Kings County Distillery: ADI's 2016 Distillery of the Year

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Image by Gail Sands

Colin Spoelman grew up the son of a Presbyterian minister in Harlan County, one of Kentucky’s 39 dry counties. Despite growing up in a town with no liquor stores or bars, Spoelman, as recounted in the prologue of his book The Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining: How to Make and Drink Whiskey (Harry N. Abrams, 2013), he and his friends obtained liquor from either a local bootlegger or a woman who sold booze out of her home with seeming impunity. While living in New York in 2005, Spoelman began to ponder the idea of making and selling distilled spirits. After a couple of years of experimenting, Spoelman and David Haskell founded the Kings County Distillery, and in April 2010 they began making whiskey out of the old Brooklyn Navy Yard.

In six short years, Spoelman and Haskell have grown the reach of Kings County Distillery both in terms of distribution and influence within the industry. Today, their spirits can be found in seven U.S. states and five countries. Originally working with five 25-gallon stills, Spoelman and Haskell produced a corn whiskey “moonshine,” and laid down a portion into new small barrels for bourbon. Their award-winning spirits were received by an enthusiastic public and, in part because of favorable New York State laws for small distilleries, Kings County Distillery began to grow. In 2013, Kings County Distillery upgraded to two larger Scottish-made whiskey stills and open wood fermenters. Spoelman explained that by using corn grown in New York, open top fermenters and an aging room without temperature controls, they were attempting to create whiskey that embodies the character and terroir of New York and would be purposely different from the bourbon coming out of Kentucky. And, as their production for aged spirits has grown, they have also gradually increased the size of the barrels they are using.

In 2014, Kings County Distillery earned a Gold Medal: Excellence in Packaging award from ADI. To date, all of Kings County Distillery’s spirits have been bottled in a glass hip-flask bottle with a simple metal screw-top and a slim paper band as a label. This simple package has helped their product stand out on liquor store shelves and served as a testimony to both Spoelman’s upbringing in Kentucky and the distillery’s humble beginnings. This otherwise generic bottle, closure and label have become immediately recognizable and synonymous with Kings County Distillery without any of the irony or kitsch of the mason jar used by a number of small distilleries. Spoelman and Haskell have continued to use this simple packaging because the contents have come to speak for themselves.

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Kings County Distillery Barrel Room. Photo by  Valery Rizzo

One of the reasons for the success of Kings County Distillery’s spirits is the talent they have been able to attract to their mission. Blender Nicole Austin oversees their barrel program and ensures that each new batch of whiskey they bottle is the best expression of what they make. Andrew Lohfeld, a former distiller at Kings County Distillery, believed an oat whiskey had potential and convinced Spoelman that they should try it as an experiment. As it turned out, Lohfeld was right and their Oat Whiskey earned a Gold Medal and Best of Category: Alt Whiskey at ADI’s 2016 Judging of Craft Spirits. Because of their collective efforts, Kings County Distillery has earned more than a dozen awards for their spirits. And despite their success—even in the face of their success—the team at Kings County Distillery have not been overly jealous of other people’s success or opportunities. With the blessing of Spoelman and Haskell, Lohfeld has gone on to leverage his experience and intuition as a distiller and co-founder of a new rum distillery in New Orleans.

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Bill Owens, President of ADI, presents the 2016 Distillery of the Year award to Colin Spoelman of Kings County Distillery. Photo by Carl Murray.

This year ADI recognized Kings County Distillery with its Bubble Cap Award as the 2016 Distillery of the Year. Kings County Distillery joins a small group of distilleries that represent the highest standards in the craft spirits industry in terms of the quality of their spirits, their camaraderie in the industry, and their work as ambassadors to consumers for both their own company and the industry at large. ADI is proud to champion the ethic and commitment to quality embodied by Kings County Distillery, and looks forward to their continued growth and success.

