I Became a Food Developer in Another World - C56

Episode 56

**Note:** The part previously mentioned as ‘Valentine Whiskey’ has been corrected to ‘Blended Whiskey.’

What I introduced to Mirtin was a ‘blended whiskey’ made by mixing barley with various other ingredients.

‘Blended,’ as the term suggests, means mixed.

In the past, various farms would distill leftover barley and sell the raw alcohol at general stores, which families would then ‘blend’ according to their tastes. This was the essence of blended whiskey.

With several raw spirits mixed together, it had a good balance, making it smooth and easy to drink.

“It’s a bit ambiguous to consider it a brand.”

This whiskey was made using only ingredients from this world.

While there might be a way to replicate the taste of aged distilled spirits through alchemy, that would require further research.

Ultimately, the whiskey I served to Mirtin was purely a blend created from ingredients unique to this world, based on Aria’s ‘taste.’

Of course, the base consisted of the whiskeys I had tasted in my previous life.

Aria skillfully combined those flavors to create her own blended whiskey.

Honestly, I’m not sure if it should even be called blended.

I definitely showed her blended whiskeys, but aside from barley, she packed it full of corn.

So, while it was called blended, it was essentially closer to American-style corn whiskey.

Seeing her instinctively follow the American style without me even mentioning it felt strange.

However, perhaps it was because the elves aged their fruit wines in oak barrels.

“This could substitute for wine.”

The sweet fruit aroma from the oak barrel made Mirtin’s eyes glaze over dreamily.

The whiskey Aria created had a characteristic smoothness, reminiscent of sweetened fruits without being sticky.

One could say it tasted like roasted marshmallows.

“Indeed, the wood comes from the Elf Mountains.”

The first tasting of the whiskey concluded successfully.

*

The first whiskey in this world began production with the permission of the Celestial Wine Mirtin.

Barley and corn were sourced by the dwarves, and they distilled it to extract the spirit (alcohol).

However, adjusting the alcohol content was crucial…

“Is this enough?”

“Yes, it’s perfect.”

Ayla skillfully adjusted the alcohol content through delicate magical manipulation.

It reached a high proof of 60%, but the northern folk enjoyed high-proof drinks to forget the cold winters.

Considering that this level of alcohol seemed appropriate.

And Ayla extracted the alcohol with precision, leaving no room for error.

Her abilities were truly those of a human distillery.

‘And it doesn’t cost a thing.’

Distilling with magic was far superior in terms of cost and time compared to simply boiling or freezing.

The magic circle Ayla inscribed could adjust the whiskey’s alcohol content with minimal magical energy.

Especially, what Ayla was directly involved in was not just simple alcohol but’magical water’ containing highly pure magic.

Literally, it was a ‘whiskey potion.’

Ayla’s whiskey, infused with high-purity magic, had a flavor and aroma so deep it felt as if it had aged for years.

But above all, what could be considered cheating was Aria.

‘It’s astonishing every time I see it.’

When Ayla distilled the whiskey and placed it in the Elf Mountain oak barrels, Aria aged it simply by placing her hand on the barrel and concentrating.

Then, the magic of the barrel would mistakenly think it had aged, causing it to expel its components.

This not only shortened the aging time but also addressed the issue of evaporation, which is why whiskey can be expensive.

I’ve heard that American whiskey faces severe evaporation issues, making it difficult to age for over ten years.

Yet Aria’s ultra-fast aging resolved this evaporation problem in one fell swoop.

It would have been a sight to make whiskey manufacturers from my past life clutch their necks in disbelief.

Of course, if I later set up a magic circle for automated processes, it would take much longer than this.

‘But still, just a few months is a trap.’

“What do you think?”

“Excellent.”

I nodded as I sipped the whiskey Aria poured. It wasn’t flattery.

‘It really tastes like roasted marshmallows.’

The sweet yet deep fruit aroma and smooth texture were a work of art.

It melted away like marshmallows, disappearing dreamily from my mouth.

Perhaps that’s why it had an addictive quality that made me keep sipping.

Above all, the gentle amber color of the whiskey in the glass was a treat for the eyes.

Thus, I named it ‘Fairy Whiskey,’ meaning ‘the drink of fairies.’

With dwarven grains, elf oak barrels, and the distilling ability of Ayla along with the aging craft of Aria, the cost-effectiveness was excellent.

