Since its debut in 2000, St. George Single Malt Whiskey has been an American original. When we started laying down barrels in 1997, no other distillers were making whisk(e)y from grain roasted beyond the pale. We recognized the potential of more heavily roasted grain, and changed the whiskey game forever. We hope you’ll try the spirit that inspired master distiller Lance Winters to join St. George and make reinventing spirits categories his life’s work.
Format: 750ml
ABV: 43%
Availability: A very limited annual release, see link in header for rollout details
When St. George Spirits began distilling whiskey, there was no “American Single Malt” category. Influenced by the eau-de-vie philosophy of our founder Jörg Rupf, master distiller Lance Winters developed a revolutionary approach to whiskey making—focusing on the incredible flavors that can be coaxed from barley malt with careful pot distillation.
Lance’s brewing background strongly informed our whiskey’s mash bill—using various roast levels of two-row barley to elicit rich aromas of hazelnut and cocoa, and smoking a portion of unroasted barley over beech and alder wood to add base notes and additional complexity.
The resulting whiskey is expressive and inviting right off the still, but a variety of cooperage types contribute an even greater depth of flavor—creating a layered single malt with a signature all its own.
We thoughtfully selected and blended 20 barrels of our single malt for our Lot 22 release. Cooperage includes used Kentucky bourbon barrels, used Tennessee whiskey barrels, as well as both American and French oak via apple brandy, port, and California Sauternes-style wine casks. The youngest barrel is about four-and-a-half years, while the oldest single cask is about eight-and-a-half years old. Lot 22 also includes cask blends with whiskey dating back 23 years.
Head distiller/blender Dave Smith has this to share about the blending process: “Each single malt whiskey barrel in our inventory is individually considered for its own merits and its blending potential for this year’s Lot. Once we’ve created aromatic and tasting notes for every barrel, we review which barrels seem to be at a peak in their aging potential and carefully create small blends from those few chosen casks. Ultimately our efforts are less for consistency alone but to surprise and delight fans of our single malt whiskey. If you know our whiskey, each Lot should be akin to visiting an old friend who has a few new stories to share with you.”
Lot 22 is a rich and satisfying evolution of our single malt that beautifully showcases all the fruit we’re able to capture from our finishing casks. This year’s release features whiskies that spent time in apple brandy, port, and California Sauternes-style wine casks—which lend the decadent dessert flavors you’ll see in the tasting notes below.
On the nose of Lot 22 you’ll find notes of espresso, brown butter, walnut fudge, cherry cobbler, and coriander.
On the palate: roasted hazelnut, mocha, gingerbread, baklava, and honeydew.
