By Richard Thomas Rating: B Up in St. Paul, Minnesota, three guys teamed up to open a gastropub style micro-distillery, King Coil Spirits. The collective story of Matthew Lange, Matthew Zanetti and Jeremy Maynor is a pretty familiar one to those who know the craft spirits scene. Zanetti is a businessman, and after two decades …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Lexington Brewing & Distilling’s Town Branch 7 Year Old Single Malt is a product of brewstilling synergy. Whether the whiskey was made with the distillery’s pot still is unknown, but what is known is that it was aged for seven-plus years in old Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale barrels. That drink, …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- Although some folks think malt whiskey is a thing best left to the Scots, Irish and the rest of the world, and Americans ought to stay out of it, the American Single Malt is on the precipice of becoming a thing. The American Single Malt Whiskey Commission is now very …
By Richard Thomas Rating: For more than a decade, American Malt Whiskey has been the unquestioned domain of the craft distiller. The mixology-driven Rye Crunch of 2011-12 gave small whiskey-makers some space to carve out a niche in reviving moribund rye whiskey styles, but most rye sold is still made by big distillers in Canada …
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- California distiller Redwood Empire embraces their titular theme fully, with their releases named after the oldest and tallest of the state’s famous sequoia trees. Foggy Burl is a 347-foot tall skyscraper of a tree, the name coming from its especially burly base and one of its main sources of water. …
In the vast expanse of the United States, a journey through local distilleries reveals the diverse and rich landscape of craft spirits. Each region contributes to the nation’s growing craft scene, offering unique flavors and artisanal creations. Join us as we traverse the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky, delve into the innovative spirits of the Pacific …
By Kurt Maitland American whiskey has changed. Bourbon and rye are still dominant, but craft is a vibrant thing, and it feels like American Single Malt has seen more and more attention on the domestic scene. But lots of distilleries fly under the radar and are only known to an observant few. Thankfully we have …
Lost Lantern has built a solid reputation as a European-style negociant, buying consignments of whiskey from small distillers in the United States and offering them up in their own blends and as single cask bottlings. Now they have taken the next step, and put out their shingle on a brick and mortar storefront with their …
By Richard Thomas The American Single Malt isn’t an official thing yet, but it seem inevitable that it will become one in the near future, and heretofore that has been a category dominated by small and medium-sized distillers. Yet it seems Brown Forman is showing some serious interest in the category. First came Woodford Reserve …
St. George’s Spirits is an example of both craft whiskey before there was craft whiskey and a forerunner of the American Single Malt scene. They have announced the upcoming release of the 23rd lot of their single malt whiskey, which points directly at both of those facts. To create this year’s blend, head distiller/blender, Dave …
