Wasmund's Whiskey

[JoeHoya]

For aaronsinger: VA ABC does carry it, but it depends on the store. Or you can go over to Ace. I'd highly suggest checking the batch number before buying. Given ol_ironstomach's notes on the #24, and my experiences with the #21, I'd suggest at least in the 20s.

But Rick is a pretty good guy, and the tour I took there was fun - it was the first time I'd visited a distillery!

I found Rick's distillery quite by accident after a trip to Skyline Drive back in October. What a great time - and Rick is DEFINITELY a terrific guy.

At that point, Rick was particularly proud of the way Batch #23 was turning out and he indicated that there was a change that he had made between 22 and 23 that he would likely carry forward to all future batches.

In DC, you can find Wasmund's at Schneiders on Mass Ave., NE near Union Station and at Pearson's on Wisconsin Ave., NW in Glover Park. Enjoying the bottle we picked up as soon as we got home!

We also did a brief write-up on Wasmund's over at Capital Spice soon after we got home and tried it.

[Gary Tanigawa]

I wonder if he would be interested in investors to cover the bond for either a cut of the action, or even better figuring out a way to navigate through the complex and often idiotic liquor laws of various areas for an appropriate amount of well aged whiskey.

That possiblity is discussed here, which also announces a tasting at Peason's on December 17, 2008.

[jparrott]

Not the same, unfortunately. The thought about getting investors would be to put up a number of full-size (200L) barrels of whisky for some number of years, unchipped, and then bottle it and sell in via the usual channels. Whisky that private punters put in the 5L barrel via this program can't bottle it and resell it legally.

Plus, the effect of a tiny, new, charred barrel on new-make whisky is much different from that of a full-size ex-bourbon cask.

[ebencopple]

Plus, the effect of a tiny, new, charred barrel on new-make whisky is much different from that of a full-size ex-bourbon cask.

Certainly much different, and not bad in the Least! I was really impressed with what I tasted from Rick's flask last weekend (I hosted a Whisky dinner with Rick showcasing Wasmund's). He let me try some of a new batch that had been aged in that little barrel for only 4 1/2 months. What a change!

The first time I tasted the spirit, I thought (like most here it seems) that it was at least a little too hot due to lack of ageing. I'm a grappa enthusiast, so that did not deter me in the least from enjoying it as often as I could. I simply thought such a nice fella, doing something as soulful as being the only person in the U.S. to floor malt barley for a whisky, should succeed in a large market. That heat, I felt, was going to keep most people from enjoying it as much as they would otherwise. Rick was never quite candid with me as to why he couldn't (or wouldn't) age the whisky for a longer period outdoors as a single malt Scotch would be. Now that I understand the burden of the tax bond, it makes loads of sense.

Rick said late in the evening that those little barrels might be the thing that keeps his business afloat. I think he might be on to something there because the result of the ageing in the new barrel was superb. The apple and cherry wood he uses to cook the malt still shine through. The high surface area to volume ratio really did a job on that rough edge that has dogged his bottlings, leaving a cask-strength whisky (124 proof for this batch) quite quaffable just as it is and ambrosial with the splash of water he reccomends. It seems to me the next step in his evolution. If he aged all his spirit in those little buggers it'd be more palatable to the market at large with an even shorter time in the barrel than what he's got now.

[edenman]

btw he is making rye too, now. iirc it's availabine in DC or will be soon.

[aaronsinger]

btw he is making rye too, now. iirc it's availabine in DC or will be soon.

Stopped in at Calvert-Woodley to pick up a bottle of Wasmund's today, after touring the distillery on a hike in November [very nice guy, too]. They had no idea what I was talking about and said it wasn't distributed in DC. So, I headed up Connecticut Ave. to Chevy Chase Liquors, they not only had the whiskey, but the Rye, too. I was tempted to pick up the rye as well as the whiskey, but stuck with the latter.

[saf]

They had no idea what I was talking about and said it wasn't distributed in DC

He did a tasting at Cleveland Park Wine and Liquor last Saturday. They are carrying his stuff, as is Pearson's. Calvert-Woodley is falling behind here!