Originally published in Distiller Magazine Summer 2016

Exploring Bottled in Bond Whiskey

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Not that long ago I read Bernie Lubbers' book Bourbon Whiskey - Our Native Spirit.  In the book he wrote fondly of bonded bourbon whiskey.  For those unfamiliar with the term bonded whiskey, also labeled as bottled in bond, refers to whiskey that has been: aged for at least 4 years, bottled at exactly 100 proof (50% alcohol), the product of one single distillery, and the product of one distilling season. To be honest, before reading his book, I hadn't thought much of bonded whiskeys. Most of what I saw seemed to occupy the bottom shelf in the liquor store or back bar of my local watering holes so I assumed they weren't as good as the whiskeys higher up on the shelf.  But, as I discovered in my blind tasting of inexpensive whiskies, price and enjoyment are not always correlated.

Inspired by Bernie's passion for bottled in bond whiskeys I've decided to search them out and allow myself to have an open mind.  According to Bernie's website there are now 17 commercially available bonded whiskeys, up from 13 just three years ago, and two others only available at the Jim Beam Visitor Center and the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center.

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To the best of my knowledge all of these Bottled in Bond Whiskeys are available for retail purchase somewhere in the US. Updated: 7/3/16, 12/30/17, 06/12/19, 10/7/19

California

Spirit Works Distillery

1. Straight Wheat Whiskey B.I.B.

2. Straight Rye Whiskey B.I.B.

Colorado

Laws Whiskey House

1. A.D. Laws Four Grain Straight Bourbon B.I.B.

2. A.D. Laws Secale Straight Rye B.I.B.

Spirit Hound Distillers

1. Straight Malt Whiskey B.I.B.

Georgia

Old Fourth Distillery

1. B.I.B. Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Kentucky

Brown-Forman

1. Old Forester 1897 B.I.B.

2. Early Times B.I.B.

Heaven Hill Distilleries

1. Old Heaven Hill B.I.B.

2. Heaven Hill 6 Year Old B.I.B.

3. Evan Williams B.I.B

4. Rittenhouse Rye B.I.B.

5. Mellow Corn B.I.B.

6. Old Fitzgerald B.I.B. (Discontinued)

7. Old Fitzgerald B.I.B (Decanter Spring)

8. Old Fitzgerald B.I.B (Decanter Fall)

9. J.W. Dant B.I.B.

10. J.T.S. Brown B.I.B.

11. T.W. Samuels B.I.B.

12. Henry McKenna 10yr Single Barrel B.I.B.

13. William Heavenhill B.I.B. (Bourbon Heritage Center Only)

Jim Beam

1. Jim Beam Bonded B.I.B.

2. Old Grand Dad B.I.B.

3. Old Tub B.I.B (only at Beam Visitor Center)

New Rift Distilling

1. Bourbon B.I.B.

2. Rye Whiskey B.I.B.

Sazerac Company: Buffalo Trace Distillery

1. Very Old Barton 6 Year Old B.I.B.

2. Colonel E. H. Taylor Small Batch B.I.B.

3. Colonel E.H. Taylor Straight Rye B.I.B.

4. Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel B.I.B.

5. 1792 B.I.B. Bourbon

The Old Pogue Distillery

1. Old Maysville Club B.I.B. Kentucky Straight Rye Malt Whisky

Wilderness Trail Distillery

1. Small Batch Bourbon B.I.B.

2. Bourbon Single Barrel B.I.B.

Willett Distillery

1. Old Bardstown B.I.B.

New York

Coppersea Spirits

1. Bonticou Crag Straight Malt Rye Whiskey B.I.B.

Breuckelen Distilling

1. 77 Whiskey Bonded Rye

2. 77 Whiskey Bonded Rye & Corn

Finger Lakes Distilling

1. McKenzie Bourbon Whiskey B.I.B.

Kings County Distillery

1. B.I.B Straight Bourbon Whiskey

New York Distilling Company

1. Ragtime Rye B.I.B.

Ohio

Tom's Foolery Distillery

1. Ohio Straight Bourbon B.I.B.

Oregon

Oregon Spirit Distillers

1. B.I.B. Bourbon Whiskey

2. B.I.B. Wheat Whiskey

3. J. Becher Straight American Rye Whiskey B.I.B.

Pennsylvania

Mountain Laurel Spirits

1. Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey B.I.B.

