Chapter 61: Distilled Liquors (7)

The Bordeaux region was an ideal environment for growing grapes.

The grapevines from the tundra took root well in the Bordeaux region, and the dying grapes experienced a resurrection.

"It's grapes! Grapes!"

"It's a miracle! A miracle has happened!"

The revived grapes brought smiles to the faces of the farmers.

"I've never tasted a drink like this in my entire life."

"I didn't know wine could be made like this."

The reaction to Brandy was beyond expectations.

Meanwhile, the white grapes brought from the tundra had high acidity and were too astringent to be made into wine, but the result through distillation turning them into brandy was astonishing.

The aroma of the elven oak blends with the fruity notes, creating a complex yet rich flavor.

"This could be considered cognac."

The finest brandy, Cognac, produced from white grapes in the Cognac region of France.

The brandy made from tundra's white grapes had a taste similar as that of cognac.

I declared for the brandy made from tundra white grapes be named as 'cognac.'

It's a term that only applies to brandy made in the Cognac region, but no one in this world would complain about anything if it were to be used here.

And so, the first batch of brandy spread to the Elf Forest.

It was a means to appease the elves whose public sentiment had plummeted due to whiskey.

Recently, there has been a flood of complaints from the elves due to the oak barrel issue.

That said, I'm not omnipotent, and solving the barrel problem itself was impossible.

The nobles were cutting down trees to make oak barrels as they pleased, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.

So, instead of being able to solve the barrel problem, I was tried to soothing their hearts with brandy...

"Who would have thought they'd send oak barrels asking for cognac to be aged…"

I looked at the polar bears with incredulous eyes as they flew through the air.

The oak barrels, 'specially made' by the elves themselves, were lined up on the garden of the Blue Tower.

"These barrels look better quality than the ones used for whiskey."

"Yeah, even the texture of the wood looks and feels different."

The elves sent us these barrels saying, "Please age our brandy!" The oak barrels they sent were all too good to be used just as barrels and then discarded.

The quality it exuded was completely different from the oak barrels that had been sent us in bulk, claiming it was for whiskey.

"They asked us to stop cutting down trees."

When humans protested about cutting down trees, they were the ones going even further.

I wasn't an elf, so I don't know much for sure, but I occasionally spotted rare variants of wood that could be an issue even in elven society.

"Who the hell sent us branches from the World Tree?"

While looking around among the barrels that was sent, I discovered a cask made from the branches of the World Tree, and was taken aback.

Because it was the highest-grade magical materials that even wizards couldn't obtain.

I couldn't believe that there's a crazy elf sending this just for brewing alcohol.

Because it was anonymous, it was impossible to confirm who sent it.

Meanwhile, the elves' antics did not stop at just sending the oak barrels.

─I insist on only cognac, please. Absolutely!

─The oak barrels we're sending are of two types: white oak and black oak. Alternate the aging processes between them, but make the smoke flavor of the black oak stronger...

─The distillation process must be done by Aila herself at all costs.

Each barrel contained additional requests to be directed to Aria.

I only read a few sheets of paper orders, but my head was already spinning.

"This isn't some custom order..."

I knew the elves loved fruit wine, but I never expected it to be this extreme.

If I was so shocked, then how would Aria, the person involved feel?

"Just to let you know in advance, I can't do this."

"Don't worry. I won't make you do it either."

If it were just one or two, it wouldn't matter, but the elves' preferences for fruit wine were all different.

As a result, the types of wood used for the oak barrels varied greatly, leading to hundreds of different requests for "custom cognac."

To get all this done, Aria's waist would need to break at least four times.

It was a workload that even our tower master couldn't finish, let alone Aria.

"It would be right to use the magic circle."

If you use a magic circle for aging, it takes several months, but the advantage is that even regular wizards can age it themselves.

Of course, there were many opinions that the depth of aging was different from what Aria could achieve, but...

'What can't be done can't be done.'

Because we couldn't just grind up Aria to please the elves.

Of course, using a magic circle was also problematic.

To accommodate all these requests, it was at the level where we would have to set up a separate 'Custom Cognacs Department.'

The elves' requests were so overwhelming that my mouth dropped open, but the custom whiskey orders from the empire's nobles were no wasn't different either.

Especially those guys at the Ministry of Magic, I wonder where and how they manage to get such suspiciously high-quality oak barrels.

Anyway, using the magic circle under these circumstances also had its difficulties.

Because the wizards were too advanced to operate a custom department.

But I can't just ignore the incoming requests either...

"I guess I have to make a scroll?"

It seemed best to create a magic scroll with a drawn aging magic circle and distribute it.

Only provide the magic scrolls and let everyone customize them as they see fit.

"It would be better to do that."

Aria also strongly agreed with my opinion.

If we only make scrolls, it will be less burdensome, and the sales revenue will also greatly help our tower's finances.

Thus, having concluded to solve the aging issue with a scroll, we began full-scale brandy production.

