Photo courtesy of J. Carver Distillery
J. Carver Distillery to release Rye Whiskey and Apple Brandy
NOVEMBER 10, 2015 BY THE GROWLER
The second wave of Minnesota craft spirits is taking shape, as distilleries are beginning to release aged spirits to complement their gins and vodkas. Vikre Distillery just announced the release of their first aged whiskey, and now, a Waconia whiskey is ready for the spotlight.
J. Carver Distillery has announced via press release the debut of an aged rye whiskey and Calvados-style apple brandy due out this week.
Photo via J. Carver Distillery on Facebook
“Minnesota is also a significant producer of rye,” says founder Bill Miller. “Our first rye whiskey is likewise based on grains grown on nearby farms, and is the first of a family of small-batch whiskies we plan to introduce over the next year.” The whiskey is made from 70% rye and 30% corn and aged in charred oak barrels.
Their apple brandy, the first to be released in Minnesota, uses apples from Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest in Jordan, Minnesota, about twenty miles from the distillery. The fruit is pressed fermented, distilled, and, like the rye whiskey, aged in Minnesota-coopered barrels. It is the first of a series of fruit brandies J. Carver intends to make in the coming years.