Kevin Bobal slid a tiny, nondescript plastic cup toward me.
It has a sweetness, he told me, referring to the clear liquid inside.
Bobal, who wore a grey flat cap and dark-rimmed glasses, watched as I got a nose of cotton candy and fresh-baked cookies, followed by a mouthful of sweet and smoky goodness.
So this is Tobago pepper, I said, blending question and declarative statement.
Bobal, who handles sales, and master distiller Chris Jude laughed and smiled. They knew I would like it.
Flying Pepper Vodka is the latest release from Fair Game Beverage Co. in Pittsboro, North Carolina, a member of the N.C. Distillers Association and just one of dozens of stops on the state’s Craft Distillers Trail, a partnership with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
On this Monday night, Jude and Bobal have set up shop at The Marshall Free House, a British-themed and -styled gastropub in Greensboro, North Carolina, featuring Jay Pierce, one of the best chefs anywhere.
The company’s name, says Jude, pays homage to the agricultural season and harvest, which dovetails into a season of fairs, fun and parties.
Fair Game makes fortified wines — such as Tipper Scuppernog and Port-style Ferris — using grapes from the Haw River Valley — as well as an apple brandy and a rum — made from sorghum that Jude grows — called No’lasses, distilled in an Alembic copper-pot still. An amber rum, aged about 15 months, is on the way, Jude says.
Members of the N.C. Distillers “use a variety of N.C. products, such as apples, corn, wheat, rye, honey and even sweet potatoes to create their spirits,” Paul Jones, media marketing specialist for the ag department and consumer services, has told me.
“We use North Carolina agriculture in all the things we’re producing, ” Bobal says.
On this night, it was all about the pepper.
Waitresses in kilts split their time offering sublime appetizers and six unique cocktails, all highlighting the Flying Pepper vodka, which uses as its base North-Carolina-grown organic soft red wheat vodka from the TOPO distillery in Chapel Hill.
The Tobago pepper, also known as aji dulce, looks and smells a bit like the wickedly hot habanero, but it’s exceedingly milder and super flavorful. Bobal likens the taste of the raw pepper — supplied to Fair Game by several North Carolina farms — to a stick of Juicy Fruit gum.
“There’s really no other vodka out there on the market quite like this,” he says. “When you see a pepper vodka on the shelf, typically it’s something that’s going after a spice or a big black pepper flavor. No one’s capturing this type of flavor profile.”
Well, aside from Fair Game and the distiller, Jude, who, some six years ago, learned about the pepper from a farmer whose property lies adjacent to the distillery. Jude took the unique and rare fruit to his liquid lab.
The majority of Fair Game’s wines and spirits are aged in white oak Bourbon barrels. Aging, by definition, takes time, so Jude and his partners went to work on an un-aged spirit, and a natural progression ensued.
“To me, sorghum and the aji dulce, or Tobago pepper, are two of my favorite foods,” Jude says. “It (the Tobago) just works so well in the vodka.”
Flying Pepper is available throughout North Carolina — mostly in the metro areas — and Fair Game is looking to place it in stores in, for example, South Carolina, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. It’s a good bet the so–called “big boys” will soon, in their best effort toward imitation, order Tobagos by the truckload.
Says Bobal, “It will never be a Flying Pepper.”
Email John Trump at halfwaysouth@gmail.com, and see more on halfwaysouth.com
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.