Daydream Playbook Entry #23
From ideation to drinkable reality, Darren Bobby, Dogfish Head’s Head Distiller, knows the ins and outs of creating some of our most ambitious spirits. From the trials and tribulations of experimenting until it tastes juuuuust right, to perfection on the first go-around, Darren pours passion and his invaluable know-how into our Dogfish Head spirits. In this Q&A, Darren shares his perspective on some of Sam’s biggest asks.
What’s the craziest ask that’s ever been made of you and your team regarding the creation of a new product?
I would say it has to be when we were asked to create a spirit made with Sea Kelp from Atlantic Sea Farms. Marge took the lead on that project, and we ultimately created Siren’s Kiss, which was a garlic, kelp vodka. During the distillation, the kelp actually wrapped around the agitator on the still and caused it to stop working. The product turned out well though and was a favorite of people to use in Bloody Mary’s.
What’s the most interesting or unique ingredient with which you have ever distilled?
I would have to defer to the kelp above as the most unique ingredient; however, we have done some pretty crazy things that I’m not sure any other distilleries have done. When we made our coffee liqueur, Booze for Breakfast, we had a local collaborator, Rise Up Coffee, join us in the distillery to grind freshly roasted beans. We placed the ground coffee into ingredient bags and brewed 168lbs of coffee in the still simply because we thought the hot brew provided a richer flavor than cold brew. The funniest part to me, was that the base spirit for that liqueur was distilled Beer for Breakfast, which was a stout that infamously contained scapple. This meant that when we bottled the spirit, we were legally required to say, “Contains Meat,” on the label.
Talk a little about your process for dreaming up a recipe for a new distilled offering.
Often our founder, Sam, will come to me with an ingredient he is excited about or a partner he wants to collaborate with, and I’ll start by thinking about how to build something around that ingredient or come up with a way to tie in the collaborative partner. Sometimes it isn’t easy, as I’ve been asked to collaborate with a clothing brand, an art gallery, and a cologne manufacturer. Each time, however, we’ve found a way to tie in our partners through an ingredient or concept. For Old Fashioned Rock and Roll, we used rock candy to make simple syrup, because our partner was an art gallery that sold rock and roll prints. For Walk With Wildness, we broke down a Mellowdious Gin barrel and had our partner distill its essence to create a signature Dogfish Head cologne.
Once you land on a concept, how do you transform a mere idea into a drinkable reality?
A lot of tabletop blending and small batch R&D distilling. We tweak our recipes until they land where we want them, then there is back-and-forth tasting with the team and me sending samples to Sam for his input. Sometimes you get lucky – when I created Summer’s Cauldron Gin, it was the very first recipe I came up with that ending up going into the bottle unchanged. Other times it’s not as easy – Orange Mango Vodka went through 40 different R&D versions before landing on a final recipe.
Many spirits – especially whiskeys – have strict guidelines they must meet.
How do you balance guidelines with innovative thinking to create a product that stands out?
Well, to be honest, we push the limits of the TTB rules with some of our creations and then work hand-in hand with our legal department to find a compromise we can all be proud of. We usually land on a compromise that we both can live with, but there are certain things that are iron clad, like age statements on whiskeys and the rules that define a single malt. Luckily, our whiskeys do a good job standing out on their own, and I believe that is largely due to the flavors created in fermentation from our proprietary Doggie yeast strain.
Tell us about the importance of creativity in your day-to-day distilling role.
Day-to-day, there’s a lot of management regarding planning and production balanced with the creativity required for product development. I’m blessed to have a great team that can manage the day-to-day schedule so I can focus a lot of time on product creation, development, and all the things it takes to get a product from idea to shelf. There is a need to pivot and flex a lot in both the production and the product development world, as you can always expect the unexpected to happen.
What was your favorite Dogfish Head spirit when you started as the Head Distiller, and has that changed over the years?
Oooh, tough question… when I started, I liked Compelling Gin and Barrel Honey Rum a lot, but now I have to say Let’s Get Lost whiskey is my consistent go-to. I have emotional connections to other products as well, since some began as a concept in my head and now exist in reality, so I would say that I’m most emotionally connected to Scull & Crossbones right now.