Matchbook Distilling Late Embers Sunchoke + Honey Brandy
Matchbook Distilling Late Embers Sunchoke + Honey Brandy is a smoked sunchoke spirit from Matchbook Distilling Co. in Greenport, New York: 1,800 lbs of local, organically grown sunchokes pit-roasted over fire — the mezcal method — and distilled with honey. Bottled at 40% ABV in a 750mL bottle, it is one of the most original American spirits in our brandy collection.
- Style: Smoked Sunchoke Spirit
- ABV: 40%
- Size: 750mL
- Producer: Matchbook Distilling Co.
- Region: Greenport, New York
Into the Bottle
Sunchokes, like agave, store their sugars as inulin — chains of fructose that yeast cannot ferment until heat breaks them down. In Oaxaca, agave hearts are roasted in earthen pits to do exactly that; Matchbook borrowed the process wholesale, building up the fire pit and roasting 1,800 lbs of local, organically grown sunchokes until they smoked, softened and sweetened, then fermenting and distilling them with honey. Matchbook shelves Late Embers with its brandies, alongside its sister smoked spirit, Ritual Sister Smoked Pineapple — the two bottles are the twin pillars of our spirits collection's smoke section.
Tasting Notes
Wood smoke and roasted root vegetables, earthy sweetness from the sunchoke, a soft honeyed roundness, and a savory, mezcal-like depth that keeps unfolding.
How to Enjoy
Matchbook's advice: drink it neat; drink it shaken with sugar and citrus; or stir it with vermouth and something bitter. Their current favorite, the Autumnal Parachute, shakes 3/4 oz Late Embers with 1.75 oz bitter liqueur, 3/4 oz lemon juice and 3/4 oz 50:50 honey syrup, strained into a coupe. For more Matchbook, start with the Eldest Daughter Vermouth.
FAQ
What is a sunchoke spirit? A spirit distilled from sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), a knotty North American tuber. Pit-roasting breaks down their inulin into fermentable sugars — the same hydrolysis at the heart of mezcal making.
How strong is it? 40% ABV (80 proof), 750mL.
Where is it made? Distilled and bottled by Matchbook Distilling Co. in Greenport, New York.
Matchbook Distilling Late Embers Sunchoke + Honey Brandy is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.