The Whiskey Ring Podcast

Ep. 136: Amrut Indian Whisky with Raj Sabharwal aka @whiskyraj

Pioneering Indian Single Malt
Raj's return brings news about Amrut, the king of Indian Single Malt. It is no longer the only Indian Single Malt on the market like it was in 2004, but neither has Amrut been sitting on its laurels. 
With Ashok Chokalingham at the helm as head distiller - a post he gained after many years in sales and production - Amrut is promoting the idea of Indian Single Malt while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of what that can mean. 
With the four expressions I tried with Raj, each were an experiment. The Single Malts of India Kurinji was distilled at a different Indian distillery but aged entirely at Amrut's warehouses in Bangalore, 3000' above sea level with relatively low humidity. What would that whisky have tasted like at sea level? At its home distillery? Who knows - all I know is that it tastes damn good. 
The Triparva is a triple-distilled single malt, echoing the butteriness and spice from Irish whiskies while staying true to the core Amrut profile (probably something to do with the 6-row instead of 2-row barley). The rye is a 100% malted rye, using Scandinavian grain but otherwise running it like they would a "normal" barley-based single malt; the spicy and herbaceous rye comes out like a custard, rounded and polished while still letting you know it's a rye. 
Finally, the Naarangi, a whisky that uses sherry casks that have been seasoned for multiple years with locally grown oranges that give a distinctly tart flavor to cut through the sherry sweetness. 
The sad news is that for two of the Amruts - the Rye and the Triparva - this is the last time they will be produced and released. The Naarangi is up in the air, but it won't be a regular release. Ashok has created over 40 different varieties of single malt based on flavors, casks, grains, and interplays between those three - there will always be more Amrut, but not always more of those releases. So grab them before they're gone (and if you listen to the episode and still don't want them, buy one for a friend). 
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Raj for returning to the Whiskey Ring!
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
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Amrut Indian Single Malt
Amrut Indian Single Malt Website
Amrut Indian Single Malt on Instagram
Amrut Indian Single Malt on Facebook
Amrut Indian Single Malt on Twitter/X
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
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Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
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Ep. 135: Filmland Spirits with Founders Troy Bolotnick and Charlie Flint

The Story is the Story
I have a general rule when given the opportunity to interview NDPs on the podcast - they must do something with the whiskey other than buying stock and slapping their own label on it. Otherwise, how many times can you talk about the same MGP bourbon or rye? (Yes, I know there are other sources now, but the point remains). 
With Filmland Spirits, they are doing some of their own blending, proofing, and - down the line - finishing. So right away they've cleared the first hurdle. Once you clear that, you have to be interesting - and Troy and Charlie have created that in spades. 
With each release from Filmland, such as Ryes of the Robots and Moonlight Mayhem, a story is created. In classic b-movie style with horror, campiness, supernatural creatures, there are entire trailers, storyboards, posters, and more. Basically all that's missing is an actual movie being produced.
By doing this, Filmland Spirits does what we need most in bourbon right now: they have fun. These guys love what they're doing. They love their craft and how they can apply their years of screenwriting to another passion. Easter eggs are hidden in each label and poster, and samples are sent with thought-out names rather than "barrel #xxx". 
Then, there's Town at the End of Tomorrow - a 9YO Kentucky Bourbon that was flat-out excellent when I tried it at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Definitely worth checking out (if you can still find it!).
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Troy and Charlie for entering the Whiskey Ring!
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website. 
Filmland Spirits
Filmland Spirits Website
Filmland Spirits on Instagram
Filmland Spirits on Facebook
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
Black Button Distilling on Instagram
Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
https://impexbev.com
ImpEx on Instagram
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Ep. 134: Copperworks Distilling with Founder Jason Parker

From Great Brewing Comes Great Distilling
Copperworks Distilling is making whiskey from grain. Simple, right? I mean, from a legal sense, that's quite literally what every other whiskey-maker is doing. 
That's where the similarities end. Jason Parker, co-founder and longtime brewer, is experimenting with barley in ways that are different not only from other distillers but singularly unique from release to release. 
I first got to try Copperworks from our friends at Lost Lantern, who did a single malt finished in sloe gin that was just fantastic. With Jason, I tried four products - Releases 49 + 50, two variants of Fritz Malt (Pale and Vienna), a peated edition, and another barley variety that showcased the care Jeff and Jason have for the grain. 
Another of my favorite distillers, Alan Bishop, says to always "respect the grain". Sometimes, people do it with the right intention but the wrong ethos. Jason and Jeff do it with every single piece thought out, every variable considered and controlled. Not every experiment works, of course, but those that do are incredible. 
This is a distillery where you may not like every release (or maybe you will!), but each one is worthy of your attention. And you will, no matter what, feel the passion and intention through the grain. Respect, indeed. 
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Jason for entering the Whiskey Ring!
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website. 
Copperworks Distilling
Copperworks Distilling Website
Copperworks Distilling on Instagram
Copperworks Distilling on Facebook
Copperworks Distilling on Twitter
Copperworks Distilling on YouTube
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
Black Button Distilling on Instagram
Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
https://impexbev.com
ImpEx on Instagram
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Ep. 133: Lost Lantern Returns! The Spring 2024 Midwest Collection with Adam and Nora

