Distillery uses green crab in whisky to help protect ecosystem

Tamworth Distilling has created, in collaboration with a University of New Hampshire team, a green crab-flavored whiskey dubbed Crab Trapper.

This drink also seeks to find a use for New Hampshire's unwanted green crab population, which wreaks havoc on the state’s coastal ecosystem in its New England region.

Shellfisheries are plagued by green crabs, which first arrived in North America via European merchant ships in the 1800s, by burrowing into the sand and each consuming up to 50 clams, oysters, or mussels per day.

Their activities also harm the ecosystem, a problem made worse by climate change. Despite being recommended as tasty empanada meat, the crabs have few practical applications.

Green crabs are edible, though they are notoriously low yield, posing significant challenges to being used in conventional culinary creations. Currently, there is no strategy in place to control the populations of green crabs, and there is no real commercial market or fishery for these invaders, according to Will Robinson, distiller at Tamworth Distilling.

The Crab Trapper whiskey’s modified sour mash bourbon base, are infused with ideal crab essence from green crabs harvested from Seabrook, New Hampshire, that were cooked down to a crab stock, fortified with neutral grain spirits, and distilled.

Crab Trapper whiskey, which is bottled at 51 percent ABV, is described as presenting notes of maple, vanilla, and caramel on the nose, followed by flavors like cinnamon, clove, and all-spice.

The limited-run whiskey is for sale in 200-milliliter bottles priced at $65 and can be found while supplies last at Seelbachs.com, Philadelphia's Art in the Age, or directly from the Tamworth Distillery at shop.tamworthdistilling.com.