Wintergreen

Glen Grant 15 Year

Glen Grant was founded by James and John Grant, two brothers who had previously made whisky illegally but were finally granted a license in 1840. The Grant family had a number of successful generations that followed to expand the business and even though primary ownership eventually passed out of the family, they still maintain a stake in the company. The Campari Group owns the distillery now and it is one of largest selling single malts in the world, with an annual output of 5.9 million liters. Four tall, slender pot stills create a core line of six single malts – though a good deal also goes into Chivas blends – that features 5 age expressions, including this Glen Grant 15, that range from 10 to 21 years old.

By Adam | July 30, 2023 | Speyside | No Comments |

Alberta Distillers is the oldest distillery in Western Canada, having produced alcohol for over 70 years. It is part of the Beam Suntory portfolio and is the source of rye whisky for a number of brands across the world, including WhistlePig. While the distillery does not produce a wide range of offerings under their own name, the ones they do have garnered a number of awards and mentions. A consistent entry in their lineup is the Alberta Premium Cask Strength. Released in yearly batches, it is bottled at slightly various proofages and is distilled from 100% Canadian prairie rye, something relatively unusual even in the rye whisky category, and aged for at least 5 years. A blend of pot still and column still distillation, it is aged in heavily charred (#4) first fill ex-bourbon barrels from the Jim Beam distillery, along with virgin oak barrels and second fill bourbon barrels.

By Adam | July 20, 2023 | Foreign | No Comments |

Producing whiskey for someone else is not the purview of only the giant distilleries. Craft distilleries do it too. Workhorse Rye was founded in 2011 by bartender Rob East. They focus mostly on rye whiskies and bitters crafted with local ingredients by workers paid a fair wage under good working conditions. The distillery cares very much about the ethics of their production and supply chain. A few years ago, they partnered with high end retail men’s clothing store Standard & Strange to release a one-off whiskey. Only 280 bottles were made, with a mash bill of 50% Admiral malt (heirloom barley from Yolo County), 25% Gazelle rye (from California), and 25% Purple Tibetan barley from south Arizona, all heritage grains. The maturation is comprised of 4/5 Mizunara Japanese oak and 1/5 ex-bourbon barrels. For some time, we thought the name of the whiskey was M.01XX, since that is featured prominently on the label.

By Adam | March 20, 2023 | Foreign | No Comments |