Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Whiskey Edition No. 1
As I’m writing this review, American Single Malt has finally taken a step forward at the TTB. As of last week, the TTB has published proposed standards of identity (SOI) for American Single Malt (ASM). This is the first notable step towards category recognition in over six years, when the category was first proposed. After the 60-day comment period, there’s great hope that the category will be official in short order.
This, of course, is not a single malt, but a vatted malt, a combination of six distilleries’ ASMs blended by Lost Lantern. A relatively new entrant into the Independent Bottler tradition - a tradition almost unheard of in American whiskey but nearly 200 years old in Scotland - Lost Lantern is quickly establishing itself as equally skilled in both blending and picking kick-ass casks.
Lost Lantern is the brainchild of two proud whiskey nerds - I’d say afficionados, but I honestly think they’d prefer nerds - Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski. Nora spent several years at New York’s famed Astor Wines and Spirits, where she could taste as many samples and products as at perhaps any other store in the US. Adam is a former contributor to Whiskey Advocate where he was particularly focused on emerging American distilleries.
Nora and Adam both bring trained and well-exposed palates to the table, but as anyone who has tried will tell you, blending is its own art and science. The pair traveled the US for a year while building Lost Lantern, visiting distilleries around the country from Washington state to Texas to Iowa and New York and everywhere in-between. They knew that the bulk of their business would be picking extraordinary single casks in the Scottish tradition, drawing inspiration from such names as Gordon and MacPhail, Cadenhead’s, and particularly Douglas Laing & Co.
That being said, Nora and Adam also wanted to create a blend of malts, another centuries-old tradition in Scotland that is nascent in the US. Even including other producers putting out incredible blends like Barrell Craft Spirits and Bardstown Bourbon Company, the idea of “blended” anything in the US is a tricky proposition. Some are attacking the problem through bourbon and rye - Nora and Adam went right for the malt.
Taking the worldwide view, blends and blended malts are by far the best selling whiskies in the world. Look no further than Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, and Dewar’s, all in the top echelons by sales (and, in my mind, all quality blends as well). In Ireland, Japan, Canada, India, really anywhere other than the US, blended whiskies are appreciated and revered, blenders shown the same respect as distillers. Could a vatted single malt work here, though?
Nora and Adam were determined to find out. Bringing together six distilleries through their founders and distillers, they spent “a single marathon day” working, tasting, and blending until the blend was right. The result is a 12-barrel blend from six distilleries:
Balcones in Waco, Texas
Copperworks in Seattle, Washington
Santa Fe Spirits in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Triple Eight on Nantucket, Massachusetts
Westward in Portland, Oregon
Virginia Distillery Co. in Lovingston, Virginia
The exact proportions are not disclosed. Although Nora and Adam did note that it’s two barrels from each distillery, each one has different barreling policies and may use different sizes, not to mention variations in liquid volume when dumping. Simply put, it’s not 1/6th of the blend = each distillery.
The resulting blend is delicious, balanced, and everything it had to be. As Lost Lantern notes in the talker for this product, this “is one of the first blends of single malts ever made in the United States.” Like it or not, any first has expectations. Add in two strong, well-respected palates leaning on a long, if foreign, tradition, and those expectations are raised further. Personally, I also had expectations: of those six, I had only tried four, and two had profiles I didn’t particularly enjoy. The other two I had never even heard of let alone tried. I didn’t know the makeup of the blend until after I tried it, but trying it knowing the components changed nothing of my opinion.
I met Nora and Adam by chance at - you guessed it - Travel Bar in Brooklyn. They felt like I picked them out as industry people quickly, but it took me a bit. Once we started talking that night (and through subsequent conversations) it became clear that they weren’t afraid of the pressure. In fact, they seemed to relish it as a chance to show Americans a new way in whiskey.
They rose to that challenge in spades. It’s an exciting start to what could and should be a new American tradition.
Thank you to Lost Lantern for providing a sample of this product with no editorial constraints.
Lost Lantern American Vatted malt Whiskey Edition No. 1: Specs
Classification: Blended Whiskey, American Single Malt
Origin: Six Distilleries
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Proof: 105 (52.5% ABV)
Age: 2+ Years Old
Location: Texas, Washington, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Virginia
Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Whiskey Edition No. 1 Price: $120
Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Whiskey Edition No. 1 Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: 14K gold. Medium rims and small droplets on syrupy legs.
Nose: Warm, toasted honey. A hint of smoke, more woodsmoke than peat or anything like that. Reminiscent of a Highland-style blend with that same style of smoke - sweet, slightly oaked, and wispy, not heavy at all.
Palate: Fruity woodsmoke with a clear mesquite tint. Stronger oak profile than on the nose, creamy orange zest and stone fruit. Mouthfeel is silky, medium-bodied, less overtly smoky but oily and coating. The oak coats more than it dries. Fruity orchard wood in a bonfire grows steadily.
Finish: Light brown sugar, vanilla extract, walking past a North Carolina-style BBQ pit at the end of the day when the embers are dying. Long, light but firm coating.
Overall: Beautiful. Emblematic of what American blends could be. The oak might be a tad strong at times, but I don’t mind it too much given the clear smoke and malt profile. Can’t wait to see Edition 2.
Final Rating: 7.2
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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