Liberty Pole Peated Bourbon
Mingo Creek Craft Distillers was founded in 2017 by Jim and Ellen Hough. The name of their distillery and their whiskey, Liberty Pole, references the Whiskey Rebellion (1791-1794) that has its roots in Western Pennsylvania, where the Liberty Pole was raised by farmers to proclaim their resistance to the whiskey tax levied against them by a fledgling federal government. The rebellion collapsed after federal militia arrived but memory of it still lives in Washington, PA. The distillery offers six core whiskies, including a bourbon cream, and have recently upgraded their still size to increase production. In 2019, they worked with all the other Pennsylvania distilleries to create a special cask strength rye containing whiskey from each distillery for the Whiskey Rebellion Festival. The Liberty Pole Peated Bourbon is double pot distilled and aged 13-18 months.
Old Pulteney 13 Year Single Cask
Old Pulteney is called the “Maritime Malt” and lies in the town of Wick, the northernmost distillery on the mainland of Scotland. Founded in 1826, the distillery was remote enough early on to rely on the sea for the movement of its whisky. Named after the local founder of the Pulteneytown area of Wick, Sir William Pulteney, The distillery closed in 1930 for around 20 years but has been in production ever since, often with a revolving selection of award-winning single malts. The popular 21 year expression was discontinued recently and a new core range was introduced. This Old Pulteney 13 Year offering is a single cask selection made by Ace Spirits.
FEW Single Malt
FEW Spirits trades a lot on their location and story, but they have a right to. Housed in the home of the US temperance movement, owner Paul Hletko struggled to change the prohibition-era ordinances still on the town law books to be able to get his distillery running. Started in 2011, FEW makes their spirits grain-to-glass. The distillery has several offerings and the labels feature woodcut prints of wonders from the 1893 World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago. The distillery’s name shares initials with Francis Elizabeth Willard (1839–1898), founder of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which is based in Evanston. This single malt is not one of their current offerings but has been in the past, so can be still be found on shelves, with the idea it could be revived in the future.