Despite sometimes being referred to as the “king of fruits,” durian is easily one of the more contentious foods out there. That’s because the stinky fruit emits an overpowering odor that tends to elicit intense feelings of love or disgust. But that’s not the only flavor you’ll sense in a sip of the pungent brandy. The spirit is also distilled from indole, an organic compound that can smell either floral or putrid depending on the concentration.
— New Hampshire-based Tamworth Distilling will launch their new Corpse Flower brandy next month. (Eau de Musc, a whiskey scented with castoreum, is available now, as is their Sierra Fig Cordial.) Read more in Spirit of the Times? This Distiller Made a Brandy That Smells Like “Death and Decay” at Robb Report.
I’m one of those people who adore the flavor of durian, I astonished our guide in Myanmar by seeking it out and eating it whenever I could. My husband? He backed away from me like I had 2 heads! But the smell? Oh lord, it’s bad.
And I’ve smelled a corpse flower, several times in fact, and they do smell like putrid meat. Not a scent that would entice me to drink!
Me thinks the novelty flavor wars are going off the rails.
Possibly going off the rails, or possibly this is delicious, hard to say!