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Balcones Brimstone

Balcones Distilling takes what works and builds upon their creativity. Using the Hopi blue corn found in their other products like the Baby Blue, True Blue, Blue Corn Bourbon, the Balcones Brimstone uses native Texas scrub oak to smoke the whiskey itself fresh after being distilled. This is markedly different from what virtually every other distiller who wants a smoky flavor does, which is smoke the grains themselves before distillation. And if that wasn’t enough smoke, the distillate is then aged in charred American oak barrels.

By Adam | March 5, 2021 | Foreign | No Comments |

FEW Spirits trades a lot on their location and story, but they have a right to. Housed in the home of the US temperance movement, owner Paul Hletko struggled to change the prohibition-era ordinances still on the town law books to be able to get his distillery running. Started in 2011, FEW makes their spirits grain-to-glass. The distillery has several offerings and the labels feature woodcut prints of wonders from the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago. The distillery’s name shares initials with Francis Elizabeth Willard (1839–1898), founder of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which is based in Evanston. This single malt is not one of their current offerings but has been in the past, so can be still be found on shelves, with the idea it could be revived in the future.

By Adam | June 20, 2019 | Foreign | No Comments |

Fettercairn seems a distillery practiced at running under the radar. It has existed on two sites (not simultaneously), been closed and reopened, then bought and sold since beginning production in 1824. The distillery is currently owned by Whyte & Mackay (owner of the Jura and Dalmore distilleries), which is owned by Emperador, which is owned by Alliance Global Group. Never seeming to have a great deal of time in the limelight that other, better known distilleries enjoy, Fettercairn is nevertheless known for a unique method of cooling their stills involving running water down the outside that results in only the lightest elements being collected, along with the beautiful, patina-coated stills resulting from the curious method. This Fettercairn Fior serves as an introduction to the core expression.

By Adam | October 16, 2018 | Highland | No Comments |