Meet the co-founders
NORA GANLEY-ROPER
Production & Operations Czar
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 evangelizing the distilleries we are most excited about. We love to tell a good story, and we care deeply about flavor. 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’ll spend the time to truly understand what’s going on in American whiskey, in every corner of the United States. We’ll chase down unique and exciting whiskies that taste different than what you’re familiar with. We’ll tell the stories of these distilleries and why what they’re doing worth your attention. And we’ll be fully transparent because, for us, sourcing whiskey is the whole point. We don’t want you to think we distilled it: we want you to know who did, and why you should care so that you can discover them for yourselves! And 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 aim to be completely transparent, and if you want additional information or technical details on any of our releases, please reach out and we’d be happy to share
Keep Up to Date With Our Blog
What Makes Lost Lantern an Independent Bottler?
Recently, someone emailed us and asked us: What “officially” makes Lost Lantern an independent bottler? Did we have to apply for an independent bottlers’ license or join some industry association? For that matter, what is an independent bottler? It’s a good question! And I think it’s worth exploring our philosophy on what an independent bottler […]
Winter Whiskey Wednesday: Introducing Lost Lantern’s Winter 2021 Single Cask Collection
Here at Lost Lantern, we’re celebrating the holidays this year with what we’re calling “Winter Whiskey Wednesday.” We don’t normally reveal our release dates far in advance (especially during the pandemic!), but we’ve decided that we’re going to start a new Lost Lantern tradition this year of launching a few of our most exciting and […]
John Barleycorn Awards — Fall 2021 Gold Medal Winner
Gold Medal Winner — “A very interesting butterscotch and sandalwood aroma, with luscious vanilla that reminds me of cream soda on the palate. Very consistent, this delivers the same pleasure from the last sip as the first.”
