Distillers Talk #163 - Paul Menta, Key West Rum

Paul Menta of Key West First Legal Rum Distillery joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson following a distillers gathering at George Washington's Distillery at Mount Vernon. Paul catches us up on collaborations in the works following the trip. We also learn more about his unique processes at his own distillery, including salt curing his barrels for pH adjustment, and the need for greater education by distilleries to the consumer.

AJ from Casey Jones Distillery in Western KY joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to chat about the square pot still, running a lake-destination distillery and more. We even get a few stories about Casey Jones and learn about Moonaritas.

Ken Schreiner of A.J. Schreiner Spirits joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to catch up since the company's launch and release of their first pre-prohibition style rye and gin.

Moonshiners Master Distiller alum JJ Jackson joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson since taking on the Head Distiller role at Lucky Sign Spirits. Tune in as JJ walks through a sampling of new projects, including rum and brandy. We get into consumer relatability in the craft spirits industry, transparency and techniques with younger products, and embracing terroir and our local farmers. There's also a proposal for vintages in some distilled spirits.

Dr. Pat Heist of Wilderness Trail Distillery and Ferm Solutions joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss fermentation, particularly grain vs sugar ferms, osmotic stress and more. Pat shares some perspectives from his consulting work for distillers exploring yeast strains and ways to manipulate your batches to produce diverse results using the same strain. We discuss the buzz about the bourbon industry and speculation about the market, as well as how the approaches taken by Wilderness Trail that have supported their growth and maintained the brand's strong presence during the market softening. We also chat about opportunities with rye whiskey and Pat's experimentation with "casket strength" whiskey.

Jesse Tate and Grant Patterson from Vista Gin in Florida join Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to delve into their unique pot still gins. We discuss building flavor through production techniques and Grant's culinary background, as well as working with koji in making their whiskey.

Jolee Kasprzak of Old Homestead Distilling Co and Patoka Lake Winery joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson this week. Jolee and Alan update on the progress so far at Old Homestead. We also talk about Sunshine, a line of sunflower moonshine spirits already being run at the distillery, as well peach brandy. Alan and Jolee discuss the distillery's terroir-focused approach to spirits and the homage to the region including trapping local yeast and growing a strain of wheat originally grown in the area. 

Irish whiskey historian and author Fionnán O'Connor returns to Distillers Talk with Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss his upcoming new book, Créatúr. Fionnán speaks about his adventures and travels digging into the history of poitín and Irish pot still whiskey, and his journey to bring back (and even be a part of the distillation of) lost Irish mash bills with the help of others along the way. We also get into the temperance movement, past and present.

Erik Wolfe of Stoll & Wolfe Distillery joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to talk about his latest distilling adventures with Alan on the road at both Stoll & Wolfe and George Washington's Mount Vernon. We also catch up on another collaborative effort, the Historic Trades Workshop. There's several colorful stories along the way, including "dough balls of anger".

Al Laws of Laws Whiskey House in Colorado joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson on all things grain and terroir. Al guides us through a tasting of their Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey, San Luis Valley Straight Rye Whiskey, Centennial Straight Wheat Whiskey and Henry Road Straight Malt Whiskey. We also discuss production and their upcoming new tasting room.