The Best of the (Mid)West!
The Spring 2024 Collection launches today, March 27! 
We first met Lost Lantern Spirits way back in Episode 53 - they are "shining a light on the independent spirit", bringing the tradition of independent bottling (and blending!) to American whiskey. 
In the two-ish years since, co-founders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski have grown and grown, now with a physical space in Vermont and reach across the country. They've won awards, beaten distilleries at their own game (see: Balcones), and established the idea that American whiskey can be independently bottled and blended to showcase both the individual distilleries and the blending acumen of the founders. 
For this episode, we explore their first-ever themed release: the Spring 2024 collection. This collection of seven spirits is all about the midwest. Starting with their Far-Flung Rye blend, incorporating ryes from Wollersheim Distillery, Middle West Spirits, Starlight Distillery, Tom's Foolery Distillery, and Cedar Ridge Distillery. All five of these distilleries - plus FEW Spirits - also have a single barrel release as part of this collection.
You can grab these at lostlanternwhiskey.com starting today! I have to say, the Far-Flung Rye, Wollersheim bourbon, Tom's Foolery rye, and Cedar Ridge Wheat Whiskey were my favorites, but I encourage you to try them all. Adam and Nora know what they're doing, and each release shows that more and more. 
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Adam and Nora for returning to the Whiskey Ring!
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website. 
Lost Lantern Whiskey
Lost Lantern Whiskey Website
Lost Lantern Whiskey on Instagram
Lost Lantern Whiskey on Facebook
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
Black Button Distilling on Instagram
Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
https://impexbev.com
ImpEx on Instagram
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Ep. 132: Starward Whisky with Founder Dave Vitale

Red, Red Wine Casks
There are certain things we take for granted with whisky - American whiskey will mostly be new charred oak, Scotch will be ex-bourbon or ex-sherry, and the rest of the world will likely use ex-bourbon casks as a default for maturation. This leads to a generalization of taste, an expectation that certain flavors will always be there. 
When starting Starward Whisky, one of the first Australian whisky distilleries after Lark's start in 1992, Dave Vitale wanted something different. He found a calling card in using Australian red wine barrels. Notably, these were not charred, just toasted, since they were used for wine and not spirit. The same goes for the occasional Apera (Australian sherry) cask. 
The result was and is something totally new - a whisky that blended the grains of Australia with a four-seasons-per-day climate and an uncharred barrel. The results have been astounding, starting with the core Nova and Two-Fold range and continuing through single barrels and special finishes. 
Starward is proud of its Australian roots, and each decision along the way has been in keeping with that at the forefront. If you get a chance to visit Melbourne, take in the incredible food scene with a glass of Starward on the side - they are truly meant to go together. 
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Dave for entering the Whiskey Ring!
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If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website. 
Starward Whisky
Starward Whisky Website
Starward Whisky on Instagram
Starward Whisky on Facebook
Starward Whisky on Twitter/X
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
Black Button Distilling on Instagram
Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
https://impexbev.com
ImpEx on Instagram
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Ep. 131: Hampden Estate with Kate Perry of La Maison & Velier

