Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1 Review

BOTTLE DETAILS

DISTILLER: Blended and bottled by Lost Lantern Whiskey, from a 12-barrel blend from six distilleries across the U.S.:
Balcones in Waco, TX
Copperworks in Seattle, WA
Santa Fe Spirits in Santa Fe, NM
Triple Eight on Nantucket, MA
Westward in Portland, OR
Virginia Distillery Co. in Lovingston, VA
MASH BILL: 100% malted barely from various sources
AGE: 2 Years
YEAR: 2020
PROOF: 105 Proof (52.5% ABV)
MSRP: $120
BUY ONLINE: Lost Lantern Whiskey Direct

PAUL'S NOTES

TASTE:Baking spices | Molasses Cookies

FINISH: Long, pleasant, almost numbing burn | Milk chocolate | Ginger | Barley

SHARE WITH:Fans of America’s small distillery movement.

WORTH THE PRICE: If you’re a true American whiskey-nerd, yes. Otherwise, not quite yet.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: If you can find it in a bar, it’s super interesting and probably worth the price of a dram.

OVERALL: I have made no secret of my love for independent bottlers and recently wrote an article for Bourbon & Banter where I lamented the fact that no one is doing with American whiskies what independent bottlers are able to do with Scotches. Just a few months later, a sample of Lost Lantern, Edition 1 appeared on my doorstep. I want to open this review with an admission: I really wanted to like this.

And I did. The nose on this was very interesting in a good way and the palate and the finish are even better. The representatives from the various component distilleries along with Nora and Adam from Lost Lantern did a wonderful job in what must have been a whirlwind of a blending day. The sum of the parts of that day created one of the best American malted whiskies I’d ever tasted. With that being said, I don’t think I can rationalize the price on quality alone. You can get an equally good Scotch for 70-80 dollars and there are quite a few better options for the price point. If you have the money to spare and are interested in standing on the front line of the American Independent Bottlers movement, though, you literally can’t do better.

To be perfectly honest, American single malts just aren’t as good as Scottish ones, so the raw materials that Nora and Adam had to work with are not as strong as an Independent Bottler across the pond. I would highly recommend keeping your eye on what’s coming out of Lost Lantern. As American distilleries develop more expertise and the component distillates become stronger in-and-of themselves, future editions of this are going to be well worth the money – go ahead and #drinkcurious when you have the opportunity!

BLENDED WHISKEY DETAILS

Here's a complete list of the component whiskeys that make up the 12-barrel blend from six distilleries across the U.S.:

BALCONES DISTILLING

Cask 1:

Mashbill - 100% Peated Golden Promise Malted Barley
Maturation Barrel Info - 60 gallon ISC New American Oak barrel
Length of Primary Maturation - 30 months
Finishing Barrel Info - None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 30 months

Cask 2:

Mashbill - 100% Golden Promise Malted Barley
Maturation Barrel Info - 53 gallon Used bourbon barrel
Length of Primary Maturation - 30 months
Finishing Barrel Info - None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 30 months

COPPERWORKS DISTILLING

Cask 1:

Mashbill - 100% WA Select (Pale) Malt from Great Western Malting
Maturation Barrel Info- 66.5 gallon ex-oloroso sherry barrel straight from Spain
Length of Primary Maturation- 376 days
Finishing Barrel Info- 53 gallon ex-bourbon
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing- 1422 days
Age of Spirit- 4 years, 11 months

Cask 2:

Mashbill- 100% Skagit Valley Alba 6 row pale malt, grown on Craig Knudzen’s farm
Maturation Barrel Info- 53 gallon used bourbon barrel
Length of Primary Maturation - 1135 days
Finishing Barrel Info- None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 3 years

SANTA FE SPIRITS

Cask 1:

Mashbill- 100% 2-Row Malted Barley, 30% Mesquite Smoked
Maturation Barrel Info - 53 gallon used bourbon barrel
Length of Primary Maturation - 2 years, 26 days
Finishing Barrel Info - Used Santa Fe Spirits Apple Brandy Cask
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - 230 days
Age of Spirit - 2 years, 8 months

