Jul. 10: Drammers Warsaw......
Hello Warsaw Drammers!
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at 7pm! Once again, a big thank you to Maks for organizing. The address where we’re meeting is: Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 45, app 92, Powiśle, Warszawa.
We’ve assembled a fun lineup of bottles for this tasting:
Falkirk Distillery. You’ll be the first in Poland (and one of the first in world really) to try a release from the Falkirk Distillery, a lowland distillery in Scotland that was built in the shadows of the long-closed, legendary Rosebank Distillery. George Stewart, who grew up in the area, set out to save and rebuild that historic Rosebank Distillery, but legal issues over the years never let him proceed, and ultimately much of what had been left of the ruins of the old distillery was stolen etc. So, he set out to build this, a new distillery in its place, even working out a deal to bring in the equipment from the Caperdonich Distillery (what was sometimes referred to as Glen Grant #2). Falkirk started distilling in 2020, and have been in no rush to put out their first releases. They put out their first release last year — only 640 bottles that sold out in 24 hours. And since the distillery is only open to the public by appointment only, even this 2nd release is nearly impossible to get a hold of. Luckily, our club is friends with the team behind Falkirk, and I was there yesterday to catch up with them, where I able to pick up this bottle we’ll be drinking at the event. I confirmed with the founders — this will be the first bottle to go to Poland from Falkirk.
The Hearach - Single Malt Scotch. This is the first legal whisky from the Isle of Harris, and it is fairly hard to come by. We recently hosted an online event with their distillery team, and we're proud to say we brought in more versions of their flagship The Hearach, than anyone else in the country. The Hearach single malt whisky was made using soft Outer Hebridean waters from the Abhainn Cnoc a ’Charrain, which runs over the oldest rocks on earth, and 100% Scottish Concerto barley that was lightly peated at 12-15ppm using peat cut by hand at 'Cleite Mhòr', an area of South Harris where peat has been harvested for generations. This Scotch also benefits from a long fermentation that runs for up to five days, as well as maturation for at least five years in three cask types, Fino butts, first-fill bourbon, and oloroso sherry casks.
Ki One - Batch 4 (Peated Single Malt). Three Societies Distillery is the first single malt whisky distillery in South Korea, and their expressions have started to arrive to the US. This peated expression is their 4th release, combining a dash of smoke with their trademark fruit and spice notes. 46% abv.
Speakeasy Bourbon by Willet. It's not every day that the famed Willet Distillery releases a new flagship bourbon expression! This first release has been fairly hard to come by, featuring a mashbill of 79% corn, 7% rye, 14% malted barley (Barrel Entry Proof 125). The concept seems to be a "softer" bourbon. Their marketing materials reference that at speakeasys during Prohibition, "Patrons knew to “speak easy” or softly of their secret watering hole, lest they draw the attention of a prohibition agent." 49% abv
Wollersheim Bourbon. Lost Lantern hand-selected this cask from Wollersheim Distillery in Wisconsin. With roots dating back to the 19th century, the family-owned winery and distillery has revived a long tradition of Wisconsin distilling. This 5-year-old straight bourbon whiskey was made from 66% corn, 22% rye, and 12% malted barley, all locally grown. Natural cask strength, 131.2, 1 of 200 bottles.
Westward - American Single Malt - Drammers Pick. This distillery is based in Portland, Oregon and is not only our favorite distillery in that city, it's one of the most important American single malt distilleries in the country. Our Portland members selected this single cask, an exceptional version of their flagship, which has huge malty notes. The distillers behind this distillery came from a brewing background, and you can taste that in their whiskies. Bottled at cask strength, as always.
New England Barrel Co. Bourbon Finished in a Lord Hobo Stouted Beer Cask. This is an independent bottling company based out of New Hampshire, and it is all the rage in that region — luckily our Boston members jumped on it early. We welcomed their founder James Saunders as a guest speaker for our kickoff Drammers Boston event, and followed that up by tasting through some of his special releases. When we got wind of this barrel - Kentucky Bourbon sourced from Green River and finished in a Lord Hobo stout beer cask. Our Boston chapter made the way up to the NEBCo offices a few months ago and picked a barrel just for our members, and it is yummy -- like a Milky Way candy bar in a bottle. Since we selected this barrel, Green River Distillery was acquired by our friends at Bardstown Bourbon Company! 56.9% abv.
That’s our lineup, we hope you can join us! We’ll order in light food (likely pizza), to try to make sure nobody is drinking on an empty stomach, and of course we ask that everyone arrange a ride home, as we’ll be drinking plenty of high-abv whisky this evening. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Cheers,
Charlie