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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/580366
www.cheersonline.com 41 October 2015 • DeFazio notes, "but it feels right." Crater Lake Spirits in Oregon takes it a step further. Founded in 1996, the company today produces a wide range of spirits, including a rye whiskey. Its 24-acre facility includes its own farmland, grain silos and milling departments. "We grow our own rye," says lead distiller Lean Glaser. "This allows us to change the flavor profile every year for the grain. There's a lot more control of the process, from start to finish." "We mill our own rye in-house and then mash it the same day," he adds. "A lot of distilleries cannot do all that in-house. We go ground-to-bottle, onsite. We do everything but harvest the sand and blow the glass bottles ourselves." Crater Lake Spirits chose rye in part because the company believes it grows better in the high desert climate than other grains. The rye whiskey retails for about $30 per 750-ml. bottle; it's available nationwide. CLIMATES AND AGING Whiskey flavor relies greatly on aging. Where distillers store their barrels makes a considerable impact on the final spirit. And atmospheres differ from state to state. "The aging element is really conducive to our whiskey," says Crater Lake Spirits owner Alan Dietrich. "Alcohol spends most of its life aging. The hot days and cool nights of Oregon make a big difference. The temperature can vary 50 to 60 degrees per day." When Oregon temperatures spike during daytime, whiskey expands and seeps out of barrel wood. At night, this liquid is sucked back in. "There's a lot more of that going on here than in other places," Glaser says. "It imparts a lot of flavor." Crater Lake Spirits counts this as an advantage. "It would be too expensive to artificially reproduce this temperature flux process elsewhere," Dietrich says. "It's my gut feeling that one year of aging in the high desert equals three years of aging in Kentucky." This allows the distillery to release its rye after just one year in barrels. And that means the whiskey retains more of its natural spicy, peppery characteristics, Glaser says, as those qualities would lessen over time while aging. "You're seeing brighter, more-flavorful whiskeys coming out of the west," he observes. Further north in Seattle, the coastal climate is noticeably different. "It's like a temperate rain forest," says Hoffman of Westland Distillery. "We get 150 inches of rain per year. A heat wave is 75 degrees. And it's never cooler than 40 degrees." This creates a unique environment for whiskey production, Hoffman adds. "And we're not insulating our rack house. That alone makes our whiskey distinct." And in Wyoming, the arid heat means greater alcohol evaporation, for a higher "angel's share." Wyoming Whiskey hoses down the rack house floors to help lessen this loss. OF THE LAND These non-Kentucky distilleries take pride on producing whiskey that does not taste like it was from the Blue Grass State. "Kentucky bourbons use a proprietary yeast, which is all very similar in how it's made," explains Wyoming Whiskey's DeFazio. "And there's a lot of horse trading back east. This creates a community among all the bourbons." "We stand alone," he continues. "We were not given the benefit of having that proprietary yeast. We had to try myriad different yeasts in an old moonshiner's still until we got it right. Every drop we make, we own it. And Wyoming owns it." Terroir is an unquantifiable element, DeFazio notes. "At the end of the day, it makes our whiskey way different." Hoffman concurs. "It's all about what we get out of our Washington State ingredients," he says. "You can make good anything anywhere. We have things that make us distinct. That's why we're comfortable giving out our recipes, because of all the little things that go into them." Hudson Whiskey's Shan agrees that the whiskey "tastes like what it's made of." "We believe that there's a terroir to product, just like with wine," he says. "Because it's not just with grapes. You can get terroir from grains, from local water. We found the essence of that heirloom corn, and we kept it throughout the process." PART OF THE COMMUNITY For most craft producers, it's not just about making whiskey. At Crater Lake Spirits, "it really is an extension of our brand, trying to be as locally based as possible," Dietrich says. "We believe very strongly in Washington State as a big part of what we are," Hoffman says. "And it gives our whiskey a more interesting story." While these new craft distilleries opening nationwide are eager to take in local resources, so too does the relationship extend the other way. At Hudson Whiskey, "We're creating real jobs and supporting the local tax base," Shan points out. "We're making a very real, very positive impact." The popularity of Hudson Whiskey recently inspired parent company Tuthilltown Spirits to release it in 750-ml. bottles; the product was initially only offered in a 375-ml. bottle.