Uptown FUNK
When you think Jamaican rum, you think funk. Funny thing is, most Jamaican rum by both volume and number of distillers is not funky. 
BTW - funky is the unscientific way of saying ester content. All those fruity, dark, tropical, funky notes are esters, the interactions and transformations of acids and alcohols and aldehydes into the familiar flavor compounds we love. 
Hampden Estate, however, is the funkiest of them all. 
Originally built in 1753, Hampden has been producing Trelawney-style rum (named for its province in Jamaica) continuously for closer to three centuries than two. For nearly that entire history, though, they produced rum and rum extracts for other bottlers, lending their flavors to everything from blended rum to confectionary to perfumes. Had rum cake? Hampden. Rum-flavored anything? Chances are, Hampden. 
After the Hussey family bought Hampden in 2009, they made the massive decision to bottle their own rum for the first time. Most of their production is still dedicated to blends and rectifiers - that's what keeps the lights on - but the results of their own bottlings so far have been spectacular. In 2023, they gave the rum world a love letter with their 8 Marks Collection, to be repeated in 2024. Nerdiness abounds, with everything you could want to know about every mark in the Hampden lineup. 
This was a hell of an episode, and I can't wait to do the follow-up. 
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Kate for entering the Whiskey Ring!
_________________________________________________________
If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so! 
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website. 
Hampden Estate Rum
Hampden Estate Rum Website
Hampden Estate Rum on Instagram
Hampden Estate Rum on Facebook
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
Black Button Distilling on Instagram
Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
https://impexbev.com
ImpEx on Instagram
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Ep. 130: Field & Sound Whiskey and Long Island Spirits with Founder Rich Stabile

“Born of the Field – Raised by the Sound”
Just in time for Bottled-in-Bond month! 
Long Island Spirits - Long Island's first craft distillery - is quietly leading the way in my own backyard. Situated about an hour and a half outside of NYC, LI Spirits is making field-to-glass whiskies, brandies, vodkas, and more using the local land for its grains, grapes, and potatoes (not the rum, sorry - sugar doesn't grow well here!) 
I got to know LI Spirits through their Teddy Roosevelt-themed whiskies (Bull Moose Rye, Old Lion 8YO Single Barrel, and Rough Rider Bourbon). Over the past few years, they've been rebranding their whiskies to reflect the terroir of being right on Long Island Sound - and thus, Field & Sound was born.
Note: Bottled-in-Bond month starts on March 1st!  
Field & Sound covers the full range of whiskies, from bourbon to rye, wheat, and wheated, all bottled-in-bond. There are also special editions, such as the rum-finished bourbon finished in their own nearly eight-year-old rum casks (that rum is unlike any rum I've had, somewhere between an Agricole and a new-make Barbados) and a brandy-finished bourbon in their own brandy. The brandy - also made in-house from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes grown nearby - clocks in at a massive 166+ proof. 
Long Island Spirits is the first distillery on Long Island since Prohibition. Even today, fifteen years after they've opened, there are very few spirits producers and none with the pedigree they've built. As the Roosevelt era fades and Field & Sound takes center stage, I couldn't be prouder to have this quality of spirit coming from where I grew up. 
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Rich for entering the Whiskey Ring!
_________________________________________________________
If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so! 
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website. 
Long Island Spirits and Field & Sound Whiskey
Long Island Spirits Website
Field & Sound Website
Long Island Spirits on Instagram
Long Island Spirits on Facebook
Long Island Spirits on Twitter/X
Long Island Spirits on YouTube
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
Black Button Distilling on Instagram
Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
https://impexbev.com
ImpEx on Instagram
ImpEx on Facebook
ImpEx on Twitter

Ep. 129: Arbikie Highland Distillery with John Stirling

Makers of the only vodka I enjoy. And also the first rye from Scotland in 100+ years. 
Arbikie Highland Estate is in the forefront of the new Scotch whisky movement. Focused on sustainability, flavor, and locality, Arbikie is betting big on the future. 
They're making a single malt, but waiting 18 years to release it (some might be released early, but don't count on it).
Their strawberry vodka takes nearly a year to produce from harvest to bottling.
The gin is hyperlocal, with coastal elements. 
The Nadar vodka is climate-positive, with the whole process removing 1.54kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per bottle (through legume farming). 
Kirsty also has a PhD and puts it to use in creating these releases from grain to bottle, with backing from the Stirling family who owns the farms from which the grains grow. 
The Highland 1794 Rye is available in the US now, as are the gins and Nadar Vodka. The single malt we'll have to wait for - they're already halfway there. 
Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to John for entering the Whiskey Ring!
_________________________________________________________
If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so! 
If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website. 
Arbikie Highland Estate
Arbikie Highland Estate Website
Arbikie Highland Estate on Instagram
Arbikie Highland Estate on Facebook
Arbikie Highland Estate on Twitter/X
Arbikie Highland Estate on YouTube
Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery 
Black Button Distilling Website
Black Button Distilling on Facebook
Black Button Distilling on Instagram
Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages
https://impexbev.com
ImpEx on Instagram
ImpEx on Facebook
ImpEx on Twitter