Foreign

Branch & Barrel Plumwood

Branch & Barrel Distilling was founded in 2015 by friends Ryan Morgan, Scott Freund and Tom Sielaff after years of aging new make whiskey with different woods. One of them was wood from a plum tree, and was perhaps the one that finally pushed them into getting the distillery off the ground for real. The base spirit is a bourbon mash with high barley but some of their offerings are not aged in virgin oak barrels and thus do not meet the regulatory requirements to call it bourbon. The Branch & Barrel Plumwood is matured entirely in plum wood barrels and made in very small batches.

By Adam | August 10, 2022 | Foreign | No Comments |

Westward was founded in 2004 by Christian Krogstad, the early days of American craft distilling. While inspired by elder whiskies such as scotch, Westward also is a proponent of exploration, where according to their website they “brew like a pale ale, distill like a single malt, and age like a bourbon.” Their whiskey is made using an American pale ale brew that is then distilled twice before being aged in charred new American oak barrels. The Westward American Single Malt is their flagship offering and the foundation for their other whiskies, which often have some kind of creative cask finishing.

By Adam | July 20, 2022 | Foreign | No Comments |

Stranahan’s Whiskey was founded in 2004 and holds a special place as one of the first distilleries in the craft distilling rise of the mid-2000s. Founded by Jess Graber and George Stranahan, who also founded Flying Dog Brewery and the Woody Creek Tavern, the duo latched onto using local ingredients to create their offerings. The Stranahan’s Blue Peak was introduced in 2020 and finished with Solera aging, much like Spanish bodegas do with sherry in large oaken barrels called foeders. New whiskey is put in to replace the whiskey being taken out, which means older spirit continually remains to mingle with the newer and creating a unique effect. It is also, at time of press, their cheapest whiskey.

By Adam | June 30, 2022 | Foreign | No Comments |