Cask 2:

Mashbill - 100% 2-Row Malted Barley, 30% Mesquite Smoked
Maturation Barrel Info - 53 gallon used American oak barrel
Length of Primary Maturation - 3 years, 51 days
Finishing Barrel Info - None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 3 years, 51 days

TRIPLE EIGHT DISTILLERY

Cask 1:

Mashbill - 100% Maris Otter Malted Barley
Maturation Barrel Info - Multiple 53 gallon ex-bourbon barrels
Length of Primary Maturation - 4.5 years
Finishing Barrel Info - 59 gallon re-toasted Pinot Noir barrel from Nantucket Vineyard Winery
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - 2 years, 40 days
Age of Spirit - 6.5 years

Cask 2:

Mashbill - 100% Maris Otter Malted Barley
Maturation Barrel Info - 53 gallon new American oak barrel; Nadalie Cooperage; char 2
Length of Primary Maturation - 3 years, 26 days
Finishing Barrel Info - None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 3 years

VIRGINIAT DISTILLERY CO.

Cask 1 & 2:

Mashbill - 100% 2 row, North American, Pale Malt
Maturation Barrel Info - 60 gallon re-toasted wine cask
Length of Primary Maturation - 2 years, 236 days
Finishing Barrel Info - None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 2 years, 236 days

WESTWARD WHISKEY

Cask 1:

Mashbill- Blend of 3 varietals of Pacific Northwest-grown barley, malted 10 miles away at Great Western
Maturation Barrel Info - 55 gallon McGinnis Wood Products New American Oak barrel, char 2
Length of Primary Maturation - 3 years, 3 months
Finishing Barrel Info - None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 3 years, 3 months

Cask 2:

Mashbill - Blend of 3 varietals of Pacific Northwest-grown barley, malted 10 miles away at Great Western
Maturation Barrel Info - 53 gallon Kelvin Cooperage New American Oak barrel, char 1
Length of Primary Maturation - 3 years, 3 months
Finishing Barrel Info - None
Length of Secondary Maturation/Finishing - None
Age of Spirit - 3 years, 3 months

BRAND NOTES

Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1 is one of the first blends of single malts ever made in the United States. More than that, it represents the whiskey world’s true spirit of collaboration and harmony. We brought together the founders and distillers behind some of the country’s most distinctive single malts, all of whom hand-selected barrels for this unique blend. Over the course of a single marathon day, we worked, tasted, and blended together. The result was this unique and special blend.

Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1 is a 12-barrel blend of single malt whiskies from six distilleries:

Balcones in Waco, Texas
Copperworks in Seattle, Washington
Santa Fe Spirits in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Triple Eight on Nantucket, Massachusetts
Westward in Portland, Oregon
Virginia Distillery Co. in Lovingston, Virginia

Chocolate-covered orange peel and fire-roasted fruits lead on the nose. The palate is complex and balanced, with rich baking spice, salted pretzel and hints of roasted barley surrounded by savory smokiness. The long, warm finish has notes of milk chocolate and sea salt.

INTRODUCING LOST LANTERN WHISKEY

New Bottler of American Whiskey Dedicated to Shining a Light on the Independent Spirit

October 6, 2020—The best whiskey reflects its origin, its craftsmanship, its ingredients, and its distillers. Inspired by the long tradition of independent bottlers in Scotland, Lost Lantern is a new independent bottler of American whiskey. The company seeks out the most unique and exciting whiskies being made all across the country and releases them as single casks and blends, always with a deep commitment to transparency.

With the launch of Lost Lantern comes the introduction of the brand’s first bottling, American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1. This blend of single malts from six American distilleries will be available for purchase as of October 15 at LostLanternWhiskey.com and Seelbachs.com shortly thereafter; between the two sites, Lost Lantern Whiskey will be available in 40 states. Later this month, the brand will announce details on its first four limited-edition single cask whiskies, which will also be released this fall.

