Aug. 1: Drammers Stamford......
Hello Stamford Drammers!
Our next Stamford tasting is coming up on Tuesday, August 1st starting at 6:30pm. We've assembled a great lineup of whisky and other spirits to taste -- 8 expressions in total, none of which are available publicly, and which you can read more about below. And as usual, we'll order in light food (included) to make sure nobody's drinking on an empty stomach. A big thank you to our friends at First Cut Barrel Co. for hosting us (address: 375 Fairfield Ave, Bldg 13-1A, Stamford, 06902).
We hope you can join us! Please let us know if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Charlie, Yoni and Drammers Club
Bottle Lineup for Our Event!
FEW Distillery - has emerged as not only Chicago’s leading craft distillery, but also one of the most respected craft distilleries to emerge in the United States overall, and in fact they were recently acquired by the major US bourbon producers Heaven Hill! We’ve long been fans of this distillery, and have had the pleasure of welcoming their founder Paul Hletko both online and in person at a number of our events. One of those events was a massive online barrel pick event where we set out to buy 2 barrels of their whiskey, but liked what they had so much that we ended up buying 3 barrels! They are all unique, one-of-a-kind experimental whiskies. Of course, under American whiskey laws, bourbon and rye needs to be aged in a new oak cask, so all three of these whiskies started their journey there. Then all three were transferred into a barrel that used to hold something else — one used to hold an unpeated Scotch, one was a barrel of Vermouth, the other (the rye) was transferred into a barrel that previously held Malbec wine. Although those barrels were empty, they still had soaked up nearly 10 liters of their previous contents into the wood, so as the bourbon/rye expanded and contracted as it got hold and cold each day, it expanded in and out of the wood of those barrels and absorbed some of those flavors. We had all 3 barreled at cask strength, all nearly 60% alcohol. These are delicious, fierce whiskies that need to be tasted to be believed.
Loch Lomond's Glengarry 12yo. Our newest Drammers pick single barrel just arrived, a 12yo single malt Scotch from the Highlands distillery Loch Lomond. Distilled in 2010, bottled in 2023, unpeated, matured in a 1st fill Bordeaux red wine barrel -- the barrel yielded 281 bottles. 55.0% abv. Of course non-chill filtered and no color added. Cask #21/546-6. Exclusively available to Drammers members.
Starward Australian Single Malt - Drammers Single Barrel. We've long been fans of Starward, and have had the pleasure of welcoming founder David Vitale as our guest speaker numerous times both in person and online over the years. This all culminated in our purchasing a barrel of their single malt, and we settled on this gem of a barrel, cask #3329, finished in a 2012 American oak fresh ex-red wine barrique from Demptos Cooperage in the Barrossa Valley. 55.5% abv.
Frey Ranch 4 Grain Bourbon. This farmer husband-and-wife team are taking bourbon to the next level -- all the whisky they make uses grains they grow themselves on their generations-old farm just outside Reno, Nevada. Initially conceived as a way to show off the quality of their grains, it has taken on a life of its own, and this is the first single barrel they have allowed outside of the Nevada and California markets (it was selected by our members as a Drammers exclusive bottling).
1792 Single Barrel Pick. This barrel was selected by our Boston chapter - distilled at the Barton 1792 Distillery, owned by Sazerac (same company that owns Buffalo Trace). Bottled at "Full Proof" of 62.5% abs, they do not carry an age statement and the mash bill is not disclosed, though they are thought to be approximately 8yo (earlier press releases cited 8.5 years of aging) with a mash bill of 75% corn, 15% rye, and 10% barley.
Rezpiral - Simeon Ramirez Mezcal Ensamble of Mexicano Agaves. We had the pleasure of selecting a batch a few years ago that Simeon did with his father Apolonio, that time from a tobasiche agave, which was dominated by vegetal and mineral notes. That pick was a big hit, so we selected a new batch that just arrived -- a mix of 4 varietals of the Mexicano agave, it has a dominant lemon-lime custardy-sorbet flavor, backfilled with vanilla. Yum. Details here, and available exclusively to members of Drammers for $120/bottle, 50.8% abv.