Nature to nurture
Today was a good day, thanks to Grey Goose ambassador Jenny Feldt. We took a field trip to Southern Belle Farm where we learned about their process in growing and harvesting their peaches and strawberries.
Around 10 am we met up with a few other bartenders and industry folk at ‘Establishment”, which is a local craft cocktail bar in Atlanta. From there we got on a party bus (yes, a party bus at 10 am) to head to Southern Belle Farm.
The drive was a little over an hour, Jenny kept us occupied with a mini tasting of low abv Grey Goose. We tried three different flavors of what they call the Grey Goose Essences. At %30 abv, each is made with real fruit and 0 sugar! The Essences goes through a process called cold distillation or vacuum distillation. Cold distillation is used to extract the fruit, by freezing the mash before distilling and removing the access sugar and water.
The first pour was the Strawberry Lemongrass Goose. On the nose is the sweet scent of ripe strawberries. The lemongrass is light on the pallet and gets it’s shine on the backend.
Next was the Watermelon Basil Goose. These two flavors work so well together, giving us the spirit of summer.
Lastly, the Peach and Rosemary Goose. Of course we love rosemary over here :) The rosemary in this spirit added a certain pungency that complemented the peach notes perfectly. Each of the Essences would go well in any summer spritz or craft cocktail.
We pulled up at Southern Belle farm and met with our tour guide. This family owned farm is huge, it sits on 330 acres of land.
After a short introduction we headed over to the peach trees to pick our fruit. On the way we saw a strawberry field and a beautiful field of flowers. The strawberries won’t be ready until the next harvest season.
They had about four different types of peaches; Scarlet Prince, Loring, July Prince and one other who’s name we can not remember. We were able to eat the ripe peaches fresh off the tree. They were delicately sweet and juicy.
After peach picking we had lunch at the farm. There, they served us a sample of their mouthwatering peach and strawberry smoothies. We learned that they also have a bakery and country market where they sell loads of jam, jellies and preserves. We bought a jar of Peach & Jalapeño Jam and an Old Fashioned Peach preserve. We can’t wait to try these in cocktails! If you ever want to go peach or strawberry picking in Georgia, be sure to stop by Southern Belle Farm.
We ended the day at “Establishment”. There were a few tables set up for us to create cocktails using some of the produce from the farm. We split into groups and created 4 delicious summer cocktails. Our group used strawberries, thai basil, pineapple, coconut, sweet tart bitters and the Strawberry Lemongrass Essence Grey Goose. It was.. chef’s kiss.
Author | Raquel Ravenell of Whiskey and Rosemary