury starts its inevitable climb into sizzling summer heat, beer’s indelible association with barbecue and other... | 5/15/2013
  • New Cove Bar is the Latest to Step Up Craft Brew Offerings in SA Believe it or not, The Cove co-owner Lisa Asvestas was once a Coors Light drinker. “Seriously, Coors Light,” she said with a hint of contrition... | 5/15/2013
We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
comments powered by Disqus