Alltech Launches First Distillery in Lexington in 75 Years

[Lexington, KY] - Alltech's Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company announced that it has begun the distillation of Pearse Lyons Reserve, the first malt whiskey to be produced in Kentucky and one of the first to be made in the United States. The production of Pearse Lyons Reserve also makes Alltech's Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company the first distillery to begin operations in Lexington in over 75 years.
Pearse Lyons Reserve is named for the company's founder and president, Dr. Pearse Lyons, who has an extensive background in distilling and recently returned from Ireland and Scotland to familiarize himself with the latest technology in whiskey distillation. It has been Lyons' aspiration to own a distillery since the 1970s when he began his career working in Irish distilleries.
"Today marks the realization of a lifelong ambition for me. Coming from a family where, at least on my mother's side, they were involved in cooperages, you could say the 'juice' was in my blood," said Dr. Lyons. "We are delighted to have a role in resurrecting Lexington's distillery operations with a malt whiskey product that is completely unique to Kentucky and even to the United States."
The malt whiskey is produced using two copper pot stills from Scotland. The stills are smaller than those used for an Irish Whiskey so as to ensure a fast and controlled distillation that does not produce any off-flavors. A technical team including Roy Court and Jim Drysdale, prestigious master distillers from Scotland, has incorporated the rich tradition of whiskey distillation with the latest technology.
"A true Kentucky product, the collection of barrels used for the maturation of the whiskey will include those which have recently held bourbon whiskey," said Mark Coffman, director of projects and engineering. "This should result in a very unique flavor that is indigenous to the Bluegrass."
A mixture of barrel sizes will enable a rapid maturation process. Pearse Lyons Reserve is expected to be available in time for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games that will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington in 2010.
The distillery will be located in the same building where Kentucky Ale is produced, making it the only brewery/distillery in Kentucky and one of the few in the United States. In addition, it is located adjacent to a proposed "Distillery District" where the Old Tarr and Old Pepper Distilleries produced bourbon many years ago from the limestone water out of Lexington's Town Branch
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Richard Cornish meets one of the world's few female whisky makers.
TASMANIAN whisky maker Kristy Lark is on the phone from Edinburgh. She is just about to deliver a paper to the Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference on Tasmanian spirits. Previously she has written for the industry journal describing the unique way her team uses Tasmanian peat to impart flavour to the malted barley. At the family's distillery in Hobart, she makes four single-malt whiskies. With their delicate peatiness and fruity floral notes, they have been compared to Scottish Highland whiskies.
"Initially, we thought the Scottish whisky industry would give us the cold shoulder," says Lark, "but instead they have embraced us." Lark was awarded a scholarship by the Scottish Institute of Brewing and Distilling three years ago, which allowed her to work with distillers at Highland Park on Orkney and Glenfiddich in Speyside.
She is one of the few female whisky makers in the world and she works with her father, Bill, who founded Lark Distillery in 1992. This was the first legally produced Tasmanian whisky since distilling was banned in 1839 in an attempt to stop drunkenness. Bill asked why Tasmania could produce award-winning food and wine but not spirits, because the 1901 Distillation Act effectively ruled out artisan whisky making. He contacted his local member; the law was amended and in 1992 the Larks made the first Tasmanian whisky in 153years.
Their enthusiasm and hard work was met by a fair measure of good fortune. They stumbled across a "magician" of a boilermaker who was able to make a magnificent copper still. "Some reckon our single malts remind them of The Macallan (a Speyside Highland Single Malt Whisky)," says Lark. "That might be because our boilermaker based his still on a photograph of a Macallan still."
A family-owned peat bog in the Tasmanian central highlands supplies the distillery with enough peat to flavour the malt.
"Unlike in Scotland, where the green barley's dried over peat, we buy our barley already malted from Cascade Breweries," says Lark.
"We have to dampen the malt, then gently smoke it over a warm peat fire." The peat characteristics in the whiskies are pronounced but well-balanced.
While benchmark Scottish whiskies are aged for 12 to 18 years in oak, Lark whiskies are aged for just five to seven years. The difference is that Lark uses small quarter casks and 100-litre barrels that allow a lot of contact with oak due to the greater relative surface area of the barrel to the whisky inside. "We lose 3.5% 'to the angels'," says Lark referring to the amount of spirit lost to evaporation, almost double compared with spirits aged in normal larger barrels.
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Distiller versus still operator

