Yeah, corngeat. It tastes just like whey syrup but without the dairy. I may have unconsciously veganized my own cocktail list. I remember A.D. doing all sorts of cool shit with corn and koji. Corn is a funny one. It’s used for so many things. Think about it. The wrong feed for cows, whiskey, tortilla chips, drinking cups, sugar, cooking oil…the list goes on and on. How odd is that? This native plant, actually related to grass, the staple of my childhood, used for so many different purposes?

It all started with a bunch of hominy corn we had stored upstairs. No one was using it, so I thought why the hell not? Anyway, here’s what I started with. I think it can be better but the result, a sour amazake, was pretty goddam good, especially when made into a syrup. Note here: I didn’t cook the corn ahead of time, which I should have. Whoopsie daisy. I’m going to do it again today with cooked hominy. I’ll let it cool down then add the leftover corn and rice mash which I’m assuming is still fully inoculated with koji.

Hominy Corn Amazake

4 cups hominy corn

2 cups koji rice

8 cups water

I cook at 135° for 15 hours then let sit for seven days. Yes, you heard that right. That’s how you do it. It produces a super sour delicious liquid that tastes just like whey once strained off. I superbagged it then pureed it with equal parts by weight sugar.

What’s the whole point here? I don’t know. I’ve tried to insert corn into cocktails for years now. It’s always a mixed result. In Mexico there’s a thick dessert drink called Atole de Elote. It’s a pureed corn beverage with piloncillo, cinnamon, and vanilla served warm in a clay mug. I’ve never had the authentic version or any version for that matter. When Angel talks about it he gets that far off, distant look in his eyes. Would something like that work at Rustic? Who the hell knows? We don’t have the space or technology but we could do something close…On Tuesdays only…

So stay tuned…It’ll be another week until the next version of this comes through. That’s both the fun and annoyance of making amazake or anything fermented for that matter. You’ve gotta wait, dude. At the end of it you have no idea what could be lurking in there.

We’ll get to the bottom of this eventually.