This world’s whiskey was a cheat combination that couldn’t fail.

*

The most popular drink in the north is high-proof wine.

While Guinness beer and cola were trending in the empire, wine still held the highest popularity in the north.

People enjoyed getting drunk on wine to forget the cold of the north.

However, unfortunately for the northerners, one day, a catastrophic event occurred: all the grapes were wiped out.

Due to increased trade from the Vikings, pests from across the sea devastated the empire’s grape crops.

Most grape farms in the north, which took the hardest hit, closed down, and grape production plummeted to less than a quarter.

This news was like a bolt from the blue for the northerners who depended on wine.

“No wine?! What does that mean?!”

“Are you telling me to drink water instead?!”

For the northerners, who would wake up in the morning to drink wine, have a glass during lunch, and gather at pubs after work to enjoy wine together, wine was irreplaceable, almost like a lifeline.

However, the unprecedented pestilence took wine away from the northerners.

Even prohibition laws couldn’t prevent the northerners from being forced into a state of enforced sobriety.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Magic offered a hopeful analysis, suggesting that this incident would lead to improved health for the northerners.

They speculated that quitting wine would bring about various beneficial changes. But…

“I’m sleepy all day and have a headache.”

“My confidence is plummeting, and I’m feeling lethargic.”

“I keep reacting irritably to trivial matters. I can’t sleep, and I sometimes feel dizzy.”

“My hands and feet are trembling.”

The northerners exhibited symptoms that were in direct opposition to the Ministry of Magic’s predictions.

They found no beneficial changes from quitting wine.

And one day, when the northerners were suffering from extreme stress due to not being able to drink wine…

“What is that?”

“…Fairy Whiskey?”

A drink unfamiliar to the northerners, who frequented pubs daily in search of wine, caught their eye.

“Hey, owner. Is that whiskey written over there possibly wine?”

“It’s not wine, but it’s a newly released drink intended to substitute for wine.”

“A substitute for wine?”

“Where is there a drink that can substitute for wine? Speak sense.”

Naturally, Fairy Whiskey was initially met with indifference by the northerners.

Having only ever consumed brewed drinks, especially wine and whiskey, a distilled spirit, was an unfamiliar beverage they hesitated to try.

However, as the grape shortage continued, people naturally began to look for alternatives, and those who tried Fairy Whiskey started to appear one by one.

“…Huh? What is this taste?”

“It’s… sweet! So smooth.”

Everyone who tasted Fairy Whiskey praised it.

The deep flavor of Fairy Whiskey, reminiscent of decades of aging, was enough to impress the northerners.

As the name suggests, Fairy Whiskey, which vanished dreamily, felt almost magical.

Above all, what captivated the northerners about Fairy Whiskey was its high ‘proof.’

The whiskey boasted an alcohol content nearly three times higher than the wine they enjoyed.

“This is it! Yes, this is what I’ve been looking for!”

“Oh, it’s warm.”

The alcohol from the whiskey warmed the bodies of the northerners, who cheered.

“With this, I won’t need wine.”

“I actually prefer this whiskey to wine.”

With its deep flavor and high proof, Fairy Whiskey quickly began to replace wine.

In fact, the northerners no longer sought wine, which had a lower alcohol content than whiskey.

“Ah, my throat is warm.”

“It feels like my insides are burning.”

The hot sensation from the whiskey’s high proof was appealing to the northerners.

This was a new sensation they had never experienced with wine.

And when the northerners learned about the whiskey-making process, they were once again astonished.

“…What? This was made with holy water!?”

“No wonder!”

The fact that whiskey was made from ‘holy water’ instantly dispelled any lingering unfamiliarity the northerners had with whiskey.

Holy water held a special significance for the people of the empire.

There was no aversion to the very idea of drinking it.

The fact that ‘potions’ were made from holy water was well-known among the general populace.

As whiskey gained popularity among the northerners, a unique trend emerged.

“I don’t mind mixing it with cola.”

“Ah, the aroma is masked, but I like it this way.”

This was simply a unique drinking habit enjoyed by those who liked cola.

“Ahhh…”

“White bear!”

“Ahhh!”

Until a man faced a white bear and threw away the cola whiskey he was drinking to escape.

“Ahhh…”

The white bear, who found the cola whiskey that had fallen to the ground, had its mouth stretched wide.

“Delicious.”

The image of the blue mage tower on the bottle caught the white bear’s eye.