“Civilization begins with distillation.” – William Faulkner
While civilization may have a bit longer history than your favorite cocktail, Mr. Faulkner wasn’t far off in his assessment. Archaeological evidence indicates that the true distillation of alcohol began during the 12th century. And water has played a key role the entire time. We visited Ghost Coast Distillery to learn more about how they use City of Savannah water to produce over 20 varieties of spirits.
“Water is an ingredient, it’s a by-product, it’s a source of power—water is really part of the entire process,” said Rob Ingersoll, Ghost Coast’s operations manager and co-founder. “And we’re very satisfied with the quality of Savannah water.”
Fermentation is the first step to producing alcohol, including spirits. At Ghost Coast, City tap water is combined with grains and yeast. Rob told us at this stage over-filtration is actually a bad thing—it can rob the water of vital nutrients for yeast to feed on. The steam-powered distillation process that follows fermentation is what gives spirits higher alcohol content than beer or wine. Finally, Ghost Coast uses reverse osmosis (RO) to filter the City tap water that’s used to adjust the final proof of a particular spirit (boubon, for instance, can legally only be 160 proof). RO water is also used to make special ice cubes for the bar at the distillery.
Ghost Coast Old Fashioned
- 2 oz Ghost Coast Bourbon
- ½ tsp Sugar
- 3 Dashes Angostura bitters
- Orange Peel
How to Prepare
Place all ingredients in a glass. Fill the glass with large ice cubes and gently stir to combine the flavors. Express the oil of an orange peel over the glass, then drop in for garnish.
Visit Ghost Coast:
Please note: ALL GUESTS MUST BE 21 OR ACCOMPANIED BY A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN – ID REQUIRED
641 Indian Street
Savannah, GA 31401
www.ghostcoastdistillery.com
Phone: 912-298-0071
DISTILLERY HOURS
Tuesday–Saturday
12–8PM
Sunday
12:30–5PM
Monday
CLOSED
Do you know of a local business we should feature that uses City of Savannah tap water in their products or services? Drop a line to Saja Aures at
saures@savannahga.gov to share your tip!