Ethanolo¿y, a name created by the combination of two words, defines a family-owned distillery in Elk Rapids, Michigan. According to the distillery, Ethanolo¿y is defined as: “[ˈeth-ä-nȯl-ä-jē\] (noun): The Science & Art of Distillation.™” (Ethanolo¿y, 2020). Broken down, the name begins with ethanol, which is the “systematic chemical name for ethyl alcohol” (Ethanolo¿y, 2020), and then is combined with Ology, which is “a subject of study; a branch of knowledge” (Ethanolo¿y, 2020). But wait, the g is replaced with “¿”. How come? The owners, Geri and Nick, are huge fans of antiques and old items because of the story and character each item possesses. Visiting an antique barn up on Old Mission peninsula, Nick came up with the concept of using a headline typeset (which are large solid led print blocks) to connote the era of quality. While on the search for letters, Nick found every letter except “G”. Being limited on time, Nick found a “?”, turned it upside down and called it good. Thus, created Ethanolo¿y! The distillery’s logo is uniquely made up of different types of letters, giving each letter its own characteristic.
Besides having a unique name, the distillery offers a wide variety of craft spirits. Ethanolo¿y’s craft spirit “Mel”, which is Latin for honey, is one of the rarest spirits in the world since it 100% derived from honey, and is lightly rested on American White Oak. Back in 2014, Mel was conceptualized, and at the time was only fermented and distilled honey as a single substrate spirit at one other distillery in the world. Mel is the distillery’s most popular spirit as it sips like a Japanese single malt whiskey. In addition, all ingredients are locally sourced as Ethanolo¿y is committed to supporting local family owned farmers, some as far as thirty-three miles away. On top of using all local ingredients, Ethanolo¿y does not source any of their spirits. The distillery is currently aging a bourbon. As of now, it is two years old, and is expected to take another two years before the spirit is ready. This bourbon is derived from the only blue corn in the world which will grow at the 45th parallel, double pot distilled, and double oak finished in Mel barrels.
Ethanolo¿y has planned a couple live, outdoor performances this October. While enjoying their craft spirits, Ethanolo¿y has scheduled “Escaping Pavement” to perform October 3rd and “Abigail Stauffer” to perform October 10th, both running between 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. As they will be offering socially distanced entertainment, Ethanolo¿y has pivoted to different forms of social distancing to help fight the spread of COVD-19. The distillery now offers curbside pick-up and have converted their parking lot into a beautiful outdoor cocktail garden, shade included. In addition, Ethanolo¿y is in the process of creating cocktail kits for their customers.
From crafting an extremely rare spirit to providing live entertainment, Ethanolo¿y has created an environment that welcomes all spirit drinkers. Next time you are planning a night out, visit Elk Rapids to enjoy a craft spirit distilled with locally grown ingredients.
Visit https://www.ethanologydistillation.com/#/ for more information.