Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey Finished in Vermouth Barrels

We know that our members aren’t surprised to see incredible rye whiskey coming from the great state of Pennsylvania, and we never get tired of sharing these stories! Much of the current success of PA rye is due to one man - Herman Mihalich, the Founder of Dad’s Hat. Herman is a born and raised “yinzer”, growing up in an apartment built over the bar his family owned (which may or may not have been established by his Grandpap as a speakeasy during Prohibition). With the Monongahela River visible from his bedroom window, he was surrounded by the culture of PA rye, which flows from the local agriculture. But the famous distilleries never recovered from Prohibition, and one by one moved out of the state, leaving PA without any whiskey production until Herman decided to reclaim his home state’s heritage. Founded in 2011 and named for his father and grandpap’s famed Stetson fedoras, Dad’s Hat is an inseparable part of the success story that is the resurgence of whiskey production in PA, with the state now boasting over 200 craft distilleries, 4th most in the country.

It’s an easy story to sell, because of how authentic it is. The Dad’s Hat team did a ton of research into historic mashbills before they settled on theirs, which utilized local grains from a farming family that’s been on their land since the early 1700s. As Herman says, “You get a better spirit when the stuff going into it is already very tasty.” They are as meticulous as they are transparent, with a purpose behind everything from their barley (2-row for more flavor), to their stills (made by Carl from Germany for most control over their award-winning white dog), to their casks (quarter casks vs full 53 gallons depending on the product). We fell in love with Vermouth-Finished PA Rye (secondarily matured in the legendary Vya sweet vermouth casks, ifkyk) from the start, with it being the perfect welcome pour for the whiskey lover: properly balanced, with excellent combination of spice, sweet, and botanicals, basically a cocktail in a bottle. In fact, the idea for the release came from the tradition that Herman and his co-founder, John Cooper, had of sipping Friday evening Manhattans out on their veranda and wondering if they could replicate it in a whiskey release. We think they crushed it, especially since, in Seabass’s mind, a proper Manhattan is always made with rye. Be sure and pop in and give them a visit, Herman is always willing to answer any questions you have! He says, “Our goal is to be as authentic as possible so they get the story straight from the horse’s mouth. I'll sit there and bore them to death if they want to go into the minutiae on what we're doing. I'm always happy to do so.” Take him up on that, Blind Barrels members! (Also, shout out to Matt from Vegas for this recommendation.)