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A distillery is fighting invasive crabs by turning them into whiskey

July 11, 2022 - from NPR:

"Green crabs are the invasive pests that have plagued North America's marine ecosystems for more than 200 years. A New Hampshire distillery is taking on the problem by using them to make green crab-flavored whiskey. Green crabs are so abundant that it's going to take a lot more than whiskey to curb the population, but some hope bringing awareness to the issue will lead to creative solutions.

"Tamworth Distilling's Crab Trapper whiskey gets some of its flavor from green crabs caught off the coast of New Hampshire. The crabs hitched a ride to the United States on ships coming from Europe around the 1800s. Here, they eat tons of shellfish and destroy estuaries and fish habitats.

"Will Robinson, the product developer at Tamworth Distilling who had the idea for the project, said the crabs were cleaned and prepared just like any other crab you might order at a restaurant.

"First, they make a crab stock. Then, they distill it using a vacuum still — a glass machine that allows for precise temperature control.

"Each bottle of whiskey uses about a pound of green crabs."