When you think of the Prohibition-era production of illegal alcoholic spirits, Appalachia and the Chicago mob come immediately to mind — but a little area of northwestern New Mexico known as Candy Kitchen brings moonshine folklore a little closer to home.

Nestled on the border between Cibola and McKinney counties, Candy Kitchen was once — or so legend has it — the home of a rancher who, in an effort to hide the fact that he was purchasing large amounts of sugar to distill illegal spirits, began making piñon candy to justify his sweet inventory to the lookey-loos. And while New Mexico has its fair share of historically relevant outlaws, moonshiners haven't exactly made the short list of regional folks to boast about at dinner parties.

Since the repeal of Prohibition, New Mexico lawmakers have tightened the noose on liquor regulation. For one White Rock couple, doing it on the sly was never an option. But if you think Ron and Ohla Dolin — owner/operators of New Mexico's only licensed dispenser-distillery — are lacking the outlaw spirit, think again.

Don Quixote Distillery, like all great things, began as an idea that would be fueled by a shared passion. Ron, an engineer by trade and a tinkerer by nature, built his first experimental still in 1979. His wife, Ohla, a Ukrainian transplant, is the daughter of a former riverboat captain. When times were tough and trade was scarce, Ohla's father lured potential deckhands to his boat by making a powerful — and quite popular — vodka product.

The pair eventually procured an alcohol still from Ohla's family in the Ukraine, and, after convincing a security hand at the airport that it was for purifying water, began experimenting with their new contraption stateside. After passing the lengthy, complicated federal and state requirements for operating a legal spirits-manufacturing business in the United States, Don Quixote Distillery became operative in 2003.

Local firewater

Earlier this year, I spotted a few bottles of hand-crafted liquor sitting on a back shelf at Santacafé's bar; weeks later, the restaurant hosted a tasting of the Dolins' wares, matched with food prepared by chef Angel Estrada and his brigade.

The Dolins are as passionate about their product as they are about each other, and with every sip, a bit of history and product background was offered about their small-batch operation.

The Don Quixote product line includes grappa, a grape-based brandy of Italian origin; malvasia grappa, a varietal brandy that takes advantage of the malvasia blanca grape grown in southern New Mexico; a white grape-based brandy; a Pisco-style brandy fashioned after a spirit the originated in Spanish-Colonial New Mexico; a 100 percent naturally distilled vodka made from organic New Mexico-grown blue corn; a calvados-style apple brandy that utilizes fruit from the Río Grande Valley; and an eau de vie, in this case a fermented, non-aged cherry brandy.

Our curious group of diner-drinkers was also privy to a sample of spirits the Dolins were still tinkering with at the time — a gin steeped with macerated local botanicals (juniper berries, piñon nuts, rose hips and chamisa). It tasted like New Mexico in a bottle — albeit with a noticeable afterburn.

Don Quixote Distillery prides itself on culling a majority of its ingredients from New Mexico sources. A major factor in securing licensing for their business in the state was promising lawmakers to source a majority of their necessary ingredients from New Mexico — right down to the water. A Jemez Mountain aquifer provides the Dolans with 100,000-plus-year-old water which, when filtered through the naturally occurring volcanic pumice, is partially stripped of metals that can adversely affect the flavor of spirits during the operation's heat-dependent distillation process.

In terms of "keeping it local," and in the midst of a newly energized national push for a sustainable food supply, Don Quixote Distillery goes a few steps further to ensure that its products adhere to the criteria of hand-crafted and locally made. Many of its French-oak barrels used for aging come second-hand from Gruet winery, a celebrated New Mexico brand.

The Dolins also make good use of the 6,500-foot altitude in the Los Alamos area, which allows them to distill at cooler temperatures. Doing so uses less energy, because the boiling point there is roughly 20 degrees Fahrenheit less than at sea level. An added bonus is that the less heat the spirit is exposed to, the less chance there is that unfavorable flavors will be imparted to the final product.

"It's a win-win," Ron Dolin mentioned between pours. "We're trying to be as green as possible without sacrificing the quality of our spirits, and everyone from the farmer, the lawmaker, the producer (and) the distributor to the consumer is in the loop."

If you want to be in the Don Quixote Distillery loop, call your local bar, restaurant, or liquor retailer, and ask if they carry the product line. New Mexico law doesn't allow the distiller to disclose its retail clients, but the company's distributor, Boutique Wines of New Mexico (471-1757), maintains a list of local retailers that carry the Don Quixote brand. A Web site for the company — www.donquixotedistillery.com — is also in the works.

In other words, Toto, we're not in Candy Kitchen anymore.







*Albuquerque

Scalo

*Santa Fe

Amaya Restaurant at Hotel Santa Fe

Pranzo Italian Grill

Río Chama Steakhouse

Santacafé

The Pink Adobe

*Los Alamos

La Vista Restaurant at Best Western Hilltop House Hotel

*Taos

El Monte Sagrado Living Resort

Sabroso Restaurant & Bar

Stakeout Bar & Grill

Taos Inn




Kaune Food Town

Kokoman Fine Wines and Liquors (Pojoaque)

Liquor Barn

Saints & Sinners (Española)

Susan's Fine Wines & Spirits