Tamworth Distilling debuts line of cordials

The six releases in the Garden Cordials collection from New Hampshire brand Tamworth Distilling are made with real fruit and botanicals.

Known for its avant-garde spirits made with irregular ingredients like crabs, oil extract from beaver glands and grasshopper secretions, New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling has announced a new line of liqueurs.

Tamworth Garden Cordials are made with fresh fruits and botanicals, with six varieties available on launch.

The project comes from distillers Matt Power, Jamie Oakes, and Will Robinson. “To capture the essence of real fruit, we first source ripe fruit and botanical ingredients at their peak,” Power said. “We then use a mix of historical brewing tactics and low-temperature distillation combined with our state-of-the-art vacuum still, which lets us very efficiently preserve the vibrant flavours.”

Black Trumpet Blueberry is bottled at 25% ABV and made with Maine Lowbush blueberries, black trumpet mushrooms sourced from neighbouring New Hampshire Mushroom Company, lavender, lemon verbena and sugar. More than three-quarters of a pound of fresh berries are in each bottle.

Citrus is bottled at 30% ABV and made with blood orange, tangerine, pomelo zest, quassia bark, and a small amount of aged apple brandy. It is defined by its vibrant colour and lively scent. 

Mountain Berry is bottled at 44% ABV and made with a barrel-aged base spirit fermented from apples and grain that is then infused with whole raspberry, honeyberry, and aronia berry. 

Raspberry Lime is bottled at 25.5% ABV and made with locally sourced New Hampshire raspberries that are pressed and infused with the distillery’s own neutral grain spirit. The mixture is then combined with lime zest and basil. 

Sierra Fig is bottled at 26% ABV and made with half a pound of figs per bottle. Flavours were double extracted into Tamworth’s neutral grain spirit and finished with rhubarb root and damiana leaf.

Strawberry Rhubarb is bottled at 25% ABV and made with a wine press as opposed to as an infusion. The resulting juice was used to proof down a base of house-made neutral grain spirit, and barrel-aged neutral grain spirit. Each bottle contains a half pound of fresh berries and a quarter pound of rhubarb.

All bottles are 375ml and priced at US$35. While each can be sipped neat or in a spritz, they were designed to be a cocktail enhancer. 

“The juice is really loose on this one,” Robinson said. “It is overloaded with fresh fruit, reminiscent of my Grandma’s strawberry rhubarb preserves, and is super easy to like.  Matt and I laughed about calling it ‘low hanging fruit’ because the fruit literally grows close to the ground, and it is easily approachable to just about anyone who imbibes. I have been enjoying it as a supplement to a dry hard cider, or even a light beer.” 

In December 2023, Tamworth released a Sugar Plum Fairy liqueur, made with damson plums and an absinthe base.