I have been having a nice, friendly, on-line discussion with some of the members of the American Distilling Institute (ADI) about my recent series of posts questioning how craft the new craft distilling movement is. In the course of that conversation, I wrote: "I am also concerned about compressing the definition of 'distiller' into somebody who operates a still. A person who runs beer through a still isn't a distiller, that person is called a still operator. Every distillery has a still operator, but it's not the distiller."
One of the participants asked me to elaborate. I did. Here is what I wrote:
First, I'm talking about at the major American whiskey producers; Jim, Jack, et al.
Second, even before the title master distiller was in use, every distillery had a distiller. Every distillery also had a still operator. They almost never were the same person. That continues to be the case.
Third, I'm talking about the beer still, which is a continuous column still. I can't say I've ever heard anyone talk about operating the doubler.
The distiller usually is the manager or overseer of the whole distillery. He may or may not have responsibility for the warehouses but is responsible for grain acceptance, milling, mashing, yeast preparation, fermentation, distillation, and barrel entry, as well as overall quality control of the finished product. He is there supervising all of those stages every day. Today, some master distillers are primarily quality control, but there is someone, maybe called the plant manager, who has all of those day-to-day responsibilities.
The still operator is a hand who operates the still. He starts it up, monitors it while it runs, makes periodic adjustments, and then shuts it down at the end of the run. At some distilleries (e.g., Wild Turkey), the still operator sits or stands next to the still, monitoring its gauges, listening to and feeling its rhythms, and adjusting its valves. At others (e.g. Heaven Hill), the still operator sits at a control panel in a nearby control room.
I don't mean to suggest that the tactile stuff is lost in the control room. You don't have to be sitting right next to the still to feel and hear it.
Lots of distilleries have had the same still operator or operators for decades. I've never heard of a still operator becoming a distiller.
To read more to two www.adiform.com
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Kothe Distilling Fall 2008 Workshop This event will be the first workshop held by Kothe Distilling Technologies. We have put a lot of time and energy into compiling a program for future distillers and distiller's with some experience. We are going to cover everything from fruit selection, mashing, and the actual distillation process to the legal aspects of starting a distillery in North America. Dr. Klaus Hagmann, one of the leading experts in the field and Ulrich Kothe, the founder of Kothe Destillationstechnik will also be giving insights into the distillation process.
info@kothe-distilling.com
571-278-1343
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ADI CRAFT WHISKEY DISTILLING
CLASS
(Hands on)
Nov 30th-Dec. 5th 2008

Location: Stillwater Spirits, 622 Second Street
Petaluma, CA
Tuition: $3,000
Contact: bill@distlling.com or call 510-886-7418
Transportation from local motels will be provided. We will also provide lunches, whiskey tasting and two dinners.

Course Schedule:
Sunday: November 30th
6 pm Evening reception, whiskey tasting and dinner at Stillwater Spirits.
7 pm Begin fermentation of 70 gallon DME (Dryed Malt Extract) wash that will be fermented in five days. ( Friday)

Monday: December 1st
9 am Attorney Lynn Carmichael discusses how to acquire and protect distilling licenses.
11 am Cahill Winery tour and lunch.
Wine/brandy talk by David Mahaffey.
3 pm Return to Stillwater. Demonstration of brandy distillation, wine from Cahill winery.
5 pm Whiskey tasting.

Tuesday: December 2nd
9 am Introduction to pot whiskey distillation.
11 am Moylan's Brewery & Restaurant tour and lunch.
3 pm Eric Watson from St. Stans Brewery discusses mash production.
4 pm Distilling demonstration by Don Payne , Stillwater Spirits owner/distiller
5 pm Whiskey vs. Scotch tasting.

Wednesday: December 3rd
9 am Don Payne, makes a 400-gallon wash stripping run. Introduction to the disitlling process by Michale Delevnate.
11 am Students make spirits run on a five plate Jacob Carol column still, Each will learning how-to run the still, making head and tail cuts.
3 pm Discussion of flavor and barrels.

Thursday: December 4th
9 am Writing a business plan.
11 am Students continue making spirit runs.
5 pm Vodka, gin and absinth tasting
.
Friday: December 5
9 am Distill the 50 gallons of moonshine wash from Monday's run.
12 pm Distilling certificate awards and lunch.
2 pm Concluding presentations.
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DISTILLING EXPEDITION TO SPEYSIDE, SCOTLAND
The American Distilling Institute announces its first slate of distillery expeditions with master distillers inside the world's most fascinating distilleries.
"The Whiskies of Speyside"
NOVEMBER 11-16, 2008
5 days and 5 nights in the heart of Scotch Whisky under the direction of master coppersmith and distiller, Richard Forsyth. Voyage behind the "copper curtain" to explore first hand how many of the world's most renowned single malts are made. Includes Aberlour, Balvenie, Cardhu, Cragganmore, Glenlivet, Glenfarclas, Glenfiddich, Glen Moray, Knocakando, Macallan, just to name a few.
Since the 1800s, Moray-based Forsyth and Sons have built some the world's greatest stills, including the three magnificent pot stills at Woodford Reserve in Kentucky, but none are more impressive than those of the world-famous single-malt whisky distillers of Speyside. Join us in a unique expedition into the art and genius of Scotch Whisky.
Enrollment is limited to 12 people.
Enrollment is open to the public. However, a basic understanding of distilling and of Whisky styles is highly recommended. Members of ADI receive a 10% discount.
For pricing and reservation information, please contact Penn Jensen, expeditions@distilling.com
For further information on the American Distilling Institute membership benefits and programs, please go to the ADI website; www.distilling.com
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Tanks Wanted
We are looking for 4 X 10,000 gallon storage tanks and 5 X 2500 gallon mixing tanks

Jim Bendis
Founder, Bendistillery Inc.
1470 NE 1st St. #800
Bend, OR 97701
www.bendistillery.com

Watch an imover about my latest book. "Bill Owens" http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1612844765/bctid1681848535

Join the ADI forum. http://www.adiforums.com
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