{"id":534,"date":"2015-04-25T22:48:34","date_gmt":"2015-04-26T02:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/?p=534"},"modified":"2024-04-21T15:59:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T19:59:12","slug":"fair-game-beverage-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/fair-game-beverage-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Fair Game Beverage Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tucked away just outside Pittsboro, NC is a great little distillery that is making fortified wines and spirits. \u00a0The name of the place is Fair Game Beverage Company<\/a>. \u00a0We made a visit during\u00a0their Spirit Release\u00a0party. \u00a0We’re talking distilled spirits here, not the metaphysical spirits. \u00a0Chris Jude, the head distiller, gave us a detailed tasting of his fortified wines. \u00a0Also as part of the festivities, we tasted the two\u00a0new spirits which were incredibly fresh and unique.<\/p>\n

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The distillery itself is unique in its own right. \u00a0The drive up to the building leads you down a winding road lined by tall pine trees. \u00a0When the trees clear, you see what appears to be a marsh-like field and a few industrial buildings. \u00a0One of the buildings looks like a greenhouse and you wonder, is this it? \u00a0Then you turn again and see the sign pointing you toward a larger complex of warehouse-style buildings. \u00a0The setting is awesome and really plays into the feel of the culture at Fair Game Beverage Company. \u00a0Inside the complex is strikingly different from the outside approach. \u00a0There’s almost a steampunk appearance, but it’s still able to keep a modern feel to it.<\/p>\n

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Our first stop was to taste the new spirits:<\/p>\n

No’Lasses<\/strong> – This fun take on a molasses rum is made with sweet sorghum that Chris grows right down the road. \u00a0The drink itself was remarkably smooth, with a hint of toast that leaves you feeling nice and warm.<\/p>\n

Apple Brandy<\/strong> – A traditional style apple brandy, but made from four different types of apples. \u00a0The apples were strong on the nose, and then briefly carried through to the flavors. \u00a0Again, this one was remarkably smooth and had a slight apple peel finish.<\/p>\n

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After tasting the spirits, we\u00a0got to the business of tasting the fortified wines. \u00a0Chris was great about explaining the details about each wine, specifically what went into each wine and the thought process that went into them. \u00a0A few notes about the wines first. \u00a0Chris partnered up with a local vineyard to source most of his grapes and wines. \u00a0Whenever possible, Chris tries to source within North Carolina or the southeast. \u00a0Bourbon barrels are used for the aging process in a few of their wines. \u00a0This imparts a nice toasty flavor and adds to the complexity of the wines.<\/p>\n

When we were there, we tasted five different fortified wines:<\/p>\n

Tipper Apple<\/strong> – This cider based apple wine\u00a0contains apples from Hendersonville, NC and fortified with their own apple brandy. \u00a0The flavors are rich in caramel and quite smooth. The bourbon barrel adds to the richness of this wine and make it an easy to approach drink, great with a meal or as a treat after.<\/p>\n

Two Step White<\/strong> – This Spanish style aperitif is similar to an Oloroso\u00a0Sherry. \u00a0This wine combines Seyval Blanc and Chardonnay from the Haw River Valley and brings in some imported Palomino grapes. \u00a0Bourbon barrels and Oloroso chips add to the oaky nature of this wine. \u00a0The Seyval and Chardonnay blend bring up some honeysuckle and floral notes that play off the oak\u00a0backbone. \u00a0The finish has a slight hint of tamarind, but eventually finishes clean.<\/p>\n

Tipper Peach<\/strong> – This small batch wine was light yet flavorful. \u00a0The peaches were sourced from the Carolina Sandhills. \u00a0The first sip was slightly tart, but developed into a well-rounded wine, easy to drink and delicious.<\/p>\n

Ferris Red<\/strong> – A port style wine made of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin and Norton (all Haw River Valley), then back sweetened with a touch of Touriga. \u00a0Bourbon barrels again take this wine to the next level. \u00a0The nose is fruity (a la Chambourcin) with a notes\u00a0of plums and spices. \u00a0It’s not as heavy as you might expect, but it is very even from beginning to the finish.<\/p>\n

Tipper Scuppernong<\/strong> – Our first reaction when we saw this was “We have to try this.” \u00a0We’re not normally Scuppernong fans, but this may be an exception. \u00a0Chris takes some Scuppernong wine and then makes a brandy. \u00a0Then he adds the brandy back to the wine to fortify it. \u00a0This is definitely a game changer. \u00a0Normally, Scuppernong has a grapey and almost fuzzy nose with flavors to match. \u00a0This wine has a slightly grapey nose, but then has a mild flavor due to the brandy cutting the acidic nature of the grapes creating a nicely balanced wine.<\/p>\n

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If\u00a0these wines sound appealing to you (which they should, as they’re so unlike anything you’ll find in NC), then you should plan a visit. \u00a0Their website<\/a> lists locations where you can buy their wines, but you can always visit the tasting room and buy the fortified wines there.<\/p>\n

Fair Game Beverage Company is located at\u00a0220 Lorax Lane in\u00a0Pittsboro, NC<\/p>\n

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Photo credits: Wine Glasses and Wine Bottles by\u00a0Jonathan Young. \u00a0Spirit Bottles by Tamela Schwerin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tucked away just outside Pittsboro, NC is a great little distillery that is making fortified wines and spirits. \u00a0The name of the place is Fair Game Beverage Company. \u00a0We made a visit during\u00a0their Spirit Release\u00a0party. \u00a0We’re talking distilled spirits here, not the metaphysical spirits. \u00a0Chris Jude, the head distiller, gave us a detailed tasting ofContinue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[379],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-cellar","has-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11228,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions\/11228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}