#distillation

#distillation

On Thursday, Google announced that "commercially motivated" actors have attempted to clone knowledge from its Gemini AI chatbot by simply prompting it. One adversarial session reportedly prompted the model more than 100,000 times across various non-English languages, collecting responses ostensibly to train a cheaper copycat. Google published the findings in what amounts to a quarterly self-assessment of threats to its own products that frames the company as the victim and the hero, which is not unusual in these self-authored assessments.

This might seem like legal hair-splitting, but the decision reveals a fundamental truth about the drinks we love. Spirits like gin are defined by distillation, a process meant to isolate and concentrate ethanol. When you take the alcohol out, you're often left with little more than flavored water trying to mimic the real thing. The ruling highlights a critical distinction in the beverage aisle: liquor and wine lose their identity without ethanol. Beer does not.

Not shying away from a bit of marketing hyperbole, the makers of Realizzato claim they've created "the world's most environmentally-friendly and sustainable alcoholic beverage." The brand also says that their coffee liqueur marks the first time in more than 400 years that alcohol has been fermented from a completely new ingredient using an industrial process. At first, this seems overly boastful: It's a liqueur made from upcycled coffee grounds collected from UK coffee retailers.

J.P. Wiser's 18 Years Old blended Canadian whisky demonstrated a mastery of blending, showcasing a balanced taste with subtle spice, honeyed sweetness, and undertones of toffee and vanilla.

Crafted from a selection of reserves distilled in 2013 and aged for a full decade in ex-bourbon and ex-whiskey casks, Single Vintage 2013 showcases a meticulous approach to blending and aging. The result is a rich, complex sipping rum that proves time and technique are still two of the finest ingredients in the game.

Fort Hamilton was conceived in 2016 by Alex Clark and Amy Grindeland, a husband-and-wife team with an unabashedly nerdy passion for all things history.