Short Path Distillery a must visit in Everett, MA
Looking at both the rum (left) and gin (right) distillery
Mixing up a fresh batch of Short Path Rum
Zachary one of the the co-founders giving the rum some love
Have you ever had a gin with organic ingredients, such as juniper, coriander, eucalyptus, lavender, and lemongrass? How about a white, full-bodied rum with the highest quality, organic blackstrap molasses, made in a copper pot still and with an extended fermentation time? If your palate is curious, then I highly recommend you visit Short Path Distillery, who recently opened in Everett, MA. They have indeed changed the way I think about spirits!
I had the pleasure of getting a personal tour from Zachary, their Head Distiller, and getting a short class on what goes into distilling which generally starts with mashing and fermenting the grain. They use 3 to 1 or 5 to 1 water to molasses. For their Rum they use an Ale yeast to start and finish with a white yeast or finishing yeast. The whole process takes about a week Zachary says. I also learned what “Heads, Hearts, and Tails” mean in the distillation process:
Heads are generally discarded, or if they kept only a tiny bit of them are. They’re high in ethanol, but also help to give spirits a distinctive characteristic and help to give a spirit flavor, and aroma.
Hearts consist of all the distillate you keep and (sometimes) age before bottling. The balance of alcohol and congeners is pretty much in keeping with how booze should taste.
Tails are the last bits out of the still. They’re low in ethanol and high in congeners, and, although they’re not harmful, they don’t taste very good, but can give a good mouth feel.
Tasting tips from Zachary and Matt:
1. Try your spirits with different levels of dilution. Some may prefer their drink with more or less water, for example.
2. Try doing some comparative tasting of spirits side by side. An example could be a 10 year vs. a 15 year old aged spirit.
3. Tasting with others can really help you verbalize what you are experiencing.
4. Don’t be afraid to taste your spirits at room temperature. The colder your beverage, often the more it will hide the actual flavors of the drink.
5. Don’t forget to snack between spirits to cleanse your palate when you are tasting multiple liquors.
6. Give your palate a rest. Eat something and drink some water for example.
7. Don’t forget to smell before you taste.
The three co-founders founded a Scotch “club” in the Boston area and it was there they all began to talk through the idea of actually bringing the distillery to life. How did they come up with the name Short Path, you ask? “Short path distillation” is a technical name used in the scientific community for the type of distilling done in a pot still*. The shorter the path between where the wash evaporates and where it condenses, the more flavorful and complex the distillate. On their website, the founders also talk about a “short path” to represent their commitment to connecting with the local community: the shorter the path your spirits take between where they’re made and where they’re consumed, the more rewarding your drinking experience will be.
* A pot still is a type of still used for distilling certain types of alcohol—notably, single-malt Scotch, Cognac, mezcal, and funky rums.
Below find some additional questions I asked Mathew, one of the co-founders about the current state of the distillery, as well as future plans.
Q1. How did you chose on Everett as home?
A1. “We wanted to be in Everett for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the city has absolutely embraced the spirit of entrepreneurship and has been totally open to the establishment of small businesses especially in the craft brewing and distilling industries. Second, we fell in love with our space on Kelvin Street. The old rubber factory had so much character with amazing natural light, exposed bricks and original solid pine beams.”
Q2. What plans do you have to connect with the local "community?"
A2. “Most important is simply just being good neighbors. We like to have an open door policy where if anyone in the neighborhood wants to talk to us they can just stop on by. Our goal is to also work on improving our neighborhood, working with Mass Development and the City of Everett on ways to make Norman St. a more functional space (crosswalks, events, new park space along the Malden River) and to reach out to local businesses to work together, either brewing with Night Shift or sending our organic waste material to local urban farms. In the broader community, working with local farmers (Mass/New England) on producing products locally.”
Q3. How key to the success of opening Short Path was being able to partner with Zachary and Jackson?
A3. “Short Path would simply not exist if it were not for the fantastic partnership between Zack, Jackson and myself. Each of us have quite diverse skill sets, experiences and backgrounds, that together, fused with a shared passion for the craft, have allowed us to bring our dream to life."
Q4. Where to do you see Short Path in 2-3 years?
A4. “In two to three years from now, Short Path will have an expanded product line that includes new and interesting spirits, some of which have been aged in barrels. Additionally, we will have been able to increase our production and be available at more select establishments all while staying true to our ethos of delivering quality hand-crafted spirits. Finally, we see ourselves as having been able to make material improvements to our building (including a possible rooftop garden) and the larger Everett community.”
I highly recommend stopping by for a tasting and tour. You can find full details here on their hours of operation. You can also find them on twitter @SPDistillery.
Cheers,
Mark McCurdy
Their delicious drink “Southside” made with their Gin