{"product_id":"soka","title":"SOKA","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSOKA combines distillates of fermented fresh sorghum juice and syrup. The fresh juice lends springy, green flavors of melon, cucumber, and green apple, with the syrup bringing forward darker aromas of harvest, and notes of hay and toasted honey. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFlavor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch1 data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFresh cut grass,\u003cbr\u003egreen apple,\u003cbr\u003esilage.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIngredients\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSorghum Cane, Thai Rice Chong Yeast\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eServe\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eEnjoy neat, with cola or in a twist on a Mojito\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSOKA is an intersection of flavors bound by our incessant curiosity and one key ingredient: sorghum. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5kuk8JA82Eo\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCome with us to Rolling Meadows farm, Lake Elkhart, Wisconsin, and learn more about SOKA's inception, the importance of sorghum, and its incredible flavors.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eFermentation is a large part of our creative process, as is our constant search for new sources of sugar, the key to it all. So, when sorghum came to mind, it got us thinking. This truly ancient grain is the fifth most produced cereal crop worldwide, playing a large role in beer production across Africa and Asia. But what about the stalk that supports it? Where are all the sorghum-based spirits of the world? And so we delved further, looking into sorghum’s rich history, properties and high sugar content. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eTo begin with, we started fermenting sorghum syrup and decided to also experiment with fresh cane juice from European sorghum. We tried strain upon strain of yeast from our neighbor White Labs Copenhagen until we came across a winner: Thai Rice Chong. The resulting ferment delivered aromas and flavors reminiscent of freshly cut grass, green apples and barnyards. We were hooked – and we had a vision.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eExcited and ready for more, we headed to Wisconsin to get our hands on sorghum syrup and juice from veteran hobbyists-turned-experts Richard and Brenda Wittgreve.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xkdhlxu1yeU\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003eSOKA connects people to the flavors of the land. And this starts with Richard and Brenda Wittgreve from Rolling Meadows, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWith our juice in place, time was of the essence to avoid contamination and keep the flavor intact. First we pressed the juice before taking it to Central Standard Distillery in Milwaukee where it fermented over three days. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/buxG2kVs25Q\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMeet the amazing team behind Central Standard Craft Distillery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWe had experimented with dunder in the past when working with molasses, inspired by the fermentation methods used in Jamaican distilleries. In SOKA; we reuse the leftover wash from the distillation of our fermented juice, to ferment our syrup before distilling it. This process concentrates critical esters and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003econtributes notes of fermented grass and a touch of brininess\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe next step? To preserve all the wonderful esters, which meant turning to vacuum distillation. But our equipment was in Copenhagen, so we took what we could find at hand, gave it a tweak here and there, and voila: a vacuum still was born, and the problem solved. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOnce distilled,our syrup (50%) and fermented juice (50%) cuts are blended to become the fully formed SOKA: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAll of which is to say that for us, overall, SOKA is about connections. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOur connection to learning, to the history of sorghum, to the endless possibilities this grain and the world have to offer … and to flavor. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e43% ABV.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eOnly natural ingredients. \u003cbr\u003eEverything made from scratch.\u003cbr\u003eNo sugar added. Uncategorized.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\" data-mce-style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YfFthUHPpAw\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e","brand":"Empirical","offers":[{"title":"50cl","offer_id":40101360697453,"sku":"EEU-SOK-50","price":40.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1954\/4397\/products\/EMPIRICAL-SOKA-500ml-FRONT_521a19d4-5b6d-498f-916e-a883e0373ada.jpg?v=1653477707","url":"https:\/\/empirical-spirits.myshopify.com\/products\/soka","provider":"Empirical","version":"1.0","type":"link"}