This vodka is made from actual San Francisco fog and we’re intrigued
When you head to the liquor store, you’re bound to see vodkas of every flavor, from sweet tea to pumpkin pie. (Yep, I’ve tried it. It’s gross.) One thing we’ve definitely never heard of is “fog vodka” — that is, until now. Time reports that California-based Hangar 1 distillery has created vodka that is made from actual, real San Francisco fog.
The limited-edition vodka is called Fog Point, and at $125 a bottle, it’s certainly a splurge. But the intention behind the vodka is pure: Head distiller Caley Shoemaker explained to Time that the inspiration behind the mysterious liquor is to promote sustainability and local business while highlighting the California drought. All proceeds will go to water conservancy in California.
“We really wanted to come up with some sort of sustainable water, like can we collect rain water?” Shoemaker told the publication.
If you’re wondering how in the world someone can make vodka out of fog (an understandable reaction, TBH), well, it’s quite a process. With the help of FogQuest — a non-profit Canadian charity that plans and implements water projects for communities in developing countries — they set up four “fog catchers,” which are sheets of mesh that get saturated with water as fog drifts through them. The water drips down into a trough.
It may be a slow process, but over six months, the distillery collected enough fog water between the four catchers to make 2,400 bottles of vodka.
The water is run through a carbon filtration that removes anything you wouldn’t want in your vodka — like bits of leaves, for example — but *does* keep some interesting signature flavor you can only get from fog water. But what is the flavor of fog water?
“We say [Fog Point vodka is] made of California because truly, you’re tasting the Bay,” Shoemaker told Time. He described it as having “an earthy note,” like “the scent of moist rocks.”
Shoemaker acknowledged that fog vodka has a subtle flavor that will only be noticeable to those with refined palettes. “If it’s a gimmick to some people, fine,” she said. “But the people who are into it are going to be into it, and we only have 2,400 bottles anyway.”
Currently, the vodka is available for pre-order online and orders will be fulfilled on a “first-come, first served basis until inventory has been sold out.” And we have no doubt that fog-flavored vodka will sell out, because it’s so darn unique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
