Nov. 20: Drammers San Francisco!......
Fellow Drammers!
Our next in person event in San Francisco will take place on Saturday, November 20th at 7pm (the address is 111 Chestnut St Street, Apt. 501). We’ve assembled a great lineup of bottles to taste:
Lagavulin, 11yo Nick Offerman Ed. This is a fun one - a limited edition collaboration between Lagavulin and famed actor Nick Offerman, best known for his role in Parks and Recreation, and who is by all accounts a huge Lagavulin fan. We believe this was released in 2019, and as we understand it Nick picked the barrels personally, and came up with the tasting notes, which he describes as being like a "top shelf brass band blowing smoky jazz". Ha. 46% abv.
Single Cask Nation Islay Blended Malt 9yo. We don't know which distilleries, but we know they are on the iconic Islay (which means "island") where the smokiest and peatiest whiskies in the world can be found -- the likes of Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, etc. This one was aged in a single cask (we're guessing it was "teaspooned"), aged 9 years in a first fill bourbon barrel. Bottled at a delightful 58.9% abv.
Amrut Indian Single Malt - Ex-Rye Cask. This one is hot off the presses -- a single barrel of Amrut's Indian Single Malt -- made like a scotch, but in Bangalore, India. The hotter climate there means this whisky ages a lot differently than a scotch,with delightful results, and here it was aged in an ex-rye cask, a rare offering from the distillery (we previously tried a similar Amrut ex-rye cask bottled by our friends at La Maison du Whisky in Paris a few years ago. This is a Drammers exclusive single barrel pick, and is bottled at 60.2% 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).
Stellum Single Barrel Rye (Serpens). The new Stellum line from our friends at Barrell Craft Spirits has arrived, and we were proud to select a private barrel of their rye just for our club. At only $59/bottle, it was the easily standout favorite for the price at our event in Charlotte a couple days ago. The “Serpens” name refers to the mashbill (95% rye, 5% malted barley), and of course it is bottled at cask strength.
Kilchoman Drammers Single Barrel - STR cask finish single malt. Another single barrel, this time hailing from Islay, and as you would expect from (most) Islay whiskies, it is plenty peaty and plenty smoky. This is a single barrel Drammers Club pick that was finished in an STR cask and bottled as always at cask strength.
Floki Icelandic Whisky - Sheep Dung Smoked Single Malt. This is almost impossible to find outside of Iceland, though they have plans to bring it to the United States hopefully soon. And just as it sounds like, instead of using peat to dry the malted barley, here they use dried sheep dung pellets, which has been a fuel source historically on Iceland dating back hundreds of years. I know some of you are thinking “maybe I’ll skip that one” but it would be a mistake to — at our event in Charlotte, it ended up being one of the favorites of the night, event though it has only been aged for 2 years since it is an early example from this young distillery that we picked up at auction.
Great Jones Distillery - Bourbon. We’ll likely start the night with this one, which is fairly low proof (43% abv) but it’s a fun one because this distillery just opened in Manhattan two months ago. Our club threw an event there to celebrate their arrival (the first whiskey distillery in Manhattan since prohibition — not the first in NYC mind you, that honor goes to Kings County, but stil, it’s a big deal). How do they have whiskey for sale if they just opened a couple months ago you might be asking? Because they bought a distillery an hour North of Manhattan (Black Dirt Distilling) and have been working on a signature flavor profile working with whiskey distilled there, which is what this is. It’s a fun chance to try something brand new if nothing else.
That’s our lineup, we hope you can join us! As usual, anyone who is part of the club and has been to one of our events either in person or online is welcome to join and to bring a friend. We’ll have food on hand (likely pizza) as well.
Cheers,
Drammers Club
FORMAT: In-person tasting
WHERE: 111 Chestnut Street, Apt. 501 (we’ll be drinking a lot of whisky, so everyone’s strongly encouraged to get a ride / take an uber)
WHEN: Saturday, November 20th, 7pm
PRICE: $40 per person for Drammers Members, and $50 per person for Drammers Observers
Food included (likely pizza)