Lost Lantern was founded in 2018 by Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski, whiskey lovers who worked on two sides of the industry: Nora as a retail specialist and Sales Manager at Astor Wine & Spirits; Adam as a Senior Whisky Specialist and Editor at Whisky Advocate. The decision to become an independent bottler was born from their desire to highlight the great distilleries crafting exciting whiskey around the country. “There are approximately 2,000 distilleries in the United States, yet there’s no easy way for whiskey lovers to discover the best and most exciting ones,” explained Adam. “I kept dwelling on this idea and realized that somebody was going to do this sooner or later. It was clear that, between my experience and contacts and Nora’s palate and background in startups and operations, we were the ones who should do it.” Lost Lantern was born soon after.

Nora and Adam have committed to only purchasing whiskey from distilleries they have visited in person. “We’re presenting distilleries to our customers under the Lost Lantern name as exemplars in their field, so we need to understand what they’re doing and why,” commented Nora. Since deciding to create Lost Lantern, Nora and Adam have visited close to 100 distilleries. Many of these visits were part of their 2018 “Great Whiskey Road Trip,” which took the duo to 50 distilleries in eight months across dozens of states. Inspired to continue on, they visited another 25 while touring the Midwest in 2019, and that number has only continued to increase.

While their roles at Lost Lantern overlap in various areas, Nora and Adam have defined responsibilities within the company. Nora manages the operations and oversees whiskey production, while Adam heads up sales, marketing, and whiskey sourcing—seeking out distilleries that are making unique and interesting products. As Nora explains, “We think of Lost Lantern as shining a light on whiskies that would otherwise be lost. That sometimes means bottling something from a distillery that is not distributed nationally, and which doesn’t get the attention we think they deserve. It can also mean bottling barrels from more well-known distilleries that are not consistent with their core lineup. This may be a finished whiskey, or an experiment that they’re not quite sure how to release. We’re looking for whiskies that we can bottle or blend that will expand the understanding of the landscape of American whiskey by whiskey connoisseurs.”

AMERICAN VATTED MALT EDITION NO. 1

In October, Lost Lantern will introduce their first whiskey, American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1. Limited to 3,000 bottles, the blend will be available for purchase at LostLanternWhiskey.com as of October 15^th for $120. This 12-barrel blend of American single malts has been aged for two years, is non-chill-filtered with no color added and has been bottled at 52.5% abv.

This first edition is a complex and balanced blend with notes of baking spice, salted pretzel and hints of roasted barley surrounded by a savory smokiness that culminates in a long, warm finish of milk chocolate and sea salt.

American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1 is one of the first blends of American single malts ever made in the United States and represents the whiskey world’s true spirit of collaboration and harmony. Through a collaborative process that took several months to set up, Nora and Adam brought together the founders and distillers behind some of the country’s most distinctive single malts, all of whom hand-selected barrels for this unique blend and met in Denver to create it as a group. Over the course of a single marathon day, they worked, tasted, and blended together.

Jared Himstedt, Head Distiller at Balcones Distilling was supportive of the initiative from the beginning. “I was super excited to get to work on this project, to start with American Single Malts from a bunch of different distilleries from across the country and work collaboratively with the other distillers and blenders on this expression,” explained Himstedt. “It was a unique project that was lots of fun and I think an example of where the future of American Single Malts is headed. Independent bottlers, offering both single barrels and blends, are all going to be becoming more prominent as the category and community keeps developing to bring new and delicious whiskies to the table."

The result is American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1, a singular and special single malt blend from the following distilleries:

Balcones (Waco, Texas)
Copperworks (Seattle, Washington)
Santa Fe Spirits (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
Triple Eight (Nantucket, Massachusetts)
Westward (Portland, Oregon)
Virginia Distillery Co. (Lovingston, Virginia)

“American Vatted Malt is indicative of why American craft whiskey is so exciting,” said the founders. “We brought together six of the very best single malt producers in the U.S. and we worked together to create something entirely new and unique. It’s a great symbol of what we want Lost Lantern to contribute to the industry and provide for whiskey lovers. It’s unique, collaborative, and above all, deeply delicious.”

Disclaimer: Lost Lantern Whiskey provided Bourbon & Banter with a sample of their product for this review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.