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Lion's Pride Organic Whiskey is approaching its one-year anniversary in Chicago. The city finally has a whiskey to call its own, but many are curious as to what makes this whiskey so special. With unique fruity and floral notes, a delicate and distinctive mouthfeel - this whiskey has changed the landscape of the brown spirit in the USA. I caught up with our Master Distiller, Robert Birnecker, to get some details straight from the source.
Lion's Pride tastes so different than any whiskey I've had. What makes your whiskey distillation unique in comparison to what we know of our typical bourbons and ryes?
We have a different approach to distilling grain and making whiskey. While a lot of people consider the end part of the distillate - also known as tails - as a flavor enhancer, we see them for what they are - unwanted fusel oils that alter the naturally unique flavors of your spirits. For example, rye has a nice peppery aroma to it while millet has some hints of candied fruit. If your separations of heads (acetaldehyde), hearts (drinkable ethanol), and tails (fusel oils) are not exact, it's hard to get these flavors across.
This is something that is very important for our entire aging and whiskey philosophy. We distill a clean product that is drinkable once it comes of the still. (Why we released the white whiskeys). We see the aging process as something that adds different layers of flavor to our whiskeys. If you put a good product into the barrel, you will get a good product out - no matter when you take it out.
Why did you choose the grains you use? Spelt? Millet? Most people haven't even heard of these grains. What was the motivation to distill them?
As I mentioned before each grain has an individual flavor profile. We wanted to show people that there are significant differences and that each grain deserves some individual attention. It still amazes me that during tastings people love one white whiskey and are somewhat lukewarm about another. Consumers are definitely getting more educated about spirits, and we are happy to help them on their journey by providing reference points of clear grain distillates.
We all want to know....do you have plans to age your whiskeys longer?
This is a question we get quite often. To be honest, I like the spirits the way they are - otherwise I wouldn't make them. Nevertheless, we always experiment and try to come up with new and interesting things and aging some barrels longer might just be one of those things.
What's your favorite whiskey out of the 11 varieties in the Lion's Pride Collection?
Ah... that's asking me which child I like better. It depends on the mood I am in. They are all so different.
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Q & A with Koval's Master Distiller
