Crusty Flavor
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For centuries, green crabs have been the bane of North America’s marine ecosystem.
The invasive crustaceans came to the New World as stowaways on European ships around the 19th century. Since then, they have been devouring shellfish, as well as ruining estuaries and fish habitats in North America.
Efforts to fight them have been mildly successful, but a New Hampshire distillery has come up with a novel solution to curb their population, NPR reported.
Tamworth Distilling figured that they could make a green crab-flavored whisky and recently unveiled their new product, “Crab Trapper.”
Product developer Will Robinson explained that the crustaceans are properly cleaned and prepared before they are turned into crab stock. The company then distills the stock using a vacuum still – a glass machine that allows temperature control.
The stock is then mixed with spices and then combined with a bourbon base.
Robinson described the beverage as a “thinking, sipping” drink.
“It’s meant for you to explore your own perception through your olfactory senses,” he added.
Each whisky bottle uses about a pound of crab. The company hopes that the special spirit can pique customers’ interest.
While marine scientists cautioned that one distillery will not have a major impact on the crab population, they said that such creative projects help raise awareness of the problem. Gabriela Bradt, a fisheries specialist at the University of New Hampshire, said “the more people hear about it, then we get more and more people who might have a really great, innovative idea that we haven’t touched upon.”
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