Through the Grapevine

‘Old Tom Big Sur Gin’: A Calwise Spirits, Firestone Walker Collaboration input from an iconic California brewery,” said Calwise Master Distiller Aaron Bergh. “Old Tom Big Sur Gin reflects a meeting of the minds, with grapes, grains and botanicals coming together to create a gin like no other.”

Located just a mile from the Calwise Spirits distillery in Paso Robles, Firestone Walker proved to be a fitting partner when Bergh came knocking.

“Aaron is our neighbor and we’ve always admired his creations, so it was a natural collaboration,” said Firestone Walker’s Chief Operating Officer Nick Firestone. “We’ve been working with spirits barrels for nearly 20 years to create our barrel-aged strong ales, and we see this as an extension of that tradition.”

Calwise Spirits and Firestone Walker Brewing Company unveiled “Old Tom Big Sur Gin,” — a brewery-inspired riff on the distillery’s signature Big Sur Gin.

“This was an opportunity to elevate the Big Sur Gin experience with ingredients and

In addition to the main Old Tom Big Sur Gin, Calwise also released a separate “Rested in Oak” edition, which was matured for three months in American oak barrels inherited from Firestone Walker’s Double Barrel fermentation program. The moniker “Old Tom” is a nod to the original 18th century British gins known by that name, and to the English heritage of

Both editions of the gin are now available at the Calwise Distillery in Paso Robles and online at CalwiseSpirits.com.

Flavors of California

To help create “Old Tom” Big Sur Gin, Firestone Walker generated a mash of traditional brewing grains with a complement of wine grape juice, all fermented with native yeast and bacteria. This base was then distilled by Calwise, imparting a unique imprint into the flavor profile of the original Big Sur Gin.

Then, in the established Big Sur Gin fashion, Bergh infused the gin with organic wild herbs that are largely native to California’s iconic Big Sur coastline, including white sage, yerba santa, bay, fennel and elderberry as well as the essential juniper.

“We also enhanced the traditional recipe by including botanicals such as coriander and orange peel, which were suggested by Brewmaster Matt Brynildson,” Bergh said.

“We added rose petal as an ode to David Walker’s British roots.” with Cal Poly to accelerate the city’s pursuit of a spaceport license for the Paso Robles Airport.

Bergh worked with Brewmaster Matt Brynildson, Sensory Research Analyst Craig Thomas and the Firestone Walker brewing team to create the mash, acquire the right barrels and guide both versions of Old Tom Big Sur Gin to fruition.

The resulting gins provide both common and contrasting qualities. The main version of “Old Tom” Big Sur gin is fragrant and elegant, while the version matured in DBA barrels has a richer, almost whiskey-like color and taste.

Paso Robles and Cal Poly Move Forward on Spaceport Initiative

Cal Poly will produce workforce development training programs to help create a hiring pipeline for students interested in any aspect of aerospace from welding to marketing to engineering.

On December 6, the Paso Robles City Council unanimously approved an agreement

The agreement will activate Cal Poly’s Aerospace Engineering Department, along with undergraduate and graduate students from several other departments to develop the spaceport license application for submittal to the Federal Aviation Administration by summer 2023. Cal Poly’s proposal includes working with the city on developing a proposed tech corridor and engaging with other local educational institutions, such as Cuesta College, on workforce development training programs to help create a hiring pipeline for students interested in any aspect of aerospace from welding to marketing to engineering.

Cal Poly’s interest in partnering with Paso Robles to get a spaceport designation from the FAA comes directly from their CubeSat program — they helped pioneer small satellite technology and are currently producing cubesats at the SLO campus, but they and their clients have to go to the Mojave desert or beyond to launch them. In April 2022, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong signed a Letter of Intent with Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin marking the beginning of the partnership between the city and the university around the spaceport effort, this week’s action by City Council memorialized the partnership’s funding.

The three items in Cal Poly’s scope of work are:

Completion and Submission of the FAA Spaceport License Application

Developing public-private sector partnerships for technology and innovation in the space, ag-tech and supporting industries.

Identifying the workforce development needs for relevant industries and outlining a strategy for meeting those needs.

The city can expect Cal Poly to submit a completed FAA Spaceport License Application by August 31, 2023, and to have a roadmap in place for developing tech and aerospace apprenticeships for students with industry partners by November 30, 2023.

The Digital Transformation Hub at Cal Poly, also called the DxHub, will spearhead the next several phases of the project.

Pasoland.com

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