scarce.
Since 2004, the Stranahan’s rec-
ipe has remained simple with 4
ingredients: 100% malted barley,
yeast, Rocky Mountain water and
time in the barrel. While Strana-
han’s recipe is simple, the flavors
in the whiskey are both mysteri-
ously complex and deliciously
approachable.
When whiskey is fully aged in a
barrel to maturity, it is typically
used for bottling. However, there
remain lucky batches of whiskey
which are selected to be emptied
into a secondary barrel. This is
what is known as a “finish.” This
could be a second, third, fourth barrel where the whiskey picks up ad-
ditional flavor from a freshly dumped Sherry wine or even a barrel which
once stored beer.
In the case of the Cask Thief Festival, all of the Stranahan’s selections
were either finished or had a unique element to demonstrate how one
recipe could give birth to so many tasty whiskey babies.
Here was the line-up for Cask Thief 2017:
1. Cherry Mary - whiskey finished in a local Balistreri Cherry Wine barrel
from Denver.
2. Sherry Garcia - whiskey finished in a used Sherry Oloroso barrels from
Spain.
3. 4.6 Carat Diamond - an example of the Stranahan’s Diamond Peak
202