Pastoral

[MooN]

the twins had organised their 16th birtday party for saturday afternoon at home so as soon as I could decently do so I ran away. I put 150km round trip into Kurviger.de hit the "small windy roads setting, uploaded it to the phone, hit GO and was off out of it for a couple of hours... The route took me out to in a loop to the northwest of auxerre along, as programmed little back roads and lanes avoiding towns ( there aren't any towns in that direction for over an hours ride anyway) so I just enjoyed bimbling along enjoying the countryside and dodging the few rain showers that appeared. 

 Spring seems tohave only partly sprung here, some of the open places are green and springing, but otheres no more than a km or so away seem to be still in the grip of winter. 

Thes two pics were taken maybe a couple of km's apart

 

a chateau in the background. the grass is lush and green, but the hawthorn hedge has not a single bud on it yet, let alone a flower

 

I though we could do with @Sir Fallsalot down Here to get this track entrance cleared. Fred, you might need more than your wee hand saw on this one mate 

It didn't look like it had been down long but it's been pretty windy round here for the last few weeks so there's a lot of dead wood come down.

As I rode through the village of Escamps there was a sweet smell in the air that I could't quite identify, till I saw this behind the recycling bins on the edge of the village; 

I then knew what that wonderful smell was. 

it's a mobile still! I haven't seen one for years and theyre nearly all gone in most parts o the country, burgundy being one of the few regions where there are a rew still working.  The operater trundles his still into the village, usually with the permission of the mayor, the locals bring him their fruit and he turns it into alcahol for them. I asked the guy if he minded me taking a pic and he was fine with it, but the two old blokes come to collect their "Goute" ( pronounced "goote" and literally meaning either taste or drop as in a drop of liquid) though thoruoghly affable and willing to chat, definately did not want to be in a photo...

here he is removing the cooked remains of grapes from the third kettle 

the smell had me drooling at the mouth, te old blokes were saying that I shouldn't stand downwind of the still if I was going to get back on the bike...

the still itself is qbout 80 years old the bloke reckons, and, interestingly, was origibally made in... Escamps!

the stuff dripping into the jug qt the bottom of the still is anywhere between 55 and 80% proof, depending on what the client asks for. This perticulay stuff is about 60% and from grapes, yesterday he made some from pears and tomorrow h's got a load of cherries to do...

drip, drip, drip....

All above board and taxes paid of course he says, and I believe him.... honest...

 

Got home to find the party over, just a couple of kids still around and that they'd saved me a LARGE slice of birthday cake, so all good.

[Sir Fallsalot]

6 minutes ago, MooN said:

the twins had organised their 16th birtday party for saturday afternoon at home so as soon as I could decently do so I ran away. I put 150km round trip into Kurviger.de hit the "small windy roads setting, uploaded it to the phone, hit GO and was off out of it for a couple of hours... The route took me out to in a loop to the northwest of auxerre along, as programmed little back roads and lanes avoiding towns ( there aren't any towns in that direction for over an hours ride anyway) so I just enjoyed bimbling along enjoying the countryside and dodging the few rain showers that appeared. 

 Spring seems tohave only partly sprung here, some of the open places are green and springing, but otheres no more than a km or so away seem to be still in the grip of winter. 

Thes two pics were taken maybe a couple of km's apart

 

a chateau in the background. the grass is lush and green, but the hawthorn hedge has not a single bud on it yet, let alone a flower

 

I though we could do with @Sir Fallsalot down Here to get this track entrance cleared. Fred, you might need more than your wee hand saw on this one mate 

It didn't look like it had been down long but it's been pretty windy round here for the last few weeks so there's a lot of dead wood come down.

As I rode through the village of Escamps there was a sweet smell in the air that I could't quite identify, till I saw this behind the recycling bins on the edge of the village; 

I then knew what that wonderful smell was. 

it's a mobile still! I haven't seen one for years and theyre nearly all gone in most parts o the country, burgundy being one of the few regions where there are a rew still working.  The operater trundles his still into the village, usually with the permission of the mayor, the locals bring him their fruit and he turns it into alcahol for them. I asked the guy if he minded me taking a pic and he was fine with it, but the two old blokes come to collect their "Goute" ( pronounced "goote" and literally meaning either taste or drop as in a drop of liquid) though thoruoghly affable and willing to chat, definately did not want to be in a photo...

here he is removing the cooked remains of grapes from the third kettle 

the smell had me drooling at the mouth, te old blokes were saying that I shouldn't stand downwind of the still if I was going to get back on the bike...

the still itself is qbout 80 years old the bloke reckons, and, interestingly, was origibally made in... Escamps!

the stuff dripping into the jug qt the bottom of the still is anywhere between 55 and 80% proof, depending on what the client asks for. This perticulay stuff is about 60% and from grapes, yesterday he made some from pears and tomorrow h's got a load of cherries to do...

drip, drip, drip....

All above board and taxes paid of course he says, and I believe him.... honest...

 

Got home to find the party over, just a couple of kids still around and that they'd saved me a LARGE slice of birthday cake, so all good.

Did they not offer you a snifter. Do they do anything with the alcohol before drinking it or is that the finished product 

[XTreme]

Interesting stuff Chris!

And you got a couple of BOTM possibilities as well.

[MooN]

13 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

Did they not offer you a snifter. Do they do anything with the alcohol before drinking it or is that the finished product 

some do, they use it as a basis for other drinks, ratafia, fortified wines and the like. others drink it neat as a digestive treat after a meal. In my experience, most of it is fucking rank rot gut that would be better used as paint atripper or posssibly as an octane booster for scooters, but from time to time you come across one that is really good. the landlord of the bar we meet in has some that he brews with a load of herbs and spices and I can drink that till the cows come home... or I fall over, which is usually quite quickly cos it's bloody strong!

 

 I didn't get to taste, but would probably have refused it anyway, it was quite possible coming out of the still at a far higher proof than he was telling, the floaty thing was graduated with hieroglyphs rather than anything intelligible and I have desire to go suddenly blind...

[Sir Fallsalot]

1 minute ago, MooN said:

some do, they use it as a basis for other drinks, ratafia, fortified wines and the like. others drink it neat as a digestive treat after a meal. In my experience, most of it is fucking rank rot gut that would be better used as paint atripper or posssibly as an octane booster for scooters, but from time to time you come across one that is really good. the landlord of the bar we meet in has some that he brews with a load of herbs and spices and I can drink that till the cows come home... or I fall over, which is usually quite quickly cos it's bloody strong!

I was in the Penderyn whiskey distillery and they gave us a bit to taste as it came out the still, one drop from an eye dropper and that's all i could taste for hours as you said it's bloody rank.

[boboneleg]

Interesting day out

[Pedro]

Very interesting report!

Here we call that drink "aguardente", fire water really, do you call that brandy in English?

"Domestic" non regulated stills have slowly almost disappeared in Portugal, there used to be many but that sort of alcohol has been outlawed in restaurants and cafes and slowly pushed out of service. Although obviously the most common source is grapes or wine, here some of the most typical are also made from figs and arbutus berry (looked it up in google translate), the arbutus being the most rare but only really made in the Algarve or south Alentejo. 

I am not really a spirits guy, but used to know an old guy in the Algarve that as a kid worked in a still in the hills, in restaurants he used to pour a few drops into the palm of his hand and rub both hands together like spreading lotion, then breath that in to determine the quality and purity of the product. Very interesting guy.

 

How many miles have you got on the Tiger now? Still the nicest color I've seen in those bikes!