White Whiskey/Moonshine/Poitin
White whiskey (or “moonshine”) is not a legally-defined type of whiskey, but it has grown in popularity with the increase of craft distilling in America and the need for small distillers to showcase (and sell) their products while their aged whiskey stock matures. White whiskey is a clear spirit that may be produced to the specifications of whiskey or to those of a grain neutral spirit. Moonshine can be made from nearly anything; some moonshine is made from sugar and is known as “sugar shine.” Poitin, which originated in Ireland and has protected geographical indication status with that country, is essentially a white whiskey and legally defined in Ireland, but it does not meet EU or American requirements for a whiskey.
Top White Whiskey / Moonshine / Poitin Posts:
Glory Irish Poitin
The Spirits of Sugarlands Shine
Glendalough Poitin
Stillhouse Moonshine
How do you know when white whiskey has become a Big Thing? When Jack Daniel’s, the largest spirits brand in the world, gets into the game. By way of backstory, Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 uses a fairly traditional Bourbon-style mashbill, 80% corn, the other 20% rye and malted barley. This is the way it…
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Last year I filled a 1.5-liter micro-barrel with Woodinville’s white whiskey, all part of its “age your own” whiskey kit. I’ve sampled it every couple of months but largely it’s been left untouched since July 2011. Today I bottled what was left. The photo below illustrates what two full bottles of white dog turned into…
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Boston’s first craft distiller, Bully Boy Distillers, was founded in 2010 by two brothers, Will and Dave Willis. Massachusetts natives, this deadly duo got into distilling thanks to the inspiration of their grandfather, who built an informal speakeasy on his farm, serving locally-produced hooch to friends and family. “Bully,” incidentally, is not meant to evoke…
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Built atop the underground distilling and bootlegging operation of the gangster Dutch Schultz (and on family land now owned by co-founder Alex Adams), Dutch’s Spirits is a new New York-based distillery that’s attacking the spirits industry with some unexpected products — no gin or whiskey here, be warned! We tasted Dutch’s two inaugural spirits. Thoughts…
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I’m not sure if it will be the “next big thing,” but if you haven’t heard of poitin already, prepare yourself for it. What’s poitin? It’s an Irish spirit distilled from potatoes and/or barley, heavy on the alcohol, dating back hundreds of years. Not quite a vodka and not quite a white whiskey, it occupies…
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The white whiskey market had a rocky start — mainly because a lot of producers were simply bottling straight-off-the-still moonshine, stuff with no real craft behind it, and selling it for premium prices because of the novelty value. Results: Lots of rotgut on the market. Finally, there are a couple of white whiskeys — High…
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White dog whiskeys aren’t usually very exciting, but these are more so, since I got to try Buffalo Trace’s white dog right off the still when I visited there. With these two bottlings, Buffalo Trace offers a look at the differences between wheat-heavy and rye-heavy whiskeys, sans aging time. If this sounds familiar, it’s because…
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The story behind 1512 is almost more interesting than this, its first product. Salvatore Cimino is a real barber in San Francisco, and his forebears include a series of whiskey bootleggers. So Cimino put the two together, in a way: With a legally produced whiskey named after his discreet Nob Hill barbershop. Cimino spends his…
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Tequila for rabbits? No. New Holland, based not in Holland the country but rather Holland the city in Michigan, takes a double-distilled mash of 100% malted barley, then steeps Centennial hops in it. It’s not aged, but it comes out a Chardonnay-yellow from the hops Hopquila, then, is not a funky tequila but rather a…
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The white whiskey craze continues to rumble along, and artisan producers keep driving the trend. Our friends at Craft Distillers offer this spirit, distilled from Bavarian hard wheat (wheat with a higher protein content) and fermented to an 8.8% alcohol beer. It’s then double-distilled in a copper pot still and bottled at about 90 proof,…
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