IN A winery nestled outside the sleepy village of Kentucky, a New England winemaker has diversified into distilling and is turning heads with his rose vodka, the only one of its kind in the world.
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Stephen Dobson from Eastview Estate Winery and Brewery at Kentucky has produced the three vodka varieties including the unique rose vodka after gaining a distilling licence earlier this month.
In the two weeks since he received the licence, the vodka has already caused a buzz, with the first batch selling out entirely in one weekend.
“I was trying to find a drink that was indigenous to this area and unique and knowing that Kate and Dave Hedges have the Kentucky rose farm led me to think there was a possibility for rose vodka,” he said.
“I hassled them, they gave me some rose petals and I started experimenting. It’s totally my invention and it takes three different types of distillation to achieve it, so it’s a product I’m not interested in licensing.”
Mr Dobson, who is the editor of the Modern Distiller magazine, has been making wine and beer at Eastview Estate since 2009.
The creation of the vodka was a scientific process and a process known as louching causes the vodka to change colour from gold to dusky pink when added to tonic water.
“I was able to develop the technique whereby I could get the flavour right but also cause it to louche in combination with some of the ingredients that are in tonic water and thereby change from gold to pink,” Mr Dobson said.
“I control louching to a point where for instance my orange vodka fluoresces under ultraviolet lights.”
For Mr Dobson, who worked as a cinematographer on the film Moulin Rouge, it’s also a chance to put his creative side to use.
The rose flavoured vodka is set to remain exclusive, with Mr Dobson planning to stock it in speakeasy style bars and bottle shops in Darlinghurst, South Yarra and Fremantle.
“If I can get into those particular areas, I’m selling to the converted,” he said. “This is the area I love because these are the people for who the cocktail is science as well as art.”
The distillery’s future plans include experimenting with other fruit vodkas, a Kentucky corn whiskey and personalised gins, made to order for individual tastes.
For now, the distiller is ramping up production to keep up with demand, fuelled solely by word of mouth.
“We’re now buying in all our ingredients by the tonne,” he said. "We are keeping up with demand now but the first week or two was madness, just trying to get the product out."
