Founded in 2010, Deerhammer is a small independent distillery high in the Colorado mountains. As a grain to glass distillery, Deerhammer is focused on process. From recipe formulation to mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation, they’ve experimented with every step in the process to better understand the effects of subtle choices on their final product.
Co-founder Lenny Eckstein built the initial iteration of the distillery on his own, cobbling together repurposed machinery and random stainless vessels. The initial still was a custom-made hand hammered 150 gallon direct fire copper pot still which set in motion Deerhammer Distillery as micro-distillery capable of producing 1 whole barrel of whiskey per month! While small batch production was always the goal, this early format of whiskey making woefully inadequate to meet demand. After 1 year, Deerhammer augmented their processes with equipment capable of producing one 53 gallon barrel of whiskey per day. This scale remains today – 1 exceptional batch of whiskey can be produced every day, and laid to to rest in their high altitude rackhouse (8,000′ above sea level!) for a minimum of 4 years.
While they specialize in nearly all forms of whiskey production, Deerhammer American Single Malt Whiskey is their cornerstone contribution to the field of American craft spirits. Starting its life as a porter-style 100% malted barley mash, it’s further shaped by open-air fermentation before passing through our squat-head copper pot stills and maturing in charred heavy toast / light char new white oak.
Their port finished American Single Malt is well worth a check, striking a welcome balance between the thick and heavy notes one may find in Westland and the lighter, stone fruit fare found in Westward.
The nose is perfumed yet classic American single malt. Baked apples, dry chocolate malt, with a hefty perfumed fruit dollop.
The palate is rich and creamy, drinking a bit higher than its 100 proof. Red fruit covered vanilla bean, chewy caramel, and well toasty oak with that usual American single malt grassy twang.
The finish is where this shines. Voluptuous and thick,
Slightly less rounded fudgy notes than a Westland; and not as bright stone fruit as westward. This sits nicely in the middle.
