Meet the co-founders
NORA GANLEY-ROPER
General Manager and Head Blender
Nora got her start in the wine and spirits industry as a Sales Manager at Astor Wine & Spirits, one of the country’s top spirits retailers. Her love of wine gradually translated into a deep fascination with spirits, especially the growing potential of American whiskey from all around the country. She left Astor to work in operations for several startups, learning how to build and grow early-stage companies. Now, Nora handles all production and operations for Lost Lantern. She is half of the Lost Lantern tasting panel.
ADAM “APOLON” POLONSKI
Whiskey Cask Hunter
Before co-founding Lost Lantern, Adam was a Senior Whisky Specialist at Whisky Advocate, the country’s largest and oldest whiskey magazine. He has written extensively about whiskies from around the world, with a particular focus on new American distilleries. Adam works with distilleries to source unique and special casks for Lost Lantern. He is half of the Lost Lantern tasting panel.
Who We Are
We’re whiskey nerds, and we’re building an independent bottler that talks to whiskey nerds. We love hunting down whiskies that people haven’t discovered yet and sharing the stories of the distilleries we’re most excited about. Ultimately, we just want to share what makes the world of American whiskey so exciting.
Our Mission
Shining a light on the independent spirit is our tagline. It’s also our mission. That means we spend the time to truly explore and understand the landscape of American whiskey. We find unique and exciting whiskies from every corner of the United States. And we tell the stories of these distilleries and why whiskey lovers should know about what they’re doing. Transparency is very important to us. We don’t distill whiskey. We never will. Sourcing whiskey is the whole point! And we want you to know exactly where it came from, and why we chose to work with that place, and why their whiskey is unique.
Our whiskey will always be presented in an unadulterated format: non-chill-filtered, natural color, often cask strength. That’s the way we want it, and we figure that’s probably how you want it to.
We are an open book. If you want additional information or technical details about any of our whiskies, just ask. We’d be happy to share.
The Great Whiskey Road Trip
We began laying the groundwork for Lost Lantern by going on an eight-month road trip across the United States. In 2018 and 2019, we visited over a hundred distilleries all around the country. We met with the founders and distillers and saw how they make their whiskey and how their region’s climate influences it. We learned what drives them, and shared our own vision. It was the perfect way to explore the full landscape of American whiskey.
We can’t spend eight straight months on the road anymore, but we still travel extensively around the country visiting distilleries. In fact, this travel is so important to us that we only ever work with distilleries that one or both of us have visited in person.
Keep Up to Date With Our Blog
Lost Lantern Ask Me Anything: United States of Bourbon FAQ’s and Fun Facts
A few weeks ago, we asked our newsletter crew what burning questions they had about Lost Lantern and the United States of Bourbon behind the scenes, and they delivered! Below are answers to some questions we haven’t addressed. Nora will answer a few more on social media next week; if you don’t already, follow us there! […]
How We Sourced Whiskey From Every State for the United States of Bourbon
It has been about two months since Lost Lantern released its largest project ever, the United States of Bourbon: the first blend of bourbon from all 50 states. We have been absolutely thrilled with the reception we’ve seen, starting with its announcement in the New York Times, and the great reviews we’ve received since. Two […]
July 2026 Discovery Club: Redwood Empire California Straight Bourbon
Lost Lantern’s July Discovery Club release is a California straight bourbon from Redwood Empire. It’s our first from this acclaimed northern California distillery, which we’ve wanted to work with for several years. This is the first release in the Discovery Club since we officially changed the cadence to every other month. Unlike the last release, […]
