Crab Whiskey

Sometimes, whiskey is required to solve seemingly insurmountable problems.  If you doubt that, visit one of the local taverns in my hometown of East Helena, Montana, and slam down a few shots with the locals.  You’ll be amazed by the problem-solving taking place. 

Tamworth Distilling, in faraway New Hampshire, is now using whiskey to address the problem of invasive crabs.  They are doing so by making the crabs into one of their whiskey offerings.   

The crabs in question—green crabs--have beleaguered marine ecosystems along the North American coast for more than 200 years.  The crabs originally found their way here on ships arriving from Europe in the 1800’s.  They have grossly overpopulated in many areas.  The crabs devour tons of shellfish and have ravished estuaries and fish habitats.

The process for making whiskey from green crabs is complicated, but in the end, something near a pound of crabs is required to produce a bottle of whiskey.  The distillery is not using enough crabs to make a notable impact on the invasive crabs, but they hope to trigger awareness of the crab problem and encourage other commercial harvesting of the invasive species.

Dr. Gabriela Bradt, a marine biologist and fisheries specialist at the University of New Hampshire says if the clams:

"They are probably one of the most successful invasive species that we have in North America, at least in the marine world," she said. "They can eat about 40 mussels a day, just one crab. And so you multiply that by a bazillion, and you have no more clams."     

Will Robinson, the product developer at Tamworth Distilling calls the whiskey a “thinking, sipping” drink. "It's meant for you to explore your own perception through your olfactory senses," he notes.

I’m not sure how that translates in East Helena bar talk.  I suspect it may mean folks will be required to develop a taste for the product.

Easily done in my hometown.

Crab Trapper Whiskey

—Mitchell Hegman

Source and Photograph: NPR