The stills are used to produce the award-winning spirits at the Kiepesol distillery. (Victor Texcucano/Staff)

1. Kiepersol Estates founder Pierre de Wet dies

Just like the wines produced at Kiepersol Estates, the new spirits distilled here draw flavor and complexity from the soil, the water and the surroundings in these gentle East Texas hillsides.

“This is called terroir ,” explains Marnelle de Wet Durrett, winemaker and estate manager for Kiepersol . “That means simply ‘sense of place.’ It’s about reflecting your location — not fighting it, not trying to turn your wine or your spirit into something it’s not.”

The results are Kiepersol’s newest creations, estate-produced vodka, rum and bourbon that are truly Texas products. The spirits are already winning awards; at the New York International Spirits Competition in December, Pierre’s Texas Rum took a silver medal, while Dirk’s Texas Vodka and Jimmy’s Texas Bourbon took bronzes.

Ms. Durrett says the family owned-and-operated winery and distillery is proud of the awards, but it’s more than that.

“We want the community — we want Tyler — to take ownership, too,” she said during a recent tour of the operation. “When you have friends visit, we want you to be able to say to them, come see our winery, come taste our wines, try our spirits.”

It really is “about a sense of place,” she said.

Opening a distillery was a logical step a couple of years ago. Tyler was going “wet,” allowing wine (and beer) sales inside the city limits, and that had big implications for Kierpersol, which had enjoyed an exclusive right to sell wine through its KE Cellars store since 2006. There was new competition — $5 bottles of wine, available at grocery stores. Kiepersol Estates founder Pierre de Wet and his family were looking for new ways to compete.

“As farmers, we always look for the best use for what we grow,” explained Frans de Wet, Pierre’s nephew and the vineyard manager and distiller. “We don’t want to waste anything.”

So Frans proposed using some of the extra fruit — the grapes that don’t meet the high quality standards for the wines were repurposed — for a grape -based vodka.

Dirk’s Texas Vodka was the first spirit Kiepersol produced, initially bottled in April of 2014. It’s triple-distilled to 190 proof , then diluted to 80 proof.

Frans says that’s where Dirk’s unique nature emerges.

“It’s the water,” he said. “The Bullard Salt Done — that’s where we get our water. We call it ‘Jurassic water.’ That’s what gives our vodka the good mouth-feel.”

Dirk’s Texas Vodka is named for Pierre’s father, a South African farmer.

“Dirk was a clear-minded man,” Ms. Durrett said. “So it seemed appropriate to name the clear spirit for him.”

The bourbon came next, in July of 2014. Bourbon is a corn-based spirit (though other grains can also be used in addition), and it must be aged in a new, charred American oak barrel for at least two years. Kiepersol’s recipe calls for 85 percent corn, along with rye, barley and other grains. They’re malted then fermented as a mash on site.

The bourbon is named for Jimmy, a family friend who still farms in the Bullard area. He was a torpedo bomber pilot in World War II, so the unique bottle has the image of pilot’s goggles.

“We’re careful to use Texas ingredients,” Frans noted. “We use grains sourced from Texas for the bourbon; for the rum, we only use Texas molasses.”

The rum was “Pierre’s baby” at first. And that’s why it’s named for him.

After fermentation and distillation, the rum is aged in old casks previously used for Kiepersol wines. Again, the focus is on the qualities that make Kiepersol’s offerings unique and local — the terrior .

“We get so many flavors from those barrels and the vanillins they add,” Ms. Durrett said.

The Kiepersol winery was bonded in 2000 as the state’s 34th winery. There are now more than 300 in Texas.

Kiepersol is named after the area of South Africa’s Eastern Transvaal, where Dirk’s farm was located.

The Kiepersol operation now includes the winery, a bed-and-breakfast, a fine dining restaurant, real estate, an RV park and event venues.

The distillery will add another layer of flavor and complexity, Ms. Durrett says.

“This really has become a tourism destination,” she said. “The distillery adds to that. People come out to Canton [for Trade Days], for example, and then come here to hang out and relax.”

Kiepersol’s new spirits are available throughout East Texas, including at Crystal Springs Spirits in Winona and Oasis 110 Liquor in Troup. For a complete list of locations selling Dirk’s Texas Vodka, Jimmy’s Bourbon and Pierre’s Rum, visit www.jimmysbourbon.com.

 

@ tmt_roy