Cherrywood

Swift Single Malt

Swift is a small single malt-focused distillery founded in 2012 by Amanda and Nick Swift, both Texas natives. Having traveled the world to learn about the art, science and business of whiskey-making, the Swifts clearly took a page from the homelands of whiskies and import all their Two-Row barley from Scotland before making the wort with water purposefully mimicking those from Northern Ireland and the Speyside region of Scotland. Even the yeast is a single malt-specific variety from Speyside! After distilling in two copper pot stills from Portugal, they take the narrow cuts and put them into barrels from either Kentucky or Portugal. Being a true micro-distillery, almost all the work is done by Amanda and Nick themselves, bucket by bucket, drop by drop, barrel by barrel. Their flagship offering, the Swift Single Malt, is a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Their hard work appears to be paying off, however, as Swift bottles have expanded beyond Texas onto shelves across the country.

By Adam | June 20, 2024 | Foreign | No Comments |

ASW Distillery was began production in 2016, helmed by Jim Chasteen, Charlie Thompson and Justin Manglitz in Atlanta, though they did release a blended offering out of Charleston, South Carolina in 2011 called American Spirit Whiskey. While a relatively new distillery, ASW looked back to their families’ Scottish, Irish and French backgrounds to guide them toward developing spirits into the modern American market. They offer a wide range of bourbons, ryes and single malts, along with newer takes on white spirits. While they distill most of their offerings themselves, they do have some sourced spirits housed under their Fiddler brand. The ASW Tire Fire is an Islay-style single malt, distilled from peated Scottish barley out of the Highlands. It goes into the barrel – char levels 3 and 4 – at 45ppm. Some versions have been finished in ex-rum casks but the one for this review was not.

By Adam | April 5, 2024 | Foreign | No Comments |

Ardbeg is a distillery that loves its marketing. This is not a slight against the distillery, just a fact of the marketplace. But Ardbeg likes to have fun with their one-off yearly committee releases. No two are alike and they are not afraid to embrace a story. Even if it involves flavor dragons and terrible puns. The Ardbeg Scorch is their 2021 committee release and the box is bedecked with artful flavor dragons breathing, presumably, flavor fire. The Scorch in the name derives from the heavy char Ardbeg gave to the barrels this scotch matured in for an undisclosed period of time. Whether you embrace the fanciful story or not, however, the flavor abides.

By Adam | March 5, 2023 | Islay | No Comments |

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