Wanderback Batch 3
Many an American single malt (and those the world over) take a variety of cues from scotch. Wanderback is tapping into a different tradition, one found in both Ireland and in the Bourbon world here in the United States, somewhere between a distillery and an independent bottler. This is where a brand works with a distillery to create the whisky, which is then handed over to the brand for anything else like maturation and blending. This isn’t because the company wants to shortcut the normal process, moreso that they want to explore all the prospects American whiskies currently produce already offer and take them in new directions. The first four batches, The Evergreen Collection, were distilled just a few hours to their north at Westland Distillery. The Wanderback Batch 3 has been aged in high toast, low char new American oak and finished in French oak port casks.
Glenmorangie The Tale of Cake
Glenmorangie has undergone a quiet expansion in branding over recent years. Eschewing the dark wood tones and lofty Highland landscape photos plastered over the marketing boxes, websites and social media of other distilleries, Glenmorangie infused newer releases with bold color palates and creative stories. This is an unashamed move to appeal to segments of the population who might not have considered single malt scotch beforehand or who considered the drink too stuffy, infusing it with a sense of fun and whimsy. The Tale of Cake is the brainchild of Dr. Bill Lumsden, Director of Distilling for Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, and is meant to evoke a “cake moment”, or rather the sense of joy and savoriness he associated with cake at various point in his life. The ex-Tokaji casks this limited edition is finished in are a Hungarian dessert wine.
Berkshire Mountain 10 Year Oktoberfest
Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD) was founded in 2007 in Massachusetts by Chris Weld. Chris tried making a still in the 8th grade, which feels qualified as a good start. The distillery sits on an old apple farm and a working spring. In the proceeding years, the distillery has made a variety of vodkas, gins, rums, and bourbon, along with corn and single malt whiskies. BMD seems to love experimenting, as they have developed multiple kinds of each spirit by making use of their small batch production. The distillery is also into collaboration with local breweries and farms, as shown by their recent Craft Brewers Whiskey Project. The Berkshire Mountain 10 Year Oktoberfest is another entry in collaboration, as this single malt is aged for ten years and was distilled from an Oktoberfest beer by nearby brewery Berkshire Brewing.