Highway uses hemp in vodka distillation

A Highway Vodka, a company founded by two longtime friends, Ben Williams and Wendell Robbins III, has launched a variant of the drink using hulled hemp seeds, announced the Houston Chronicle.

Highway Vodka took seven years of distilling experiments to launch in 2019 and started as a hobby of Ben Williams. After visiting a friend who owns a cannabis dispensary in California, who also happens to be a vodka distilling enthusiast, Williams met people who were distilling their vodka with cannabis and Williams felt inspired to try the same with hemp. .

“It's not about hemp flavor and it's not about CBD, to be honest,” says Williams. “It's really about what the plant does for my particular process,” Williams explained to the Houston Chronicle.

The Houston, Texas-based company has become the first black-owned distillery in the city, according to Highway Vodka, and is expanding its distribution beyond Texas to include Georgia, California. and Florida, where cannabis is already legal.

Perfect formula happened by chance

When Williams started experimenting with different formulations of hemp vodka, hemp culture was not yet legal in the US, so he started by buying it in Canada. Later, federal farm bills opened the legal landscape for hemp in 2014 and 2018, allowing Williams to expand his experimentation with US-grown hemp.

Ben Williams and Wendell Robbins III lead the team behind Highway Vodka. Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

“I played around with every part of the plant I could find,” says Williams, claiming to have experimented with different parts of the plant and also different forms of grain, from whole hemp seed to roasted beans. “Whatever is more readily available turned out to be what I needed: husked hemp seed.”

“One day I was lazy and put everything in the still (a device used to distill vodka). I was faced with a product that was simply better. It smelled and felt better,” says Williams. “Immediately we started reviewing, cutting and filtering. It was literally the best thing we had ever done.”

This formulation consisted of corn, water and husked hemp seed. From that day forward, Williams and Robbins continued to refine this formulation, experimenting with distilling it several times and opting for six for the “purest and sweetest” flavor, Williams says.

Williams, who owned a small bar and also opened a restaurant called Lucille's 1913 with his brother, Chris, began bringing vodka into his establishments to let people try it. “It was a consistent win,” says Williams. “My wish at the time was, 'Let's try to do this.'

The touch of hemp

Vodka is typically made with fermented grains that undergo a distillation process and this can include corn, sorghum, rye, rice or wheat, but hemp grain is unique in having a high fat content. While vodka doesn't necessarily taste like hemp, Williams says adding the seed gives it a different mouthfeel.

“When you distill six times, after going through the still, you will notice that there is a difference in viscosity. I don't think it's thick or creamy – it just has a little more body than a typical vodka,” says Williams. “What we found is that the oil and these fats coat your taste buds and soften the flavor of the vodka, so it becomes less bitter. It is an easier product to drink pure and direct. It also keeps the sweetness of corn on your palate.”

Highway uses husked hemp seeds in the distillation of this new variety of Vodka. Photo: DR | reddit

The two friends also discovered that hemp actually produces greater amounts of alcohol. While the nutrients in the yeast, which are used to make more alcohol, can produce an unwanted aftertaste, Williams says hemp didn't. “I found that different proteins in hemp act as a super fuel for my yeast,” says Williams.

roots in texas

As Highway Hemp Vodka gains popularity and expands its distribution, Williams is also looking to expand its supply network. As the two partners improved their formula, Williams was looking for "the fattest hemp seed he could find." He chose a supplier in Minnesota and currently buys between 250 and 350 pounds of seed a week.

Williams says he is in the process of finding a source for the seed in Texas, but it has been a challenge as many growers in Texas only started in 2020 — the first year of hemp production allowed in the state — with fiber varieties.

Still, your quest will continue as Highway Hemp Vodka grows. In addition to retailers who sell vodka in several states, it is available in more areas by ordering online at reservebar.com. The company is also working to launch new products next year, including improving a formula for producing hemp whiskey.

“We have no choice but to do everything. We're just having fun with it,” concludes Williams.