SAMPLE A

Distillery: Santa Fe Spirits in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Name: Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey

Proof: 92 Proof (46% ABV)

Age Statement: 3 Years

Mashbill: 100% Mesquite Smoked Malted Barley

Color/Appearance: Reflexive apple juice

Aroma Notes: Sweet hickory smoke, cinnamon, baked apple, plum, cider

Tasting Notes: Roasted peppers, grilled peaches, apple pie, creamy malt

Finish: Long, soft tingle on the front of your palate, ginger, nutmeg, oak

Our Take: American Single Malt is a category of whiskey that is currently exploding in the United States. Single Malt whiskey is the standard of whiskey throughout the world, but it is just starting its ascent in America. The Founder of Santa Fe Spirits, Colin Keegan, works tirelessly for the promotion of Craft Spirits in the US, and is bringing classic old-world techniques used in the making of Scotch whiskey to pair with the traditions of the southwest, smoking their malted barley with mesquite wood, bringing smoky sweetness to their whiskies, as well as aging their casks in climate-controlled rickhouses to manage their maturation in the New Mexican weather. This type of whiskey is on the rise!

Distillery Story: Santa Fe Spirits was founded by Colin Keegan in 2010 with the goal of becoming the Southwest's pre-eminent artisan distillery. With products ranging from silver whiskey to barrel-aged apple brandy, Santa Fe Spirits is a relatively small distillery proud to be producing exceptional spirits designed to capture and accentuate the essence of the southwest. Santa Fe Spirits is located 7,000 feet above sea level in the high desert and uses a climate-controlled warehouse to maintain an even temperature and to add humidity, as the natural climate has temperatures ranging from freezing cold to swelteringly hot. This strict regimen of climate changes yields a spirit with amazing complexity unrivaled by more temperate warehouses. Santa Fe Spirits’ Colkegan Single Malt Whiskey is the deliciously unique result of an Englishman moving to the desert of the Southwest, building a distillery, and hybridizing time-honored Scottish distilling techniques with the unique flavors and climate of his new home.

SAMPLE B

Distillery: Black Button Distilling in Rochester, New York

Name: Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Proof: 84 Proof 

Age Statement: A minimum of 2 years old

Mashbill: 60% corn, 20% wheat, 9% rye, 11% malted barley (all grown in New York)

Color/Appearance: Reflexive copper

Aroma Notes: Lemon, watermelon candy, spearmint tea, black pepper, waxy

Tasting Notes: Floral, candied lime, grapefruit, pepper, hint of vanilla

Finish: Pleasantly drying, short with mild spice and a backdrop of sweetness

Our Take: While many distilleries are sourcing the ingredients that make their whiskey from many different areas all across the world, the admirable thing about Black Button distillery is that all the factors that go into the bottle come directly from the state of New York. From the water, to the grain, to even the barrels they age the whiskey in, Jason Barrett and the Black Button team utilize all the advantages of their region to try and transport the drinker to a New York state-of-mind in this excellent 4 grain spirit.

Distillery Story: When Black Button began in 2012, they were one of the first farm distilleries in New York State. This meant that when Jason Barrett, their President and Master Distiller, made their first batch of bourbon, it was not only the first produced in Rochester since Prohibition, but a 100% New York State Bourbon. All their corn, wheat, rye, and barley are grown in the Finger Lakes, just a short drive from the distillery. Even their water is sourced from Hemlock Lake in the Finger Lakes, gaining its purity by being filtered through the limestone and shale formations of western New York, resulting in a taste that cannot be found anywhere else. Finally, they source the highest quality American Oak barrels from their partners at Adirondack Barrel Cooperage. These local sources, their team’s artistry at the still, and their unique climate all contribute to creating the finest New York State Bourbon right in Rochester, NY.

