As if New Jersey’s most infamous linguistic spar wasn’t intense enough, one Garden State distillery is throwing alcohol on the fire.
On June 28, Keyport-based 3BR Distillery released 011 PEC on Everything: a pork roll, egg, and cheese-flavored vodka liqueur. (Technically, given its 35-percent ABV, it falls under the U.S. classification of a liqueur, not a spirit.)
The liquid — inspired by N.J.’s signature breakfast sandwich — was created in partnership with Keyport bagel shop Planet Bagel, which provided all the pork roll needed for distillation. Co-CEO and head distiller Aleksandr Zhdanov told Silive.com he combined pork roll and everything bagel seasoning with malt rye extract and rye bread syrup for the product’s base. Then, he added milk sugar as a finishing touch to give the liquid a creaminess reminiscent of melted American cheese.
“We make a lot of really interesting, one-of-a-kind spirits, and this spirit was just the next ‘what if?’ and ‘can we even do it if we wanted?’” Zhdanov told VinePair, further explaining the distillation process. “[It] ended up coming from the practice of pechuga combined with several elements from brewing like using lactose for the cheese element and brewing a liquid bread for the bagel.”
011 PEC on Everything is the 10th installment in 3BR’s experimental Elevator Series, which includes oddities including a tomato liqueur and a turmeric-and-honey liqueur. The series gets its name from co-CEOs Aleksandr and Maksim Zhdanov’s grandfather, who illegally distilled spirits in Russia while working as an elevator engineer in the ‘80s.
The meaty new launch is a limited-edition release, but that could change in the near future. “I was originally planning this as a one off,” Zhdanov says, “but based on popularity this can probably become another staple we have year-round or at the very least during the summer.”
011 PEC on Everything is currently available at the distillery for $25 (375 ml). For those that stand on the Taylor Ham side of the legendary breakfast meat debate, 3BR offers a secondary label for the product, so as not to upset North Jerseyans.