St. George Spirits, the artisan distiller identified for its modern distillates and pioneering of the American craft spirits revolution, has introduced the discharge of a special-edition Single Malt Whiskey in honor of the distillery’s fortieth anniversary. St. George’s fortieth Anniversary Version Single Malt Whiskey is a extremely restricted bottling that celebrates a serious milestone within the distillery’s historical past and pays homage to the artistic spirit that has pushed the distillery to push categorical boundaries since its inception.
“Our fortieth Anniversary Version Single Malt Whiskey represents the cumulative expertise of 40 years of boundary-pushing distillation, in addition to our decades-long love affair with making single malt,” says grasp distiller Lance Winters. “It’s the pure essence of passionate self-expression—and it’s additionally scrumptious.”
As with all of St. George Spirits’ distillates, the fortieth Anniversary Version Single Malt Whiskey is the product of the distillers’ ardour for capturing the intangible: sense of place, the emotion of a second, and the fun of pursuing one thing by no means accomplished earlier than. It comes as an addition to the distillery’s portfolio of American Single Malts: Baller Single Malt Whiskey and the Lot Sequence, a yearly launch which the distillery started making in 1996 and first launched in 2000, a time when no different American distillers dared to make whiskey from closely roasted grain.
In preparation for its launch, Winters and head distiller and blender Dave Smith sampled greater than 600 casks over a interval of a number of months, in the end deciding on solely 14 to attract from for the fortieth Anniversary Version. Sourced from barrels that vary from 4 years outdated to one of many earliest casks the distillery ever laid down, the rigorous choice course of speaks to the distillery’s method of melding precision with creativeness. Every particular person barrel gives a variety of distinctive traits that full the whiskey’s taste profile. For instance, a California Sauternes-style cask imparts notes of stone fruit and rose geranium. Some barrels are nods to essential items of St. George’s heritage, just like the umeshu casks that function a tribute to Baller Single Malt Whiskey.
“Particular releases are about sharing our heritage and making a press release about the place we’re at the moment, in addition to the place we’re going,” says Smith. “We have been impressed to complete a portion of our anniversary single malt in umeshu cask as we found that our Lot Sequence mash invoice married completely with the stone fruit tones of umeshu and introduced stability to the wealthy weight of Lance’s house-made tawny port casks.”
St. George Spirits fortieth Anniversary Version Single Malt Whiskey opens with a fancy nostril of vibrant cola, darkish chocolate, and lager; with creamy notes of brown butter, salted caramel, sandalwood, and candy coconut rising with time uncovered to air. The palate reveals daring notes of darkish chocolate, walnut fudge, latte, and Amber malt mingled with buttered waffle; joined by secondary notes of coconut, spice, cinnamon, clove, candied ginger, stone fruit, and gentle smoke. Only one,982 bottles have been produced.
To additional honor 40 years of craft distilling, St. George Spirits will likely be donating $40,000 to the STEPUP Basis, a corporation that goals to supply underserved people with alternatives, coaching, and mentorship to enter the spirits trade.
St. George Spirits fortieth Anniversary Version Single Malt Whiskey ($500; 48% ABV) is predicted to begin reaching fantastic spirits retailers in early November, though rollout timing will differ from market to market. It can be bought in-person on the distillery throughout a particular launch occasion November 12—portions are very restricted.
