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This is at half hour drive to the north of Philadelphia that lays Dad’s Hat Rye Whiskey distillery, in Bristol, created in 2011. Three words come very obvious out of the mouth when one visit the distillery: Passion, Quality and Innovation. This has a price: work. This has a return: success. Their iconic and most refined spirit, “Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey” has been recognized by Jim Murray in his 2018 Whisky bible with a “brilliant” grade of 91.5 out of 100. Other distinctions are shown below, proudly displayed at the facility. Dad’s Hat team uses local farmed grain of the highest quality, and the double distillation is processed through the big pot still for the low wines, and then the column to get to the 150 proof expected. The dilution reduces the alcoholic concentration down to 120 proof, and maturation happens in oak barrels. The barrels of two sizes are coming from Missouri, air-dried for at least one year, and offer an excellent interaction between the wood and the spirit. Before bottling, the spirit that has matured in the barrels is poured in a gigantic tun. To ensure consistency of the production, they never empty totally the tun : this is allowing the new batches to melt with previous ones and achieve uniformity of the whiskey over time . It is a simplified version of the Solera technique used in Spain. We can see Herman, the co-founder and distiller, in front of the tun. A sample is collected from the tun and shown in the ladle below; it is a Classic Rye whiskey matured six to nine months in small barrels: the spirit gets already a very nice color. TASTING: It’s all rye, and as Herman says “we do what we do well”. The various casks they have acquired offer a lot of options for the maturation process which is expressing their creativity.

Classic Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey, 45%

MAKE: The mash bill is composed of 80% rye, 15% malted barley and 5 % malted rye, and  matured in quarter casks for least six months, then blended with previous batches to ensure consistency. NOSE: Spicy rye and oak PALATE: The rye comes strong as expected, with some bitterness and oaky notes. FINISH: Rather short, with a very dominant rye. MY TAKE: This is a young rye whiskey that would could well be part of a nice cocktail, adding some sweet ingredients to balance the bitterness of the rye: Manhattan (with sweet vermouth), Brooklyn (with marashino liquor and dry vermouth) or Diamondback (with applejack and green chartreuse)

Rye Whiskey, finished in Vermouth Barrels. 47%

MAKE: The classic rye whiskey, from the quarter casks, is getting and additional three months maturation in Californian vermouth barrels first fill. NOSE: The first aroma that comes is the spicy rye notes, but wait a bit longer to get the fruit coming (mainly plum), very pleasant PALATE: A lot of spicy rye and oak, and some orange peels FINISH: Rather short with the rye and some dryness MY TAKE:  A creative make. It would be interesting to test whether the spirit could benefit from a bit more maturation time in the vermouth cask.

Rye Whiskey, finished in Port wine Barrels. 47%

MAKE: The classic rye whiskey is finished for three months in casks that matured Port wine in Portugal. The darker color shows first the influence of the second maturation. NOSE: The rye spice comes, sweeter and softer than in the classic version, with hints of fruity notes PALATE: The rye flavor comes very strong, hard to decipher what is behind FINISH: The rye dries out MY TAKE: A variation that could benefit from more Port wine influence

Straight Rye Whiskey, 47.5%

MAKE: Matured about four years in 53-gallon barrels. Made of 80% rye, 15% malted barley and 5 % malted rye NOSE: The rye is coming loud and clear, and a bit more time is needed to go behind and find hints of honey and sawdust PALATE: The rye is very present, a bit dry and oaky, with spices (cinanon and cloves), and some bitter notes of caramel FINISH: rather short and dry, fading on the rye notes AWARD: Recognized by Jim Murray in his 2018 Whisky bible with a “brilliant” grade of 91.5 out of 100 MY TAKE: A promising Rye Whiskey that Rye enthusiasts should acquire

Rye Whiskey, finished in Mapple syrup casks, 45%

MAKE: The distillery provides casks that contained their rye whiskey to a farm that fills them with maple syrup. This creates a nice rye-flavored maple syrup. When the maple syrup barrel is empty, it is shipped back to the distillery and used for a maturation finish of their rye whiskey. NOSE: Sweet and light PALATE: The sweetness of the maple is balancing well the bitterness of the rye FINISH: fades out rather shortly, on the rye and sweet notes MY TAKE: A peculiar variation of the whiskey that soften the rye flavor       CONTACTS: Don’t hesitate to pay a visit: you’ll get a great tour and an extensive tasting of their products. Mountain Laurel Spirits, LLC • 925 Canal Street, Building #4, Door 16 Bristol, PA 19007 https://dadshatrye.com/

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