SAMPLE C

Producer: Penelope Bourbon in Roselle, New Jersey

Distillery: Midwest Grain Products (MGP)

Name: Penelope Bourbon Barrel Strength Batch 10

Proof: 115.2 (57.6% ABV)>

Age Statement: 4 to 5.5 years

Mashbill: 80% corn, 6% wheat, 11% rye, 3% malted barley

Color/Appearance: Light maple syrup

Aroma Notes: Sweet caramel, orange, nutty (cashews), praline, maple syrup

Tasting Notes: Toffee, dark chocolate espresso beans, creme brulee crust, brown sugar, barrel char

Finish: Long and balanced, leaving you with caramelized sugar and spicy cinnamon

Our Take: One really interesting aspect of the alcohol industry is the practice of “sourcing”. This means that sometimes the name on the label, or the producer, is not always the name of the company that makes the product. This can be done for a variety of reasons, and in the case of Penelope Bourbon, they utilize their excellent palates to take the whiskey from Midwest Grain Products and blend it to make something spectacular. They do it right, not hiding that they don’t distill the bourbon themselves, telling it like it is. And the result is exceptional, as they take 3 different whiskies with 3 different mashbills to create this four grain bourbon. Blending is a real skill, and we are so happy to present this barrelproof whiskey to our subscribers!

Distillery Story: Penelope Bourbon was crafted and created in a classic American tradition – to celebrate an impending birth of a child. In 2018, Mike Paladini and his wife, Kerry, found out they were expecting a baby girl, Penelope. To commemorate this occasion, Mike quickly realized he wanted to create a spirit that embodied the daily joy of celebrating life’s pleasures – big and small. Teaming up with his close childhood friend and neighbor, Danny Polise, they set out to discover and produce a Straight Bourbon Whiskey everyone could appreciate and enjoy. A company was born. Today, Penelope Bourbon is sold in over 26 states nationwide and 4 countries, proving that with enough love and care, and hard work, anything is possible.

SAMPLE D

Distillery: Mammoth Distilling in Traverse City, Michigan

Name: Northern Rye Single Barrel

Cask: Aged in a W. L. Weller Barrel

Proof: 128 (64% ABV)

Age Statement: 15 years, 205 days

Mashbill: Undisclosed

Color/Appearance: Honey

Aroma Notes: Apricot, Juicy Fruit™ gum, fruit cocktail, thyme, almonds, spicy honey

Tasting Notes: Light caramel (Werther’s™), licorice, grape soda, rich and mouth-coating texture

Finish: Long and balanced with mild black pepper and caramel

From the Label: Mammoth Northern Rye Whiskey is matured in a combination of carefully selected new and second-fill casks. The result is a new expression of whiskey. One that balances American traditions with Old World techniques to create a bright and complex spirit that is supported, rather than obscured, by oak.

Our Take: This is Blind Barrels 1st Barrel Pick! (Just a heads up that if you love this bottle, there is limited inventory, so I would act fast if you want to purchase a full bottle). As we discussed with Sample C, bottling whiskey from outside your own distillery has a long history in spirits. In this case, Mammoth has sourced some superb Alberta rye matured in a variety of exciting casks from bourbon to port. Our unique single barrel pick was aged in a Weller barrel—a bourbon whiskey known for having the same mash bill as the revered Pappy Van Winkle lineup from Buffalo Trace. While it’s not always true that “the older the whiskey the better”, the age on this particular cask makes this special spirit stand out like a fine wine. Your palates (like ours) will be grateful that these casks have been brought back to life! Mammoth’s pursuit of exciting projects knows no bounds (see what they are doing with the rebirth of the heritage grain Rosen Rye), and we are proud to partner with them.  

Distillery Story: Mammoth Distilling is a Michigan Craft Distillery bottling world-class northern spirits reflecting the terroir of the Great Lakes region and 45th Parallel. Combining the love of their community with the appeal of the remote beauty of northern Michigan, owner Chad Munger and the Mammoth crew embraced the uniqueness and history of the region. A desire to open a distillery took Chad back to his alma mater, Michigan State University, for training. This opened the door to Mammoth’s current passion project—leading the rebirth of a renowned heritage grain, Rosen Rye, on its original home of South Manitou Island. Focusing on quality, local ingredients, craftsmanship and creativity, Mammoth leads the way toward a renaissance of northern spirits, returning this unique style to the rest of the United States.