Tasting notes

nose

vanilla and banana custard with burnt sugar, cherry, fig, cedar and a little leather

palate

cinnamon stick and vanilla cream with toffee, lime zest and cola, then black pepper, cocoa and lightly charred oak

finish

lingering spice; leather, clove and black pepper over espresso and cocoa nib, drying to oak tannin with a faint dusting of vanilla

Mash bill

The mash bills of the seven straight bourbons in this blend are not published. They come from Baltimore Spirits Co. in Maryland, High Wire Distilling in South Carolina, Rich Grain Distilling in Mississippi, SanTan Spirits in Arizona, Still Austin Whiskey Co. in Texas, Whiskey Acres Distilling in Illinois and Wollersheim Distillery in Wisconsin. Each brings its own recipe and climate, and the blend is built from all seven.

Why it's craft

Lost Lantern distills nothing; it buys barrels from small American distilleries and publishes where every one came from, and this blend draws on seven of them, from Maryland to Arizona. The components include Still Austin in Texas, Whiskey Acres in Illinois and Wollersheim in Wisconsin. The Vermont bottler, founded by Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski, slow-proofs the blend and bottles it without chill filtration or added color.