Whether we were in Ireland, Scotland or Kentucky, Amanda and I saw a stillman monitoring the new made spirit at our favorite distilleries.  In an effort to honor their tradition and the craft, we take tight cuts off our stills one bucket at a time…

 

 

As the world’s demand for whiskey continues to rise, computers have taken to monitoring the temperature and percent alcohol at many distillers.  Here, every 3 gallon bucket is inspected for taste, smell, and clarity.  Amanda and I take turns measuring and pouring the buckets through a copper funnel into our bourbon barrels.  Coming off the large still, we line our funnels with the traditional, unbleached muslin cloth.   Every bucket tastes different: starting off like cotton candy, transitioning into a apricot, then hazelnuts, and finally heavily toasted almonds.  And the “tight cuts” refer to the very narrow range of alcohols we’ll collect off the stills.

 

Thank y’all!
Nick

 

PS I’d like to give a special thanks to our very talented friend, Rafael Ruiz, for helping us create this short video!