, which wine critic and author Jane Anson had the opportunity to sample.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe wine tasted a little more evolved than the example of the same wine that had remained on earth,\u201d she said. \u201cMore tertiary character of truffle and rose.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAnson believes there is a market for space-aged alcohol. \u201cIt can be seen as a gimmick, and certainly one that is extremely expensive to put into practice, but the team behind Petrus in space found huge interest from the public in what they had done,\u201d she said. \u201cI imagine the same will be true for bourbon.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBlitz echoed this sentiment, saying he anticipates that bourbon enthusiasts who collect, trade, and sell bottles will line up to lay their lips on a glass of space bourbon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMystic plans to send the bourbon into space for an entire year to ensure that it receives enough solar radiation to affect its taste and aging profile, he said. With volatile temperatures in low-Earth orbit ranging from -85 to 257 degrees Fahrenheit, the bourbon will likely taste \u201cdifferent than terrestrial whiskey, \u201d he said. But exactly how, Blitz doesn\u2019t know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cPeople keep asking what it’s gonna taste like, but nobody knows,\u201d he said. That\u2019s the multi-million dollar question.<\/span><\/p>\n***<\/p>\n
A<\/span>lthough Blitz, 50, has now dedicated his life to bourbon, it wasn\u2019t always the plan. His wife cheekily calls his career \u201ca hobby that got completely out of hand.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBlitz is a St. Louis native who dabbled in various fields, from production pottery to law to solar energy, before discovering his love of bourbon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nLove and marriage brought him to Durham after he met his now-wife, who was pursuing her Ph.D. at Duke University. Blitz practiced law until his son was born in 2010 and he became a full-time dad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nA few years later, he and his friend Michael Sinclair, who had worked at Red Oak Brewery, began to discuss opening a large distillery together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe made all these business plans and slide decks and we had a pitch,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cBut then nobody wanted to give us any money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nOne day, after their \u201cprobably 30th investor meeting,\u201d Sinclair handed Blitz a mason jar. \u201c\u2018I want you to taste something,\u2019\u201d Blitz says Sinclair said.<\/span><\/p>\nBlitz wasn\u2019t a big drinker, but the liquor Sinclair handed him was unlike anything he\u2019d ever tasted \u2014 sweet, easy to drink, \u201cjust perfect.\u201d Turning to Sinclair, Blitz said the world didn\u2019t need another large manufacturer, it \u201cjust needed this.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThey leased a small distillery in downtown Durham, financing it with their credit cards, and got down to distilling. They soon discovered that locals were thirsty for locally produced liquor and expanded into South Carolina and Virginia as they outgrew their original facility.<\/span><\/p>\nAt its current site, Mystic Distillery has a rickhouse for aging and storing bourbon, an expansive events space and a picturesque pond with delicate string lights suspended above.<\/span><\/p>\nSourcing water directly from the aquifer, Mystic grinds all of its own corn and grain and pumps it into a mash on site. The alcohol is then extracted from the grain through distillation, a process that involves boiling the mixture, capturing the resulting vapor, and recondensing it into a high-proof liquor. Distilling pots and columns line the walls of the distillery, and the sweet smell of the bubbly brew wafts through the facility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re never going to make wine like Napa because we don\u2019t have the climate for it,\u201d Blitz said. \u201cBut we can make the best bourbon in the world. We\u2019re living proof of that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMystic is a unique community center as well, attracting hundreds of visitors each month for line dancing classes, tasting and blending workshops and art markets. One popular offering is the \u201csingle barrel experience,\u201d where guests spend a day crafting their own barrel of bourbon and return annually to sample the maturing spirit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBlitz says Mystic also has a positive impact on North Carolina’s economy. The bourbon process transforms \u201csix-bucks-a-bushel\u201d corn into premium liquor that can sell for $150 or more per bottle and that is taxed at 30%, he notes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cLook at what Kentucky’s done,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they didn’t have distilling, they’d be coal mining and growing pot.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThen he paused a moment. \u201cWell, I guess they got the whole horse-racing thing, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n***<\/span> M<\/span>ystic conducts every step of the bourbon-making process slowly and meticulously, aging each barrel of bourbon for around four to five years. The barrels themselves come from trees planted hundreds of years ago. Unlike many other distilleries, Mystic is not beholden to quarterly targets or production goals, allowing time to source local grain, water, and labor.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWhen people ask me, \u2018Why don’t you automate this part of the process? Why don’t you scale up this part?\u2019 The answer is, \u2018We’re not Ford. We’re not even Audi. We’re Bugatti,\u2019\u201d Blitz said. \u201cWe’re under no pressure to put out anything except the best possible product.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe attention to detail seems to pay off. After winning consecutive gold medals in 2021 and 2022 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Mystic won a double-gold medal in April of this year.<\/span><\/p>\nInternational recognition notwithstanding, Blitz hopes the Mystic Galactic mission will be what really puts \u201cNorth Carolina bourbon on the map.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSome sneer at a small distillery embarking on a momentous space odyssey, Blitz says. Steve Akley and Jeremy Schell, hosts of the bourbon podcast \u201cThe Bourbon Show\u201d questioned Mystic Galactic\u2019s price tag, asking, \u201cWhy the hell would [anyone] want this?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBut Blitz believes that only a small distillery could manage a project this risky. And he hopes that most will be impressed that his \u201clittle distillery has the gumption and guts to do it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting case study in the environment you need for innovation.\u201d Blitz thinks it\u2019s hard to maintain a high-quality product at a huge industrial scale. In fact, Mystic recently scaled back its business, shutting down its South Carolina and Virginia operations to focus on the quality of its production in North Carolina.<\/span><\/p>\n***<\/span><\/p>\nB<\/span>litz hopes to keep Mystic\u2019s innovative spirit alive for years to come. He\u2019d be thrilled to hand off the business to his 10-year-old son one day. That is, if his son turns out to be as passionate about bourbon as he and his team are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn addition to its paid staff, Mystic relies on bottling crews made up of volunteers who are compensated only with cocktails and lunch. They continue to show up and work because they are genuinely passionate about the process, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt’s wonderful,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think creating something like this is magical.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAnd soon, it\u2019ll also be \u201cother-worldly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAbove: Photo of Jonathan Blitz by Maddie Wray \u2014 The 9th Street Journal\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In January 2026, Jonathan Blitz, owner of a Durham distillery, will arrive at the Kennedy Space Station. He\u2019ll have been looking forward to this day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":11251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[269],"class_list":["post-11249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-life-in-durham","tag-the-9th-street-journal","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
Bourbon-maker's aims are out of this world - 9th Street Journal<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n