Wakey Whisk(e)y: Lost Distillery Company

by Eric Ducote

Good morning Tiger fans, and welcome to another game day #wakeywhisky! No "e" in the whiskey today as this one is a scotch from the Lost Distillery out of (duh) Scotland. LSU is playing Troy State out of Troy, Alabama, and I don't have any whiskeys in the cellar from Alabama or that feature the Trojans, so the playbook is wide open. The good people at The Lost Distillery Company sent Jay a bottle of one of their offerings, and he's always ready to share, so here we go.

The Lost Distillery is a unique company in that it doesn't actually create their own scotch, but they instead research distilleries that have closed for various reasons throughout history and attempt to recreate their flavors by blending modern scotches with the same characteristics. They look at 10 different factors that go into scotch production and at historic records, blend and taste until they think it's as accurate as possible.

This particular selection is from the defunct Lossit Distillery that used to exist in Ballygrant on the Island of Islay. I talked a good bit about Islay in a post a few weeks ago, so no need to go into that much depth again, but in general, expect some peat!



The pour on this one is a very bright gold, and extremely clear. The nose is just as expected, peaty and pungent. The taste is amazingly complex, with hints of peat, a touch of smoke, a bit of sweet honey coming through and floral undertones. It's only 86 proof so not coming on too strong and there's no alcohol burn to overwhelm the palate either. After each sip there's a bit of a cherry medicinal finish and a tingling left on the tongue from the spirit. It's a very pleasant sip, and made even more complex by the blend... obviously I have no idea how close this comes to recreating the original, but it definitely reminds me of other Islay scotches, so it's probably on the right track.

An interesting concept, and an interesting scotch. Now, let's all hope the Tigers come to play today and beat the Trojans of Troy State! Cheers, and happy Gameday to you all!

Wakey Whiskey: Kings County Distillery Bourbon Whiskey

by Eric Ducote

Hello everyone, and good morning to you all from Chicago! I know we're all still a little bummed about about the way LSU played against Mississippi State, but the season goes on, as does the #wakeywhiskey. Two years ago LSU played Syracuse and I brought out a small batch bourbon whiskey from Kings County Distillery out of Brooklyn, NY. LSU ended up winning that game 34-24, so I went back to the well and brought some Kings County Distillery Bourbon Whiskey with me up to the Windy City.

This bourbon is distilled in Brooklyn from a mash of NY corn and UK malted barley, then aged for at least two years (some barrels up to four) and bottled at 90 proof. I actually visited this distillery several years ago with my friend Jeremy Spikes, and one thing I did not know was that they used a lot of smaller barrels to expedite the aging process. The smaller barrels allow the whiskey to contact the charred oak at a greater ratio and pull out the flavors faster than in a large 55-gallon barrel. They might be using larger barrels now, but it's a good way for a newer distillery (Kings County was founded in 2010) to produce a quality spirit more quickly.



Now, to the whiskey! But, before I even get into the details, I love the packaging... just a 375ml medicine-style bottle with a small wrapped label describing the basics of the spirit in a Courier typewriter font. Simple and attractive.

The first thing I pick up on the nose is an alcohol burn followed immediately by candy corn sweetness and then vanilla notes from the charred oak. It's still young, but it's picked up a lot of color and flavor in a short amount of time. The taste is a little more mellowed out than the aroma, with less of a harsh burn and more of a caramel and molasses flavor followed by the charred notes from the oak barrel. It finishes smoothly, with a hint of spiciness at the end. Sometimes I advocate for a little water or ice to open up a whiskey, but this one tastes better neat. Adding an ice sphere (I tried both, for science) mutes some of the spicier cinnamon notes. However, if you prefer a little ice or water, I'm not going to stop you!

I hope this game against Syracuse is just what the Tigers need to get back on track. Happy #Gameday everyone and #Geauxtigers!