76 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM man and Dariusz cleaned, cored and mashed the apples before dumping them into Home Depot buckets and adding yeast and water. The water needed to be, as his mentor put it, “the temperature of a cow’s teat.” “It was a Russian requirement,” Dariusz laughs. They also experimented with different alcohol levels, or proof percentages. “Fifty percent was all burn and no taste, no character,” Dariusz describes. “At 40 percent, you get the heat without the grimace. You feel the heat as it goes down, but you still get the taste.” From there, Dariusz formed a partnership with Dry Diggings Distillery near Apple Hill, a company that had already experimented with grape-based vodka and apple brandy. Together they settled on a blend of Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Fuji apples. “It’s got a hint of apple on the nose and a subtle sweetness on the palate,” Dariusz describes. “The mouthfeel is a little different than a vodka from potatoes or grain.” His careful consideration paid off, netting Rocket Vodka a gold medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition two years running, as well as “Best in Show Vodka” at the L.A. Spirits Awards. That’s not all that sets Rocket apart. It comes down to heads, hearts and tails. The spirit that first flows from the distiller, called the head, contains toxic ethanol compounds—“If you drink that straight, it’ll kill you,” Dariusz notes. Some companies redistill it rather than throw it out, but the drawback is that the vodka “becomes very, very neutral.” Tails, at the end of the distillation process, can also be dumped or redistilled. The distiller’s art is knowing how to find the “heart” in the middle of the run. “We cut heads and tails really aggressiveA classic cold-day drink with a hint of herbal warmth. Ingredients 4 ounces Rocket Vodka 8 ounces apple cider or unfiltered apple juice 1 teaspoon maple syrup 2 sprigs fresh rosemary Heat vodka, apple cider and maple syrup together. Divide between two mugs and garnish with rosemary sprigs. HOT APPLE ROCKET ABOVE: Bartender AJ San Gabriel mixes up a cocktail featuring Rocket Vodka at Zola + BarZola in Palo Alto. {food coloring}
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