WHITE ROCK— It's a little incongruous. In this unassuming Los Alamos bedroom community, in a former horse barn behind an ordinary-looking house in a normal, if rural, neighborhood, resides New Mexico's only licensed spirits distillery.
But Don Quixote Distillery— yes, named after the absurd, idealistic knight of Spanish literature— chugs out up to 16 gallons a day of a brandy that has already found favor with several New Mexico wineries and, by all accounts, could earn similar approbation from ordinary New Mexicans this holiday season.
Started in 2005, Don Quixote became New Mexico's first and only licensed spirits distillery in September, years after owners Ron and Ohla Dolin began their quest for state and federal approval.
“We'll say we're the first (spirit distillers) to persevere through two-and-a-half years of bureaucracy,” Ron said.
The husband-and-wife team run the backyard distillery themselves, Ohla taking care of day-to-day operations and Ron contributing when he's not working as an engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Their first batch of liquor was released to the public just last month. But the brandies, including grappa and pisco varieties, are already carried in restaurants such as Rio Chama Steakhouse, Pranzo Italian Grill and Coyote Cafe. A bottle retails for between $39.99 to $49.99 and can be bought in some liquor stores in Albuquerque and northern New Mexico.
Karl Johnsen, wine and spirits educator for Boutique Wines of New Mexico, Don Quixote's distributor, anticipates steady growth as the brand becomes better known.
It's a high-quality product, he said, and “New Mexicans are fiercely loyal, and they love to buy New Mexico and consume New Mexico (products).”
Help from wineries
The seed for Don Quixote was first planted several years ago, when the Dolins returned home after a trip to Ohla's native Ukraine with a still and the desire to “play around.”
Ohla, the daughter of a cargo captain who made vodka as a way to entice crew members to his ship, was the one with some prior knowledge of the distillation process. Ron, who holds a doctorate in engineering and once was a candidate for Congress, could contribute some know-how to building a working operation.
The plan was to perhaps create some good vodka and whiskey and, maybe when Ron retired, pursue a licensed distillery.
But then New Mexico's wineries came calling.
A visit made by Ron, grappa in hand, to Black Mesa Winery in Velarde brought about an agreement for Black Mesa to provide Don Quixote free grape pumice in exchange for the opportunity for the winery to buy a local brandy.
Liquors like brandy are desirable for wineries, who mix it with their own wines to create products such as sherry, Dolin said. And a local spirits producer is attractive to New Mexico vintners, who can incur high shipping costs when they buy brandy from places like California.
“We were very excited when we learned that there was going to be a New Mexico distiller (which) would allow for 100 percent New Mexico port wines to be made,” Johnsen said.
In fact, a third of Don Quixote's output is sold to wineries. Another third is distributed to stores and restaurants through Boutique Wines, while the remainder is aged and stored at Don Quixote in French oak barrels purchased from Laurent Gruet of Gruet Winery in Albuquerque.
Several wineries were supportive of the Don Quixote venture, Dolin said, singling out Black Mesa and Ponderosa Valley Winery in Ponderosa, where operators loaned the Dolins equipment and provided tips.
“This is not something we could have done on our own,” Dolin said.
Altogether, Dolin estimated the couple has invested around $100,000 in equipment, much of it used, for the distillery. The Web site eBay, of all places, has proved a good outlet for acquiring items, including a filter system and the wax melter used to cap Don Quixote's bottles.
“We tell people we wouldn't have been able to do this without eBay,” Dolin said with a laugh.
Made in New Mexico
About 95 percent of the produce the distillery uses in its products comes from New Mexico, Dolin said, including apples from Española and grapes from Deming. Grape pressings— the skins of grapes that have been squeezed for juice— are taken from the state's vineyards. Organic goods are used whenever possible, he said.
The Dolins pride themselves on the amount of workmanship that goes into the production of their spirits. They ferment and distill in small batches, allowing for greater product control. They use alembic stills— a traditional still originally used by Arabs— and refuse to add flavor or color to their brandies after distillation.
“It's literally hand-crafted,” Ohla said.
Dolin, who designed his stills “to take advantage of where we are,” argues that the White Rock location has some special factors that are conducive to the creation of a superior spirit. It's noted that the area's 6,500-foot elevation, which generates a boiling point lower than at sea level, means the distillery's wine doesn't get as hot during the distillation process, reducing the “burnt” smell and taste that can occur at higher temperatures.
Looking ahead, the Dolins plan to expand their line in the coming year with two vodkas: an organic blue corn vodka and a wheat vodka based on one of Ohla's recipes.
Quixote Distillery Products
White Rock-based Don Quixote Distillery, New Mexico's only licensed spirits distillery, produces several brandies. Bottles retail for between $39.99 and $49.99 in liquor stores around Albuquerque and northern New Mexico.
Don Quixote products include:
- Grappa— An unaged Italian spirit made from the grape pumice (the skin and other material left over from a grape after pressing) of white wine grapes.
- Malvasia Bianca Grappa— A limited-production grappa made from New Mexico's malvasia bianca grape.
- Pisco Brandy— A brandy traditionally made in Chile and Peru. Don Quixote's version is made with muscat grapes.
- Mon Cherie Cherry Eau-de-Vie— A fruity brandy made with cherries.
- Spirit of Santa Fe Brandy— A brandy made from a blend of spirits composed of fruits found in and around Santa Fe and the Rio Grande corridor, including malvasia bianca, muscat and sauvignon blanc grapes and apple and cherry brandy.