Wigle Whiskey

1. Deep Cut B.I.B. Organic Straight Rye Whiskey

Tennessee

Brown-Forman

1. Jack Daniels B.I.B. (Travel Retail Only)

Diageo: Cascade Hollow Distillery

1. George Dickel TN Whisky B.I.B.

H Clark Distillery

1. Tennessee Bourbon B.I.B.

Virginia

Catoctin Creek Distilling Company

1. Rabble Rouser® Bottled In Bond Rye Whisky

Review: Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon

Free sample bottle received as a gift from 3rd party.

Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon, distilled by Sazerac Co. at Buffalo Trace Distillery and bottled at 46.5% ABV. 

Price Range: $45-$60

As the story goes, Elmer T. Lee, Master Distiller at Buffalo Trace decided to create a new and innovative bottling for bourbon lovers by producing the world's first single barrel bourbon.  Since 1984, the concept of single barrel spirits has been copied throughout the spirits industry and in part helped birth the "small batch" category which has dominated the growth and sales of premium spirits for the last 20 years.

The bourbon is named after Colonel Albert B. Blanton who began working at what today is the Buffalo Trace Distillery in 1897 when he was 16 years old. Blanton worked his way up the company ladder from an office boy to president of the distillery. During National Prohibition, the government gave Blanton permission to continue making whiskey for "medicinal" purposes which makes it one of oldest continuously operating distilleries in the United States. 

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The nose is light and fruity, reminiscent of candied apple and ripe pear. Underlying these bright top notes are deeper aromas of oak and yeasty bread.

Palate: Neat, Blanton's is very hot and screams for a dash of water. Once my tongue recovered a bit from the impact of the alcohol, the bourbon has a medium body with light sweetness, hints of vanilla and bright lemon zest.  

Finish: The finish is incredibly long with that is semi-dry from the wood tannins. The flavor on the finish shows notes of coffee and an herbaceousness reminiscent of rosemary.

With Water: The sharp heat mellows with the addition of water and the initial sweetness on the tongue intensifies and then transitions to baking spices. The finish is both herbal and sweet not unlike a cough lozenge. 

Conclusion: Blanton's is a fine bourbon though not completely my cup of tea. For fan's of Buffalo Trace, it is definitely worth trying but I felt the balance was off. The heat from the alcohol overshadows most of the flavors and the combination of sweet and herbal flavors are not what I usually look for in a bourbon. I imagine that Blanton's would work well in cocktails that call for sweet vermouth or for those who like to drink their bourbon on the rocks.

Thank you to Rachel for the sample. 

State 38 Distilling: The House Built on Agave

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Designed by Gail Sands

From the early 2000s, “Tequila” and “mezcal”—Mexico’s most famous agave spirits—have experienced significant growth in popularity and consumption in the United States. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS), imports of Tequila into the US have grown by 92% since 2002. In 2014, Tequila sold 13.8 million cases in the US, 6 million cases less than all Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. Given this growth, it is no surprise that US craft distillers have tried their hand at agave spirits. However, there are a couple of significant differences from Mexican and US agave spirits. First, while a few US distillers have tried to mirror the Mexican process of making agave spirits from whole piñas, the vast majority simply uses agave syrup. Second, US distillers cannot call their spirits Tequila or mezcal because
those are protected terms that refer to specific appellations of origin.

Despite difference in production and naming from their Mexican counterparts, a number of US craft distillers have brought agave spirits to market. For most US distillers of agave, their agave spirits often sit on the fringe of their portfolio, often playing 2nd or 3rd fiddle to some other brown spirit made from grain or sugar. State 38 Distilling however, is quite different. State 38’s entire portfolio of spirits, including their vodka and gin, are fermented and distilled from agave.

Sean Smiley, owner and head distiller of State 38, is not the most obvious candidate for creating the US’s only all-agave distillery. Smiley is a petroleum and process engineer who started by home brewing before he decided to open a distillery. But, unlike many former home brewers turned distillers, he did not make the obvious transition into whiskey. His choice to focus on agave seems even more strange in Colorado, the 38th state to join the union, and bursting with craft whiskey; and in Golden, of all places, with its long  association with the Coors Brewing Company.

