We didn’t actually plan it this way. Really.
Six years ago (six, already!), when Root Shoot was just beginning and we were trying to figure out what in the world to use as a logo, we thought, “Well, we’re a malthouse…why don’t we represent the malting process?” After some artistic debate, we settled on the four icons we posted on social media over the last week or so: Farming, Steeping, Germination, and Kilning.
As we dove further into our malthouse project, we realized just how inextricably linked malting and farming were. (Yes, it’s obvious, but after years of both farming and malting, it became even more obvious) and we realized that all of these symbols we had selected also represented key elements of agriculture. The first icon was clear: the seed in the ground was farming. But water is key in growing crops, not just in steeping. Our seeds germinate twice, once in the ground when we plant them, then again in our malt drums as we slowly rotate them. And long before our sprouted grain is dried to make malt, it is first dried in the fields for harvest.
From the grain in the ground to the malt in the kiln, we were pleased that our logo it tied it all together.
We continued farming. And malting. And in 2018, we had an idea. We were still a new business at the time, just one and a half years old, and selling 1 million pounds of malt without proving we could actually create globally recognized malt was…tough. We had a huge surplus in the malthouse, and we also had our initial "screw up" batches that weren't quite good enough to send out to our customers, but were too high-quality to just feed to the cows
We also knew Vapor Distillery had a LARGE still. At that time, it was the biggest pot still in the state. (It might still be - it’s huge!). They had extra capacity, we had extra malt.
Why not utilize our awesome local distillers, give them craft malt to play with, and create some of the best-tasting American Single Malt Whiskey around?
In 2018, we sent Vapor 16,000 pounds of Pilsner, Light Munich, and 6-row Munich Malts to be distilled and begin aging in barrels. The following year we tasted, sampled, and considered future batches.
Our next couple of batches were sent to them in 2020 and we doubled the amount of grain: 16,000 pounds of Specialty Roast (8%), Cara Ruby (15%), Distillers Malt (32%), and Pilsner (45%). and a second batch of 20,400 pounds of Specialty Roast (8%), Hella Dark (15%), Distillers Malt (32%), and Pale (45%) malts.
We sent more batches in 2021, and came to the firm conclusion that, intentional or not, we were now in the business of spirits.
Spirit.
We thought about our logo. We thought about how often we utter the words “Grain to Glass.” We thought about the whiskey aging in barrels.
Something was missing.
So we commissioned a new icon to add to the logo: one based off of the shape of a single pot still. We added it to our others, and then had an aha moment that nearly blew our minds.
Seeds in the soil, water on the field and in the steep tank, seeds germinating into open air, heat drying them in the kiln, and spirits, the final product, poured in a glass.
Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Spirit - the five elements of existence according to many old religions, not least the ancient Greeks.
Don’t worry - we’re not going to go all hippy-dippy on you (at least not totally) but we did think that was pretty cool. Maybe the Greeks were on to something. Maybe these five elements, so closely tied with the earth and farming, really do stand up to the test of time. So much so, that we accidentally landed on them as a logo.
Whew. That’s heavy.
Something to ponder while you sip on your first batch of Root Shoot American Single Malt Whiskey.
Our initial run is coming out this year and will be about 3,000 bottles. It will be branded under Root Shoot, and distilled by Vapor, a partnership we’ve been working hard to craft to ensure it’s a win-win for all! Especially, for the spirit-lovers among you.
Grain to Glass: we’ve finally included the “glass.” So here’s a toast to whiskey, to spirit(s) of all sorts, and to those pesky five elements that just keep showing up in our lives. We’re quite fond of them, really.
Stay tuned for whiskey info. It will be coming soon…
