Four New Private Casks of Whipnose
I really love what my friends over at Seven Stills are doing. You wanna talk about the modern spirits movement? Nothing embodies it more than what Tim and Clint are doing with their inventive and innovative line of beer-distilled whiskies; quality, clarity, and a whole lotta fun! The bottles are small and kooky (taking a page from the current craft beer craze), the flavors bold and exciting, and the action never seems to stop. What I love most of all is their intent to do something entirely new with the category. It's not about how old their whisky is, what type of casks they were aged in, or whether they used a pot still or a column still. It's 100% about the flavor of the beer, and how these two young chaps are able to mature their spirits into soft, drinkable whiskies that still taste very much like the liquids from which they were distilled. It's not beer schnapps. It's not single malt whisky. It's something entirely new, and absolutely delicious.
Imagine distilling the bright, hoppy flavors of an IPA like Pliny the Elder into a whisky that balanced those wildly-pungent skunky notes with sweet vanilla and a note of maple syrup to soften the finish. For $35 you're getting something completely new and surprisingly satisfying. Remember: these guys are distilling drinkable and bottle-ready IPA, so their overhead doesn't involve cheap grains and a bag of yeast. This stuff isn't cheap to make. The real question is: knowing how much it does cost to produce, is it still worth doing? Fuck yeah it is. Trust me: this stuff rules.
We picked out four tiny casks from the new Seven Stills batch of Whipnose exclusively for K&L. Check it out:
Seven Stills K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #11 Whipnose Whiskey 375ml $35.99 – Whipnose is the first in Seven Stills’ Collaboration Series; a project that partnered them with Pacific Brewing Laboratory, located in San Francisco. They began by distilling each of Pac Brew Lab’s beers individually to see if they could make a unique whiskey. As soon as they tasted the results from the double IPA, they knew they were on to something. 60 barrels of Whipnose IPA were then brewed, distilled into 165 gallons of whiskey, and aged in new American Oak Barrels. The name Whipnose aptly describes the whip of hop aroma this whiskey opens up with.The taste is rich malt, dark, dried fruits, light vanilla, toasted oak, and with a smooth, lingering maple syrup note on the finish. Lucky for us, after a successful first run with the product, we were able to go back into batch two and select some of our own private casks of Whipnose exclusively for K&L! Barrel #11 has sweeter oak notes and bright citrus hops on the entry with a long, lingering finish of skunky IPA goodness. YUM!
Seven Stills K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #12 Whipnose Whiskey 375ml $35.99 – Barrel #12 has more spice and vanilla than the others with added richness on the midpalate. A beer drinker's delight!
Seven Stills K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #14 Whipnose Whiskey 375ml $35.99 – Barrel # 14 has lots of skunky hops and maple notes. The most IPAish of the group.
Seven Stills K&L Exclusive Single Barrel #15 Whipnose Whiskey 375ml $35.99 – Barrel #15 is the most like the original batch of Whipnose. Lots of tingly citric action on the entry, hoppy through the middle, and full of sweet maple on the finish. Gotta love it!
-David Driscoll