For a spirit to be thought of whisky, it should meet just a few primary necessities, amongst them that it may be bottled at a minimum of 40% alcohol by quantity (ABV). This presents a problem for scotch whisky makers getting older shares for prolonged durations, because the temperate local weather of Scotland causes proof to lower over time. In contrast, the new, humid summers of Kentucky, Tennessee, and elsewhere within the U.S. trigger proof to extend over time because the barrels lose extra water than alcohol.
Nonetheless, nothing in whisky is an absolute, and barrels getting older within the U.S. can typically see their ABVs decline. Whereas checking samples for George Dickel’s single barrel program, Cascade Hole basic supervisor and distiller Nicole Austin found simply that—as barrels that had been getting older on the decrease, cooler tiers of the rickhouse clocked in at 39.9% ABV. Relatively than mixing them away with higher-proof shares, she determined to bottle them as the most recent Cascade Moon launch: a 15 yr previous Barrel Proof.
“I keep in mind happening scotch whisky distillery excursions and they’d level to those tremendous previous dusty barrels within the nook and say, ‘That’s not even whisky anymore. As a result of it’s so low proof.’ And I simply thought that was so intriguing and at all times needed to style it,” Austin remembers. “I assume there are different individuals who share that curiosity. So, that is my approach of exhibiting them.”
Whereas Austin should contemplate the storied legacy of the Dickel title when crafting these whiskeys, the Cascade Moon collection is a playground for her to experiment, discover, and showcase the vary of spirits she’s producing in Tullahoma, a few of which wouldn’t match in additional conventional lineups.
“I feel there’s an superior place on the planet for only a dependable, pretty priced on a regular basis spirit. And that’s actually arduous to do, however we’re greater than that,” she says. “We will additionally do many different issues and that’s a part of the dialog with Cascade Moon.”
Low and Behold
Barrel proof bourbons with ABVs within the 60% vary are prized by whiskey lovers who worth uncut and unfiltered merchandise. In contrast, whiskies bottled on the decrease finish of the spectrum are typically thought of extra palatable choices for newcomers. With the discharge of 15 yr previous Barrel Proof, which is technically thought of a Spirit Distilled from Grain, Austin hopes to not solely launch one thing that’s universally approachable but additionally to problem the notion that high-proof spirits are inherently extra advanced.
“I’ve at all times been, I suppose, a bit bit defiant, a bit bit questioning, a bit little bit of a difficult particular person. However out of affection,” Austin says, noting that the extra time she’s spent making whiskey, the extra she believes in selling pleasure and never judgment. “The most effective final result for this whiskey could be to begin hopefully swinging the pendulum again within the different path, not a lot in in search of low proof, however simply in serving to individuals step away from a number of the dogmatic method to whiskey.”
Not like most 40% ABV whiskies, this new Cascade Moon launch is bottled at barrel proof and bears a 15 yr age assertion. “That is the pure whiskey because it exists,” Austin says. “I wasn’t actually intending it for low ABV cocktails or one thing. I used to be extra intending it simply to be a focal point, a dialog, hopefully to shock individuals in what they thought was true.” An early style reveals buttered popcorn, banana bread, and lemon wafers on the nostril; with a peppery, barely bitter palate of hay and peanut shells.
At $125, Austin acknowledges the barrier to entry could also be excessive for some, however says that’s the nature of releasing uncommon spirits in small portions. Earlier Cascade Moon releases have included Version No. 1 (88 factors), which was impressed by gose-style beer; Version No. 2 (92 factors), which honored 150 years of George Dickel; and extra lately, a 13 yr previous Indiana-made rye whiskey (88 factors).
After Version No. 2, Austin determined to drop the numerical ordering of the Cascade Moon releases. Whereas she was honored that some had been beginning to acquire the collection, she acknowledged that the numbers would possibly foster the form of aggressive buying that she hopes to discourage. (She additionally regrets that these whiskeys weren’t extra broadly accessible, as they had been distributed to solely three states—Texas, California, and Tennessee). And as is the character of those experiments, she says that not all of them come out as deliberate or in chronological order.
“I discovered actually shortly that they don’t all work and so they actually don’t all work on the schedule that I feel that they’ll,” she says. “I didn’t need to be beholden to releasing issues in a selected order. I simply needed to have the ability to make choices on high quality alone.”
