When you walk through the doors at Emiction Distilling you get the feeling the world can be a  better place. These are the words spoken by owner David Frothingham. You’ll usually find him with one thumb firmly hooked in his trademark rainbow suspenders, a snifter of his newest concoction in the other hand.

With so many distilleries opening up and selling sub-par alcohol in highly stylized bottles, what makes Emiction so great? Why are they taking over cocktail menus all over town? What are they doing that no one else in town can recreate?

“Anyone can start a distillery, but who’s really thinking about the purity and sterility of the liquid they’re using?” Frothingham states. “We looked at many water sources for purity from all over the world, but I just wasn’t getting the piquancy I needed. That’s when I decided to take things into my own hands, or bladder if you will.”

“People get squeamish at first, but after a quick 15-minute presentation they understand why what I’m doing is better for the environment, it’s a stigma I think we can all get past with science to a degree, but we are taking a more holistic approach. We’re looking at the circle of life within our bodies and recognizing the value within. Urine is sterile, it’s a serious fluid and we’re never going to run out of it. Distilling it was the next logical step.”

So he installed a dry, gravity-fed urinal system that feeds into an underground tank which gravity feeds into his underground still. he painstakingly works underground to create flavors and smells that add that little extra something to his creations.“We strive for uniformity on our flagship brands like our Juniper Brusselsparagus Gin and our Squirt Vodka, but sometimes I just like to piddle around with it.”

 “We’ve got a literal swimming pool underneath this floor and we’re building more overflow every day. Let’s just say, I’ve really been having fun tinkering with flavor profiles.” One day he’ll force his customers to consume full heads of raw garlic before they can order a drink, the next, it’s gin week and a food truck pops up in his parking lot to serve nothing but grilled asparagus and roasted Brussel sprouts, the next day nothing but celery and fruit.” I also enjoy finishing my blends with a locally roasted cold press coffee piss to give some depth and robustness.” 

Never one to rest on his laurels, Frothingham has begun experimenting with infusing protein into his blends, with wild-caught Salmon Eau de Vie and Brown Banana Mudslide about to be released, “I’m going to need to make a lot of water before they’re ready, but I’m really excited about these brand extensions,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “ The banana liqueur is a real potassium bomb. ”

Right now Frothingham is focusing on a give-back project with a local urologist. His focus is to shine a light on people who suffer through kidney stones and urinary tract infections. Having patients ingest beetroot blackberry blueberry rhubarb smoothies, which then turns their urine red or pink, “I never realized the role that color and pain can play with the elemental breakdown of this is making me wet!” Frothingham plans on releasing this new line in late 2021.