Flagship Whiskey Batch 1

Online sales will begin at 7:00 PM on Monday, August 17. Pre-ordered bottle pick up begins Wednesday, August 19 at noon. 🚨🚨🚨IMPORTANT INFORMATION🚨🚨🚨 THERE IS A VERY VERY VERY STRICT 1 BOTTLE PER PERSON LIMIT. ORDERS WITH MULTIPLE BOTTLES OF WHISKEY WILL BE CANCELED AND REFUNDED. THIS ITEM IS AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE PURCHASE ONLY. THERE WILL BE NONE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT THE DISTILLERY. PRE-ORDERED BOTTLES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP ONLY. WE CANNOT SHIP. PICKUP WILL BEGIN WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, AT 12PM, AND WE WILL HOLD ORDERS FOR AS LONG AS NEEDED. FEEL FREE TO PICK UP LATER IN THE WEEK (WE ARE OPEN DAILY 12-7PM). WHEN PICKING UP, RESPECT PEOPLE'S 6-10 FEET, WEAR A FACE COVERING/MASK, AND DO NOT CROWD THE ENTRY SO THAT PEOPLE MAY MOVE FREELY IN AND OUT OF FOGGY MOUNTAIN SHOP. CURBSIDE PICKUP IS AVAILABLE. SIMPLY CALL 907-209-2015 UPON ARRIVAL AND HAVE YOUR ID READY. PRICE INCLUDES 8% CBJ TAX. Alright. Now, for the whiskey information. I (Brandon) will try to be succinct. Describing whiskey is a very challenging thing. And there is a lot of marketing non-sense and mumbo-jumbo out there. One particular whiskey descriptor that is EVERYWHERE, and constant, and completely uninformative, yet - most likely - THE SINGLE MOST COMMON WAY TO DESCRIBE A WHISKEY. It is just the worst. Smooth. Yes. Smooth. Usually pronounced with a couple of extra oo's. Like "Smooooooth". Ugh. A glacier polished rock: smooth. A baby's bottom: smooth. LL Cool J: decidedly smooth. Freshly zambonied ice: Smooooooth. Smooth is a fine descriptor, it has just always seemed not appropriate to whiskey. Yet. Here I am. Struggling for words, and each time I try this latest whiskey, I come back to this word. I've tried "approachable", "friendly", "drinkable" - all generic garbage descriptors in their own right. So. I'm taking it all back. I've been wrong. Drinkers of Jameson, Daniel's, Macallan - I've been wrong and I apologize. Smooth is absolutely accurate and appropriate. So, that is where we will begin. This whiskey is rather "smooth". You see, we put our whiskey into the barrel at 55-60% alcohol by volume (110-120 proof), which is a strength enjoyed by relatively few. To make the whiskey more drinkable, water is added after it is harvested from the barrel to make the strength more palatable. For this release, after several tastings, we settled on 45% alcohol by volume. This means a little bit of math, and adding a very precise bit of water, measuring some things, and making certain WE DON'T ADD TOO MUCH WATER. We call this "proofing". Well, after proofing this whiskey, letting it mingle for a couple of days, and then sampling it, I was certain that I had made a terrible mistake and added TOO MUCH WATER. 😫😫😫. So, I measured the proof. And stirred the tank. And measured the proof again. And stirred the tank again. And measured the proof. And come to find out, I had not added enough water, and the whiskey was exactly 46% ABV. It was at that moment that I realized that this whiskey was indeed, "smooth". A bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing. You see, 46% ABV is not a very watered down whiskey - most clock in between 40-45%. For this release, none of that adding water, or letting it rest, or airing it out. Right out of the bottle, this whiskey is immensely drinkable. Aside from "smooth", this whiskey has distinct malty and chocolate notes blended with a dark fruit (I'd say prunes or raisins, but those are very polarizing. And gosh. The associations with prunes and raisins...) that make it rather rich. Dessert like. There are nice baking spices in there - like cinnamon and nutmeg and clove. Not a lot (especially not a lot of clove. yuck.). But they are there, and add some complexity and a nice tingle on the pallet. This whiskey is also incredibly sweet. It is a blend of 2 new American oak casks (caramel, vanilla, some of those baking spices) and 1 ex-madeira cask, which is responsible for the sweetness. Lots of dark fruit sweetness. The malt bill included honey malt and chocolate malt, and we used an abbey ale yeast and a saison yeast to contribute lots of fruity esters (ever had banana laffy taffy? - that smell is Isoamyl acetate, one of the most recognizable fruity esters produced in the fermentation of beers) and a bit of baking spice that compliments the new American oak barrels. If you put this in a glass with a bit of ice and a dash of bitters, you'd likely be satisfied with it as an old fashioned without even adding sugar. It is that sweet. So, make a proper Old Fashioned with the sugar, and it will be dessert in a glass - especially with some of the Black Walnut bitters that you can find around town. How to drink this whiskey: Aside from however you like, we must say (Maura and I) that we have created a whiskey that makes a uniquely delicious Manhattan. The richness of the whiskey holds up exceptionally well to the best and most flavorful vermouths incredibly well. I suppose whiskies that make ideal Manhattans may be our thing 🤔🤔🤔. Nothing wrong with that. May we also recommend sipping on it neat or with just a bit of ice. Hot toddies: BIG YES. Old Fashioned: YEP. Whiskey sours: NO NO NO 🤮🤮🤮. But, if you do make one, and you do like it, please let us know - just can't wrap our heads around how this would work. As for a highball - and I have not tried this yet - I have a hunch that this would be incredible with cherry coke. Just a sneaking suspicion. A tingle in my (Brandon - this is not endorsed by Maura) toes. We really are excited about this whiskey, and even more excited that this is what our whiskey will be like when it is regularly on the shelf. This is our "flagship" whiskey - the base representation of whiskey at Amalga Distillery. So, while this is a special release of sorts because we don't have a whole lot of it yet, this will be what to expect on our shelves as more of our stock matures. Enjoy. Sip responsibly and sip locally. 🙏🙏🙏