*

Although the Fairy Whiskey had replaced the absence of wine, there were still many Northerners who longed for wine.

Although the prevailing opinion was that whiskey is better, it wasn't possible to give up the drink they had shared their whole life with all at once.

It was one of those days when people reminisced about the wine that had vanished.

"...Brandy?"

"Oh, it seems there's another new drink out."

"It seems like it's another collaboration between the Blue Tower and the White Tower this time."

"I heard that elves drink fruit wine in the forest."

"Is it a fruit wine that elves drink? How on earth did you manage to get that?"

"It's the White Tower, isn't it?"

"...Ah."

The elven fruit wine was a drink that could only be tasted in the Elf Forest.

They should have doubted the authenticity from the start, considering that such alcohol was distributed in the empire, but with just one word, 'White Tower,' the Northerners erased their doubts.

From tofu to dwarven beer, the place that distributed everything was the White Tower.

It wouldn't have been strange to bring just one bottle of fruit wine.

Above all, the taste of the brandy was more than enough to dispel any lingering doubts.

"...So this is elven wine."

"They said it was the dew of the forest, but is this what they meant?"

The Northerners were amazed by the aroma of brandy, which was different from whiskey.

The sweet aroma of dried fruit and the smooth texture of brandy pleasantly moisten the palate.

The brandy left a deep aftertaste, almost to the point of regret, as its aroma vanished like a mirage.

"Wow, I didn't know there was such a drink in the world!"

"…Ugh the burning sensation of the holy water is addictive no matter when and how you feel it."

The reviews of Brandy were so overwhelmingly positive, but what truly shocked the Northerners was something else entirely.

"Doesn't this wine smell like grapes?"

"...What? It's real."

"Weren't grapes cultivation impossible nowadays?"

The subtle scent of grapes lingered in the brandy.

In the midst of such brandy's grape aroma, the Northerners were harboring doubts.

Extra! Extra! Extra! Extra!

Flyers were scattered along the main street. Those who picked it up doubted their eyes.

[...The resurrection of grapes! Experience the fresh grapes grown under the sunlight of the Bordeaux region through Trion Trading Company's top selection! ]

"What, what is it?!"

"Are real grapes being cultivated?!"

It was an amazing story of how they succeeded in cultivating grapes in the Bordeaux region, and how brandy distilled from those grapes became holy water.

The news that the grapes had come back to life swept across the entire empire beyond the north, and the citizens of the empire rejoiced.

"Finally, I can taste grapes again!"

"Is grape-flavored Sunkist coming back?"

Even without wine, grapes were consumed quite a bit just as fruit themselves.

Since processed foods using grapes were also actively being researched, the revival of grapes was welcome news for the citizens of the empire.

Above all, to the farmers who operated the grape farm, this was like a ray of light amidst a darken sky.

Many people who visited the Bordeaux region, and the method of grape's cultivation spread.

"It worked it worked!"

"The grapevines are perfectly fine!"

"Sniffle!"

The white grapevines, which endured the harsh conditions of the tundra, took root in various regions of the empire with their remarkable adaptability, and the farmers shed tears of joy.

And this led to a praise for Yuri who resurrected the grapes.

"They say it was Yuri who revived the grapes!"

"What?! Yuri-nim?! Is it really Yuri?!"

"As expected! I knew it!

The citizens of the empire were surprised yet fully convinced by the fact that reviving grapes was advantageous.

"I've been suspicious from the beginning."

"Well, if someone else had resurrected the grapes, that would be even weirder."

In the empire, whenever a new incident occurred, there was a tendency to associate it with Yuri.

And this interest in Yuri has shed new light on his previous actions.

"Not just grapes. They said he saved the North from the Polar Bear's invasion."

The 'Fairy Coke Northern Salvation Theory' that spread among the nobles of the capital has been re-exported to the North.

"...Did such a thing happen?"

"Why didn't I know this?"

Upon hearing this, the Northerners tilted their heads in confusion at the origin story of Fairy Coke.

Even those who had never left the North were hearing it for the first time that they had been in danger.

However, most Northerners did not pay much attention to the truth of the matter.

"Huh, our region was in danger."

"Are you saying that Fairy Coke was the thing that stopped the polar bear invasion? That's amazing!"

"I think the Tundra Conquest is amazing too."

The Northerners were not so narrow-minded as to dig into the truth just because they were suspicious.

The contributions that Yuri made when he came to the North were incredibly impressive.

"Holy water is the best!"

"Cold weather pairs best with holy water! Mwahahaha!"

"Cheers!"

The atmosphere was such that even the development of just one 'distilled spirit' was enough to forgive everything.

The scorching heat of 'holy water' was driving away the cold wave from the north.

And now, Yuri that turned that holy water into alcohol and sprinkled it all over the northern tavern district.

"It's been a while, Yuri."

"Yes, it's been a while."

"You know why I'm here, right?"

"...I can guess."

He was receiving a visit from Saint Yusephine.