Corsair Triple Smoke Malt Whiskey

"Im an avid whiskey lover," says Darek Bell, master distiller at Corsair Artisan Distillery in Kentucky, "but I do think whiskey could be better. Different. More interesting. More imaginative." Bell, a graduate of the Bruichladdich Distilling Academy in Islay, Scotland, is a mad-scientist and a notoriously experimental distiller. Since opening its doors in 2009, Corsair Artisan Distillery has received numerous accolades and awards, including being named the 2013 Craft Distillery of the Year and 2013 Innovator of the Year by Whisky Magazine.Corsair Triple Smoke Small Batch American Malt Whiskey is made exclusively from American malted barley. Once Bell sources the barley, he divides it into three fractions and smokes each fraction over a different fuel. While a portion of the barley is smoked over a traditional peat flame, another portion is smoked over a cherry wood flame, and the remainder is smoked over a beechwood flame. This smoking process unique in the industry contributes well-balanced notes of sweet fruits and peaty smoke to the whiskey, and adds an unusual depth and complexity.After smoking the barley, Bell mashes and ferments it before being distilled the wash through his 240-gallon, antique copper-pot still. Then, the whiskey is aged in new, charred American oak barrels, which contribute hints of cinnamon and allspice to the whiskey, and add an additional layer of complexity. Following maturation, Corsair Triple Smoke is brought to proof and bottled by hand.Corsair Triple Smoke earned the Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2010 and at the MicroLiquor Spirits Awards in 2011. In addition, it earned the title of "Artisan Whiskey of the Year" in 2013 from Whisky Advocate.Pick up a bottle today!