Smiley explained that even though he tried making whiskey and rum, he did not think either were as intellectually challenging or interesting in their flavor profile as agave. Part of the challenge he faced during product development was to find a yeast strain that could fully attenuate agave syrup and give him a flavor profile he liked. He pitched his yeasts at a specific gravity of 1.070 and noticed that most quickly drop to 1.040 SG, but stalled out and would not attenuate much beyond that. Incidentally, Vapor Distillery (formerly Roundhouse Spirits), ran into a similar problem, which is partly why they suspended production of their Tatanka American Agave Spirit. However, Smiley persisted. After experimenting with 45 different strains, Smiley found his ideal yeast.

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The Young Ace, reposado agave spirit, The Clever Jack blanco agave spirit and The Pious Queen vodka are part of the agave-centric spirits line distilled at State 38. The distillery also makes an agave-based gin. Photo courtesy of State 38 Distilling

All of State 38’s spirits start off as Fair Trade 100% Organic Raw Blue Agave syrup, which Smiley buys from Mexico. The syrup is separated into a half dozen or so 55-gallon stainless steel drums and diluted to 1.070 SG before he pitches his yeast. Smiley explained that because the agave was naturally
rich in minerals, he did not need to add nutrients to the fermentation. Once the yeast is pitched, the drums are wrapped with an insulating blanket to help maintain their temperature.

When fermentation has finished, the contents of a drum are transferred to the first of Smiley’s 250-gallon still that Smiley built from a used milk pasteurizer.

Both State 38’s Vodka and Gin are triple distilled. State 38’s vodka is stripped and then gets two passes through Smiley’s finishing still with its 6-plate column. After the third distillation, the vodka is proofed down, filtered and bottled. The gin, however, takes a slightly different path. For the third distillation, Smiley fills a vapor basket with Colorado juniper and a number of other gin botanicals. Once the gin has been vapor infused, it rests in a new charred oak barrel for one month before it is proofed down and bottled. Until recently, Smiley’s vodka was the only agave-based vodka sold in the US but, so far, no one else is distilling an agave-based barrel rested gin.

All of State 38’s agave spirits are twice distilled and matured in full-sized, new American white oak barrels with a #3 char from Independent Stave. After the finishing run, Smiley fills one of his barrels and lets it sit. His blanco agave spirit typically rests for five days before the barrel is emptied, proofed, filtered
and bottled. Meanwhile, Smiley’s reposado and anejo agave spirits mature for two months and 12 months, respectively, before they are bottled. Given all the media attention about the existence or non-existence of a barrel shortage, Smiley’s maturation schedule for his four aged spirits seemed like it
would burn through new barrels pretty quickly. However, he explained that, given the current after market for barrels, it is actually more cost effective for him to buy new barrels, use them once and then sell them to local breweries who use them two or three more times.

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Sean Smiley and his wife Jessie show off a 250-gallon still that he constructed from a milk pasteurizer. Jessie went into labor a few hours after this picture was taken and their son Jordan was born in the wee hours of the next day. Photo © Bill Owens

Like many small distilleries around the county, State 38 is growing their business because people in their local market like what they taste. Their tasting room, modeled after an 1870s mining town saloon, does a good job of introducing drinkers to the idea of US agave spirits. Their Agave Reposado
has the distinct vegetal notes that one associates with a young, or lightly aged, Tequila. Its flavor profile, balanced finish and bottling strength of 90 proof, make the reposado an excellent candidate for margaritas. The Agave Anejo is likely to appeal to whiskey fans, or those drawn to extra-anejo Tequilas. Sitting in a new charred barrel for 12 months, the agave picks up a
ton of barrel notes. The palate is full of vanilla, caramel and sweetness, with an underlying note of green agave. Bottled at 80 proof, State 38’s Agave Anejo is a very smooth and tasty spirit worth sipping slowly throughout an evening.

