CRAFT by Under My Host® Issue No. 18 Made in America: Part III | Page 100
W W W. C R A F T BY U M H . C O M
Single Malt Whiskey • $24
Kings County Distillery
John’s Alabama Single Malt Whiskey • $47
John Emerald Distilling Company
This young-ish juice is produced by good
old boys with roots back to Scotland, so
it’s not surprising to find nods to both
the South and to the British Isles by the
ingredients and processes used to create
this single malt. It features in-house
malted Irish barley—a portion of which is
smoked with peach and pecan wood and
charred Missouri Ozark white oak that
contains oak chips soaked in Cynthiana
wine from Whippoorwill Winery in Nota-
sulga, Alabama. Vanilla, floral honey, and
pecans misted in a soft veil of smoke can
be found within.
If the wheel that Kings Country was looking to reinvent was the produc-
tion of a wholly authentic tasting single malt Scotch made on Yankee soil,
then mission accomplished, fellas! Crafted with barley and peat sourced
from the UK and aged in Kings County’s own bourbon barrels anywhere
from one and a half to four years, this single malt has a well-balanced qual-
ity—not too peaty, not too fruity, not too sweet—that makes it so enjoy-
able with my weekly fatty rib-eyes.
Del Bac Classic • $55
Hamilton Distillers Classic
Although Dave Pickerell lists Hamilton Distillers’ mesquite smoked
Dorado as a fine example of American single malt in “The Rise of
American Single Malt Whiskey,” and it is, I decided to include their
Del Bac Classic in my roundup instead. This six-month old whiskey
is made with in-house malted Colorado and Arizona barley that has
not been smoked. A whiskey modeled after Speyside Scotch with-
out even a hint of smoke? I know, it’s hard to imagine, but you should
try it because Classic’s notes of honey, molasses, clove, and pepper,
unfettered by the smolder of wood or peat, is a completely lovely
break from the norm.
Baller Single Malt Whiskey • $70
St. George Spirits
Not unlike St. George Spirits’
distiller and president, Lance
Winter, Baller is a wild one!
After this 100-percent American
barley whiskey is distilled, its
aged for three to four years in
spent bourbon and French oak
wine casks. When aging is com-
plete, it’s filtered through maple
charcoal and then finished in
umeshu (Japanese plum liqueur
made from California-grown
fruit) casks! Respectably dry,
despite the plum liqueur cask
finish, and aromatic and fruity
because of it. You don’t have a
bottle like Baller in your collec-
tion, trust me. And you’re going
to want this bottle in your collec-
tion, trust me on that, too.
Peachwood American Single Malt • $55
Copper Fox Distillery
After an internship at Bowmore on Islay, Copper Fox
founder Rick Wasmund returned with a mission to
marry his love for Scotch and wood smoke. Copper Fox
malts their own Virginia barley before smoking a share
(12-18 ppm) with peach wood. If that wasn’t enough,
toasted oak and peach wood chips are added through-
out the aging process to the spent bourbon barrels
that house this single malt. The result is a decidedly
fruitwood-smoked whiskey with a hint of peach, warm
spice, and a fruity-caramel finish.
Single Malt Whiskey • $100
Hillrock Estate Distillery
ALL (WELL, SOME OF) THE SINGLE LADDIES
The barley used to make this whiskey never leaves the estate—it’s grown, malted, smoked (with peat
imported from Speyside), milled, mashed, fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled at Hillrock. After aging
in Hillrock’s own bourbon barrels, this single malt spends several weeks in PX casks. The grand dame of
the bunch, this elegant whiskey was the first American single malts I ever experienced and still one of the
finest. It’s caramel, spice, and everything nice.
BY CORI PAIGE
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