Out for a walk around the village I took a closer look at the sign on our distillery at the edge of the village.It seems that if you were not here with your fruit on the first of the month,the chance has gone.
It may not look much but it is an important part of the
village history. The right to distil liquor has been handed down from
generation to generation We believe that in the past every village had its owns
still or alambic, producing eau-de-vie (water of life), the
traditional, unsweetened, clear fruit brandy that is distilled
from pears, raspberries, cherries or plums but almost any fruit can be used. We
have heard that the current distiller does not have an heir so sadly the
'right' will end with his demise, though he looks to have a good few years left
in him yet. I went a couple of years ago with my neighbour (and his pears) to
experience the process.
The process ends with the 'water of life' dropping unceremoniously into a yellow plastic bucket - nice!
Our French neighbour, Richard, gave us a litre of "Eau de Vie du Mirabelle" rocket fuel a few years ago... we are still using it!
ReplyDeleteTo get any taste of plums, it is necessary to dilute the essence down in a one part to twenty ratio... hence my comment rocket fuel... as it stands on its own 'tis worse than Glenfarclas 105 [60%ABV] for burning the inside of your mouth... it is possibly as high as 80 or 85 percent alcohol by volume. Totally undrinkable at this strength... but, if it goes from that yellow bucket straight into bottles, it loses nothing to the angels.
Are you sure that sign means it was open only for one day? I think it means "starting on Dec. 1 you can call after 8 p.m. to make an appointment." Maybe I'm wrong...
ReplyDelete