Unbound by Tequila or mezcal’s legal definitions, Smiley plans to add complexity to his agave spirits by blending different varieties of agave syrups. While Smiley currently uses syrup from blue agaves, this past summer he purchased the remaining maugey organic agave syrup from Vapor Distillery. Maugey is a variety of agave, which traditionally has been used to make a low alcohol “beer-like” beverage in Mexico. Smiley stated that, when distilled, maugey has a fuller and earthier character compared to blue agave. He believes that a blend of maguey and blue agave will layer new flavors and add nuance, similar to the way that whiskey or brandy distillers use multiple varieties of grains or grapes to create flavor profiles.

State 38 has helped break new ground in the US with their range of agave spirits. Smiley and a handful of other craft distillers around the country have successfully demonstrated that agave spirits can be much more than just Tequila. US Agave spirits produced from syrup, like Smiley’s, are helping
to define the character of a new category of spirits. It will be interesting to see how the category grows as a whole, but if the history of the craft distilling industry is any indication, innovation will be the norm.

Origionally published as part of the "Defining Craft" series in Distiller Magazine (Winter 2015): 106-111.

Stoli Kafya & The Tale of Two Stolichnayas

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1997 advertisement for Stoli Kafya.

Free sample bottle received as a gift from 3rd party.

Stolichnaya Stoli Kafya Coffee Flavored Russian Vodka, most likely distilled by Latvian Balsam in Riga, Latvia and bottled at 35% ABV. 

Price Range: Unavailable in the US.

Roughly translated as Capital City, Stolichnaya was first produced sometime around the early 1940s in Russia. In 1972, PepsiCo struck a deal with the Soviet Union which gave Pepsi an exclusive right to export and distribute Stolichnaya throughout the West. In exchange, Pepsi Cola could be produced, distributed and sold by the Soviets throughout the USSR. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the State controlled company that owned the trademarks to Stolichnaya and a few other Russian spirit brands attempted to privatize and transfer their trademarks to a company called SPI Group. However, since 2003, the Russian Federation has claimed that the trademark transfer to SPI Group was not legally valid and SPI does not have the right to produce and sell a product called Stolichnaya. As a result of this litigation, the Russian state-owned company FKP Sojuzplodoimport produces Stolichnaya in Russia and distributes it throughout the Russian Federation, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, SPI Group continues to produce Stolichnaya and its flavored counterparts at a distillery in Latvia and distributes them in the United States and most of Europe.

FKP's Stolichnaya is distilled from a fermented mash of grain and white sugar. After distillation the vodka is filtered through quartz sand and birch charcoal. SPI's Stolichnaya is distilled three times from a fermented wheat mash and it is also filtered through quartz sand and birch charcoal. Neither FKP or SPI give any indication for how their flavored vodkas are produced which likely means they are using flavor additives rather than whole fruits or spices.

Author and gin expert David T. Smith provided me with the 50ml bottle of Stoli Kafya for the review below. David is a fellow drinks writer who lives in the UK, and he was kind enough to bring me the sample on one of his visits to the US earlier this year. 

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The nose is very pleasant and is reminiscent of Bi-Rite's Coffee Ice Cream or a caffè mocha.

Palate: Stoli Kafya tastes like milk chocolate. It is velvety smooth, with no heat and just a little sweetness.

Finish: Despite its smooth texture in the mouth, the finish is dry, similar to eating dark chocolate. And, a long malty note of ovaltine lingers in the back of the throat. Unfortunately the finish also has an off putting medicinal and saccharin character. 

Conclusion: The coffee character is weaker than I had hoped for and what one might expect from "coffee" flavored vodka. However, Stoli Kafya is a pleasant spirit that would work very well in a number of cocktails: A Kafya Milk Punch or a Dry (hold the Kahlúa) White Russian are two that immediately spring to mind. From what I can tell Stoli Kafya is no longer available in the US. So, if you like the flavor of coffee and milk chocolate in your cocktails and you come across Stoli Kafya in your travels, you should snatch up a bottle or two.

Sources Cited.