This is the fourth installment of our multi-part series on trees. This week we answer the rhetorical question that is our subtitle and speak on behalf of the mute.
In last week’s entry we gave a summary of our tasting notes on some of the wood-derived distillates that we had sampled. From a sensory perspective alone, the answer to the rhetorical question is undoubtedly “yes.” Simply put, they are tasty, complex, and therefore quite appealing.
What about the felling of all those trees? you ask. In next week’s entry we will address this issue in greater depth with respect to cedar and Japanese cypress. However, readers will be surprised to learn that it does not take all that much wood to produce a significant amount of beverage. One cedar log, for example, can produce more than 100 bottles of distillate. Looking at it from another perspective, a 750ml bottle of cedar spirit (35% abv) requires only 2kg of wood!
Anyone who has ever drunk a well-made barrel-aged spirit or a taru zake is likely to value the skill and dedication of the cooper who produced the receptacle and the vintner or brewmaster that created the beverage. Upon reflection one can see that the arrangement is analogous to that of a wooden dummy communicating through a ventriloquist. The ventriloquist gives voice to the wood, which is fine, of course, but from now on we also have the option to let the tree do the aging for us and have the wood speak for itself, and we have discovered that the wood speaks rather well, indeed!
Drinking Japan 