Stone Barn Brandyworks, based in Portland, USA teamed up with Umi Organic, a ramen noodle maker, to create a whiskey-style spirit made from the Portland company’s initial batches of organic ramen noodles from 2015. The collaboration came from a simple thought that both noodles and whiskey are made from grain! The idea was to take Umi Organic’s excess noodles which couldn’t be sold and distill them into this new spirit.
The organic wheat and barley noodles were distilled, and the result was a mellow, fruity spirit with a distinct minerality from the kansui (lye solution) that is also responsible for giving ramen noodles their famous chewy texture. The spirit was then matured in used Stone Barn whiskey casks for a thousand days and Umi Ramen Spirit was born.
What is also great about this initiative was their commitment to a zero-waste philosophy. The noodles which Umi Organic wasn’t able to sell and which were soon to expire found a new purpose in the form of this whiskey-style spirit. Even the casks which the whiskey was matured in were used casks. Globally around 1.6 billion tonnes of food is estimated to be wasted each year. In a time when food wastage has become a norm, this is truly a noble effort.
The Umi Ramen Spirit was released as part of the Kobe + Portland Yakisoba Project, currently in its third year. It brings together chefs from all around the Pacific to create interactive cuisine experiences for Portlanders to learn about Kobe’s food and drink culture. The Umi Ramen Spirit was served as part of the Umi Kobe Combo meal which also contained a Kobe-style highball with a yakisoba-pan which is basically yakisoba noodles tucked into a hotdog bun.
Not only is this a unique twist on whiskey, but it also contributes to making the world a better place. A win-win for all? Definitely!
