In a room with closed doors and windows, there was a strong smell of wine.
At the same time, there was the gurgling sound of the wine boiling.
"Come on, come on!" Gavin muttered excitedly as he watched the amber liquid flowing from the copper pot.
Samwell was rather calm. After all, he had seen such a scene countless times in his previous life. However, his eyes were still staring straight at the exit of the copper pot.
As more and more liquid came out, Gavin couldn't help but say,
"My lord, can I have a taste?"
"Yes."
With permission, Gavin immediately brought a small cup and took some of the distilled wine , and immediately took a sip.
In the next second, Samwell saw the young steward tightly closed his eyes, his facial features were crowded together, body trembling slightly for a moment, and finally he couldn't help cough: "
"Ahem...ahem...my lord , What a strong wine!"
Seeing this, Samwell also took some wine in a small cup, put it near tip of his nose and smelled it, and then took a sip .
The strong taste exploded in the mouth, like a tumbling flame, stimulating every taste bud.
In fact, the taste of the wine that has just been distilled is not good, the taste is too spicy, and the aroma is not enough.
But Samwell laughed out loud.
Because, this is exactly the taste he has been striving for.
After this distilled wine goes through two steps of blending and aging, the wine will absorb enough oak aroma and combines with the substances produced by the oxidation of its own tannins to form the unique and wonderful aroma of brandy.
He believes that this taste will definitely conquer the nobles of Westeros, making brandy a must-have at their banquets and a treasure in their wine cellar.
Seeing that the experiment was successful, Samwell finally felt relieved and asked Gavin:
"Has Buso's son joined the guard?"
"Yes, my lord. I did it myself."
"Very good."
Gavin peeked at Samwell and said hesitantly,
"My lord, I also stuffed one more person into the guard..."
"Who?" Samwell's face showed no joy nor anger.
"A savage named Ucha..." Gavin became more and more anxious.
"From Tiger tooth Village?"
"Yes."
"Tell me, what's the reason ?" Actually, Samwell was not angry.
Gavin was his attendant at the beginning, and now he has become the steward of the territory and as his confidant, he should have some privileges.
What's more, he also took the initiative to confess to himself.
"He has a sister named Wuna, who is very kind to me and gave me a pair of tiger leather gloves..."
Samwell suddenly understood, and said with a smile,
"Have you taken a fancy to this girl?"
Seeing Samwell Not angry, Gavin secretly heaved a sigh of relief and nodded.
"It's a good thing. Pick a date for yourself, and I will officiate the wedding for you personally."
"Thank you, my lord!"
"After you are married, Wuna will be in charge of operating this still."
"Yes, my lord!" Gavin immediately understood, "I will tell her to keep it secret."
There is no way, because Samwell really lacks trustworthy people, so he had no choice but to focus on Gavin's new bride.
"Well the raw material for making wine is mountain grapes. You can let the leaders go to the mountains to pick wild ones first, but you have to start planning to plant them in batches.... You probably don't understand this?" Gavin shook his head
"Then ask the savages, someone should understand..." Samwell thought for a while, but still shook his head, "Forget it, they probably won't understand, I'd better teach them myself.
" "
Samwell waved his hand and continued:
"You go and organize the female savages who are married these days, and I will personally teach them how to grow mountain grapes, as well as the subsequent picking, juicing, and fermentation processes. Afterwards, for distillation, I need your Wuna to do it. When the scale expands in the future, I will find some helpers for her. As for the storage later, I will first find carpenters to build a batch of oak barrels, and then you will arrange people to fill the wine. "
After explaining this ,
Samwell thought for a while, and then urged:
"In addition, each process must be done by different people, and people who are related by blood should be assigned to the same process as much as possible."
"Yes, my lord. "Although Gavin didn't understand the intention of Samwell's move, he still nodded and wrote it down.
"This is to minimize the possibility of someone figuring out the entire brewing process." Samwell simply explained.
Of course, he was not worried that someone would be able to imitate the brandy quickly.
Because this process seems simple, but in fact there are many small details in it, which are lessons learned from years of practice. A little error will lead to a great change in flavor.
Inexperienced people are destined to take countless detours and spend a lot of time imitating.
What's more, he also mastered the manufacturing method of the core device of the still.
That blacksmith named Buso, he would never let this person leave Bleak Island.
Gavin could also feel that Samwell attached great importance to this brewing technology, so he reminded:
"My lord, the blacksmith who made this distiller is a citizen of Upland City. If he returns to Mullendore Road a year later The family..."
"Don't worry, he can't go back." Samwell said with a smile, "Not only him, but everyone who comes to Bleak Island will be my people."
"But Viscount Martyn of Highland City may not agree..."
"He will agree, because I will make a condition that he cannot refuse."
Gavin rubbed his head, as if he understood something, but he didn't dare to ask more.
Samwell didn't explain much, and instead said:
"I'm going to Arbor Island in three days, and then you will be in charge of the daily affairs here in Bleak Island." "
"Okay, my lord." Gavin responded with some trepidation.
Although Gavin is now Samwell's Steward , he has long been used to obeying his master's orders in everything. Now that he suddenly has to make up his own mind, he is inevitably a little flustered.
"Don't be nervous." Samwell smiled and comforted, "It's fine as usual. If you have any doubts, just wait until I come back."
"Yes, my lord." Gavin thought for a while, and then said with some worry, "My lord, if the savages attack again, I'm worried if you're not here..."
"So you should spread the news that I'm leaving as soon as possible."
"Ah?" Hearing Samwell's unreasonable answer, Gavin was stunned After a while and suddenly realized, "My lord, would you pretend to leave just to lure those restless savages to attack Bleak Island again?"
"Yes, if they are smart, it's better they not come. But If they really dare to come again, then I will take this opportunity to completely solve this hidden danger."
Gavin was obviously relieved, and said with a smile: "Okay, I will spread the news as soon as possible."
Samwell reminded again:
"But , I am indeed going to Arbor Island, the food and living supplies in the territory are almost exhausted, and with the increasing number of people in my territory, we must have a stable material supply line."
Gavin nodded and understood: "My lord, do you want to transport supplies from Arbor Island by sea?"
"Yes, my territory is in the Red Mountains. If it is too expensive to go by land, the sea route is the most suitable choice."
In fact , Samwell wanted to have a good chat with the Arbor Island lord, Earl Paxter, in addition to opening up the sea transportation channel.
The pirate route that Madam Olenna had arranged for him before must have included the participation of Earl Paxter, after all, the plan needed ships and sailors from arbor Island.
Of course, Samwell definitely doesn't need these things now, but he can talk about investment.
In addition, Arbor Island, as the most famous wine producing area in Westeros, is suitable as the place where his brandy can debut for the first time.
[END]