Four Grain Straight Whiskey

FOUR GRAIN STRAIGHT WHISKEY

SINCE DAY 1
Since our first day of operations in 2017, whiskey has been half of our production. Knowing that we wanted to age our whiskey for a minimum of two years, we released Batch No. 1 of our Four Grain Straight Whiskey in December 2019. It was a long tedious grind of a wait for that first batch to be ready. But, there are many reasons we waited. Many reasons it has four grains. Many reasons why we only use full sized barrels.

But, before I get into that, in March 2020, we received some great news! Our Batch No. 1 of whiskey received a Silver Medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition! This is “the” competition for spirits. There are NO participation trophies and the process of judging is very rigorous with multiple days and break downs. Our whiskey was entered in the Craft Distiller Whiskey category.

So, now to dive into the particulars of our whiskey and what makes it different.

First off, we have the…

THE MASH BILL
Its name “Four Grain” comes from the mash bill of oats, rye, wheat (red & white), and malted barley. Oats give the whiskey deep earthy notes and a creamy mouthfeel and, in our opinion at least, are one of the most overlooked grains for whiskey. Rye adds that peppery spice you know and love from most American Whiskeys. Wheat softens the finish. Malted Barley adds sweetness and the enzymes that breakdown the all of the grain’s starch into the sugar the yeast eat to create the alcohol.

THE BARREL
Why do you the imbiber care about what barrel we use? Master distillers estimate that around 50-70% of the flavor of the whiskey comes from the barrel! The use of the word “Straight” in the name of this whiskey means that it lived in that barrel for a minimum of 2 years. We stress lived over using a word like “rested” or “slept” because it was very much alive and changing. Changes in ambient temperature cause small pressure and vacuum effects inside the barrel meaning that the white spirit is gently moving around picking up color and flavor from the American White Oak barrel.

Now we have spent a lot of effort in ensuring that we are using the best grains, the best water, the best techniques, and the best yeast. So we also have to make sure that we use the best barrels. We use Canton Cooperage 53 gallon, 36-month seasoned, Char 3 with Toasted Heads barrels. (Yes, toasted heads.) This barrel is rare because of the 36-month season. It's not your average whiskey barrel, which is only air-seasoned for 12 months. The wood in our barrels was allowed to dry in open-air for 3 years before it was turned into a barrel.