I recently had drinks with Max Lents, of the Baltimore Spirits Co., at Scofflaw, the Logan Square gin bar, to taste through his innovative lineup of spirits that just launched in Chicago. First, Max ordered us a Negroni made from his Shot Tower Gin, replacing the traditional Campari with his Szechuan amaro. It sipped floral and aromatic, with barely a hint of the peppercorn sharpness I expected. Next we tried an up-drink of Fumus Pumila, his smoked apple brandy, with lime and orange liqueur.
Said Lents, “This one straddles the line between daiquiri and margarita” — it showed off the mezcal qualities and deep fruitiness of the unique spirit. I was all in.
Lents launched the distillery with his old friends Eli Breitburg-Smith and Ian Newton in 2014, when the craft distillery scene in Maryland was pretty barren. They started with the aforementioned gin, playing around in a 10-liter moonshining still in Max’s kitchen. The result shows a floral style with a delicate, green tea finish at a forceful 100 proof.
“We make Shot Tower with a compacted proof designed to open up in cocktails — which also ups its value in the bottle,” explains Lents. After hitting the gin profile they wanted, the team created a nine-month “barrel rested” version that zaps those delicate flower notes and brings out the typical vanilla flavors found in oak-aged spirits.
Next they set out to conquer amari, the Italian bitter after-dinner liqueurs, eventually landing on three variations of Baltamaro that create a handsome set. Overproofed Fernet (Volume 1), made with rhubarb root, is the most herbal, Alpine version, with a bracing eucalyptus flavor and a whiskeylike finish. The Szechuan (Volume 2) grew from playing with a three peppercorn liqueur — the Szechuan berry shows its citrusy side with caramel notes and heat at the end. The dark aspect of coffee comes out in Volume 3, rich with citrus peel, star anise and cascara, the husk of the coffee berry. Drink this one after dinner — it tastes sweet and creamy, like a white Russian.
All of these hip Baltimore Spirits creations are fashioned in a time-honored style.
“We use low-rectification copper pot stills and open-topped wooden vat fermentation,” Lents says. Though the pot stills are “slow and inefficient,” they create the best result, he says.
The distillery’s efforts are the result of lots of research on the world’s spirits, from Scotland to Mexico and all the way back home to Maryland-style rye — an American whiskey popular since Colonial times. (Baltimore Spirits’ Epoch Rye is so popular you can only get it at the distillery.)
The line includes the aforementioned Fumus Pumila, “the world’s only mezcal style apple brandy,” made from raw juice fermented with smoked apple peels to mimic the traditional spirit made from roasted agaves. Once a year, the team takes the homage to the next level by creating a Maryland pechuga they call it Asimina Pumila. The final distillation takes place over pawpaws, black walnuts and persimmons, with a Maryland country ham hung in the still, a nod to the Mexican pechuga made with raw turkey breast. Their New World spirits reflect Baltimore Spirits Co.’s ability to embrace history and innovation in every bottle.
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