It takes only 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of pears to make a Julia Child pear tart, as in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1."
But it takes 10 to 12 pounds to make a single, slim. 375-milliliter bottle of Brandy Peak Distillery's pear brandy.
And it takes 10,000 pounds of luscious fruit to make enough brandy fill a 100-gallon barrel.
Sipping this fragrant elixir, therefore, is like savoring pure pear essence. It's not sweet but clean, clear and dry, with the warming effect you get from a fine Cognac.
Pears are plentiful in Oregon, where Brandy Peak is located. That's lucky for David Nowlin, who started this micro-distillery in 1993 with his father, R.L. Nowlin, who has spent many years in the distilling business. It's located on a forested site outside of Brookings in the southern part of the state.
Because Oregon allows tasting rooms for spirits, I could sample the line. And I was so enchanted with the brandies that I bought three. They're in the photo above, along with a blackberry liqueur.
Nowlin says it's hard to make good pear brandy. The challenge is to get the correct balance between flavor and smoothness.
The pears, yellow Bartletts, are taken from cold storage to ripen outside. Then they are pureed, fermented with yeast and distilled.
Most commercial spirits are made with continuous stills, but Brandy Peak uses wood-fired copper pot stills which, says Newlin, are "basically a coffee pot with a pipe coming out the top." Rustic as they may seem, they yield a finer product than continuous stills.
The distilling equipment, which his father designed, looks like some venerable antique contraption. The temperature gauge is 90 years old. But the marcs, grappas and brandies that emerge are elegant.
The aged pear brandy spends four to five years in a solera system of barrels crafted from Oregon white oak and French and Hungarian oaks. A natural pear brandy spends no time in oak.
Brandy Peak also produces marc brandies from varietals such as Pinot Noir, Muscat, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. A marc brandy is distilled from grape pomace.
An aged Pinot Noir marc spent eight years in Oregon white oak. Oregon is famous for Pinot Noir, and the grapes for this brandy came from Cave Junction in the Illinois Valley, about 75 miles from the distillery.
Grappa, which is the Italian word for marc, is based on a proprietary blend of varietals. In response to customer feedback, the Nowlins added a blackberry liqueur made from wild berries, some of them grown on the property. They also produce a traditional grape brandy that is aged in Limousin oak.
In the tasting room, you can pick up brandy recipes, including Mrs. Nowlin's Frozen Brandy Pie and a cocktail that represents Oregon's natural attractions.
Called the Oregon Rain Drop, it's composed of a crushed mint leaf (representing the minty aromas of the Oregon rain forest), a pinch of sugar and 1 1/2 ounces ofpear brandy shaken with ice cubes made of Oregon rainwater.
This mixture is poured into a glass lightly rimmed with salt and topped with a dash of whipped cream, which stands in for sea foam (the distillery is not far from the coast) and a cherry.
The brandies are sold at the distillery, at liquor stores in Oregon and at a few places in northern California. For locations, check the website, www.brandypeak.com, The aged pear brandy can be ordered through BevMo, http://www.bevmo.com.
Brandy Peak Distillery is located at 18526 Tetley Road, Brookings, OR 97415. Tel: (541) 469-0194. The tasting room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. from March 1 through the first weekend of January.
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