Congrats to Ryan and Lesli Winter and their Drift Distillery in San Clemente, OC’s second legal spirits maker since Prohibition. We profiled their story online earlier this week; for this column, I’ll focus on their first product: vodka, made from wheat that Ryan buys from his family’s farm in Kansas.
I’m not going to pretend that I’m a wheat expert (I’m from the people of the nopal), but Drift vodka’s bright funk and heat reminds me of a farm after a rainstorm: there’s a deep, satisfying flavor that lingers and cools. It’s perfect neat, and I can’t wait to see the cocktails Winter will create with a Drift base. Congrats on an auspicious debut, and I can’t wait for the gin, rum, whiskey, and bourbon the Winters plan, and the inevitable distribution to follow. In the meanwhile, everyone get yourself a bottle before it sells out!
Drift Distillery, 940 Calle Amanecer, Ste. K, San Clemente, (949) 337-2318; facebook.com/driftdistillery
