John Hall: Now, the special one that I wanted to show you which is my Double Barrel, this is the whisky that I made 10,000 bottles and it will be release in September and that’s the one more I took my Meritage age 40 Creek Whiskies. And then put them into first run Bourbon barrels and age it a little bit longer. So, you’ll be able to taste this besides if you taste the Forty Creek. Consider taking that and putting it into a first run Bourbon barrels and this is what you get.
Julie: So, tell me again more about the Bourbon Barrels which is the second barrel onto it?
John Hall: The first one Bourbon Barrels, what I wanted to do I had achieve the taste profile sort of I wanted in the three whiskies. Then what I wanted to do with the first run Bourbon barrel because it’s been used once. All of the harsher tannins have been removed because that’s all gone into the Bourbon. So, the barrels with leftovers are the good stuffs, the nice and soft tannins, the caramelization from the charring, the nice, soft vanillas are still there. So, I took my Meritage and put it into a first run Bourbon barrel and just the age it for almost two years. So, I just took 40 Creek to the next level like just deeper and tones and flavors. So, this is more for the special occasion.
Julie: And what inspired you to take that next step? What was that “aha” moment that said that’s the next thing I wanted to try?
John Hall: Well, the reason why it comes back to the fact that all Bourbon are aged in brand new oak barrels, American wide oak virtually all age and once used Bourbon barrels. It’s very difficult for me to buy once used. I’ve always wanted to buy someone to used Bourbon barrels but the Scotch guys buy them all up. And so I had this opportunity and they are really choice barrels and so I wanted to take 40 Creek and put it in there and see what I would do.
Julie: So, really is a limited opportunity here.
John Hall: Oh, Yes. There are only 10,000 bottles made so when a guy is gone, unfortunately. And this time on this particular bottle, what I did was it is so-called 40 Creek but I finally got my name on the bottle.
Julie: Oh look at that, there you go.
John Hall: So, I put it right on there and we called it 40 Creek Double Barrel. So, you get that richness that you have in glass for.
Julie: But somehow it’s more intense.
John Hall: Yeah, very, very intense.
Julie: And as much as the flavors are much more intense. It seems they’re almost even smoother.
John Hall: Yeah, it is smoother. It’s heavier. It’s almost it’s getting close to like almost a look here. It’s not any sweeter or anything like that but it just very, very smooth.
Julie: That’s quite lovely.
John Hall: And that’s what the finishing does by finishing it off in the other barrels. And that’s what I think making a fine whisky is all about. It’s being able to take these opportunities or take these ideas and doing it rather than it’s not mass produced and again it comes back because of my roots being first generation. I may able to take that opportunity and try these different ways of making whiskies. And that’s the kind of result that you can get by doing that.
Julie: That is quite lovely. I look forward to trying some of your other creations that you come up with over the next decade or so. But thanks very much for having us here at 40 Creek.
John Hall: It’s great. Thanks for being here.
Julie: And thanks for coming to legourmet.tv. Stop by again.
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