Colin Joliat
Collaborations have been going on since the dawn of time, or at least since Puff Daddy appeared on every album in the late 90s. And while team-ups don’t happen too often in the spirits business, whiskey collaborations can lead to pretty amazing results. I guess the lesson here is that people should stop being so selfish and let me drink creative drinks.
These are a few of my favorite recent duets, from a rock and roll whiskey to a brand giving itself a high five.
Whiskey collaborations worth exploring
Blackened x Willet
This brilliant collaboration resulted in a blend of high rye and low rye Willett whiskey that averaged 6.5 years old. The blend then spent 14 months in Madeira casks undergoing the Blackened’s signature proprietary sonic enhancement process, Black Noise, aka blasting Metallica in the barrel warehouse. Blackened x Willet is as epic as the brands themselves, and if whiskey drinkers are the puppets, distillers Dietrich and Kulsveen are most certainly the masters.
George Dickel x Leopold Bros
Leopold Bros made waves when they released their novel Three Chamber Rye, and now they’ve blended it with never-before-released rye from Dickel to create a unique whiskey (more details). The wonderful cocoa, maple, and marshmallow notes in the George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend make it perfect for the holiday season and beyond. Sip it neat then put that 100-proof to use in a classic cocktail!
Harpoon Brewery x WhistlePig
This isn’t your average barrel-aged beer collaboration. Harpoon brewed an imperial rye ale and a New England rye IPA using WhistlePig’s estate-grown rye. The imperial ale was then aged in freshly emptied PiggyBack Rye barrels before being blended with the IPA. The result is canned happiness. Green Mountain Ryed is an improbably stellar hop-forward, barrel-aged hazy IPA. All those words shouldn’t work together, but WhistlePig and Harpoon managed to hit every aspect perfectly.
El Tesoro Tequila x Laphroaig
El Tesoro is a stellar tequila in its own right, but the new single barrel “Mundial” program features annual releases aged in casks from across the globe. The inaugural collaboration features everyone’s favorite peat monster, Laphroaig. After nine months in ex-bourbon barrels, the tequila spends four months in Laphroaig 10 Year barrels. It’s just enough time to bring something extra to the table without becoming outright smoky. El Tesoro’s rich agave and Laphroaig’s campfire play together better than they have any business doing, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to stockpile bottles.
Breckenridge Distillery x Breckenridge Brewery
Brewery makes beer. Brewery ages beer in distillery’s bourbon barrels. Brewery sends barrels back to distillery. Distillery puts more bourbon in the now bourbon/beer barrels. Minds explode. Tastebuds follow. That’s the short version of Breckenridge’s Buddy Pass, an Imperial Oatmeal Stout and an Imperial-Stout-Cask-Finished Whiskey. And like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, it’s impossible to pick a favorite between the Buddy Pass twins. Just be prepared for each to pack flavors that are bigger than the Governator himself.
Bonus Pick: The Morning Dram
As a dad of two adorable tiny terrors, I could usually use a drink by about 7:15 am. I don’t want to be the guy showing up to daycare with a flask though, so coffee is life until noon. Luckily, The Morning Dram combines both worlds with their coffee beans aged in booze barrels. The company was founded by bar legand Tommy Tardie (Flatiron) and his wife Davi, so you know this isn’t just a novelty product throw together to satiate idiots like me. Before being roasted, the beans spend time in freshly emptied bourbon, rye, or sherry barrels, each of which imparts their own fantastic flavors. I’m a black coffee drinker, and this stuff is easily the best I’ve had. The only thing that could make it better is a wee nip of whiskey.
