Blacksmyth: Black Garlic Balsamic

Made in collaboration with chef John Shields of three Michelin Starred Smyth, this jack-of-all-trades ferment is like a traditional aged balsamic vinegar with a unique black garlic character. Blackened local garlic bulbs are fermented and reduced to a syrupy vinegar that’s infused with roasted foraged persimmons, local bitter lemons, and roasted kombu to build additional layers of flavor.

Use just like balsamic vinegar, especially with:

• Red meat, poultry, game, and tofu
• Soft cheeses
• Bread and olive oil
• Green onions and spring greens
• Fresh tomatoes
• Roasted squash
• Macerated strawberries
• Dairy desserts like panna cotta

A ferment 10 years in the making
Working as a cook for John Shields was one of the formative experiences of Daniel’s culinary career. At the time, John and his wife Karen were the chefs at a restaurant called Townhouse in Chilhowie, Virginia, where they made some of the best meals in the country deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains for just a few intrepid diners a night. John encouraged us to explore, innovate, and use the natural world as inspiration for the food we created, and part of Daniel’s job was to forage ingredients for the cold dishes we served. Roaming the countryside for edible flowers and herbs lit the spark for the foraging and fermenting we do at Lindera Farms.

Today, John is the chef and owner of Smyth, a restaurant in Chicago with three Michelin stars and a slot on San Pellegrino’s Top 100 restaurants in the world. He continues to push boundaries blending disparate flavors, ingredients, and techniques into beautiful dishes.

We wanted to create a product with Smyth that captures John’s style and creativity, which for us meant blending savory, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami as deftly as John, Karen, and their team do. The result is a savory balsamic vinegar that’s rich with the fermented flavors of black garlic. The label Matt designed for this bottle is a wrought-iron “smithed” take on Smyth’s logo, softened with organic shapes of the ingredients used in brewing Blacksmyth itself. 

This project synthesizes over a decade of brewing, foraging, and experimentation at Lindera Farms. We’re honored to partner with John and hope you enjoy using it as much as we loved brewing it.

4oz/118ml