Day Trip: Sebastian Gomez, Träkál

“It’s a wild, fantastical place,” Sebastian Gomez says of his adopted home of Patagonia, Chile. Originally from Argentina, the founder and head distiller of Träkál lived in the U.K. and U.S. before he moved to a remote corner of Patagonia. His goal? To take his passion for spirits and distill something that captures the vast landscapes of the region. In 2017, he debuted his initial run of 1,000 cases of Träkál, a singular spirit distilled from indigenous fruits and infused with herbs and botanicals from Patagonian forests. Neither a gin nor a brandy, Träkál occupies its own category in the U.S. government’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) classification system. Here, Gomez shares a glimpse into his fiercely independent operation.

7 a.m.

I get up and start puttering around with my two dogs. I make myself tea and eggs, give the dogs a bite to eat, then check my emails and walk them around for a bit before I head out.

8:30 a.m.

I drive my truck over to the fairs in Río Bueno and Río Negro, Chile, to see what fruit is being offered. “I’ll take anything that looks like an apple or a pear,” I tell the farmers. Everything that goes into Träkál is sourced within 100 square miles of our water source, so creating relationships with farmers in the area is important.

11 a.m.

I take everything I bought at the fairs in my truck and drive over to the distillery. There’s a couple across the street from Träkál who have a cidery and help us press our fruit sometimes, so I drop it off there.

Noon

I arrive at the distillery and taste the first distillations of the day with Danny [Daniel Vergara Levican, the distillery lead]. Danny and I met years ago. He was working on a roofing project nearby. I asked if he wanted to learn something new, and he said, “I always want to learn something new.” I thought that was just the perfect answer. Danny’s wife, Tammy [Tamara Carriel], works with us, too, as the administrative lead. The three of us built the distillery from the ground up. I’m honored to have them as partners.

1 p.m.

I’m at my desk in the distillery coordinating distribution, writing marketing materials, and strategizing about the new products we’re working on. My dad calls, too, just to see what I’m up to [laughs].

1:30 p.m.

We break for lunch. It’s all family-style, not like ordering from a restaurant: An older lady in the area cooks something in her kitchen and comes by with her pots. Danny, Tammy, and I eat with whoever else is at the distillery that day.

2:30 p.m.

I’m back in my office on the phone and answering emails. I’m working with a Chilean ministry to try to create an agricultural innovation fund. There’s so much fruit here, and rather than letting it go to waste, I want to raise money for mobile fermenting and mobile distilling equipment so more people can get in the game. I’m also writing a curriculum for Universidad de los Lagos, a public university in Patagonia, on how to be a distiller. I want to encourage other people to do this, to start their own businesses.

4 p.m.

A group of bartenders and servers from local restaurants come to tour the distillery. We show them what we’re doing, how the stills work, and everything that goes into making Träkál.

6 p.m.

Danny and I close up the distillery for the day, and I check my WhatsApp messages. One of the bartenders always forgets to place an order and needs more Träkál right away. I have a few cases in my truck, so I drop off some bottles on my way home. I don’t mind doing it. You don’t stay on menus very long if you don’t keep your product in your accounts.