The Lost Lantern Spring 2021 Single Cask Collection
The Spring Collection shines a light on whiskies that represent three rapidly emerging regional styles: Southwest single malt, Texas bourbon, and cool-climate rye. Each of these whiskies are cask strength, non-chill-filtered, and labeled with full transparency on where they come from—and why we’re excited about that cask and distillery.
Lost Lantern is an independent bottler of American whiskey. There are now over 2,000 distilleries in the United States, making far more whiskey than any one person could try. We search out great whiskey being made all across the country, and shine a light on the distilleries that make it.
Lost Lantern Single Casks #5, #6, and #7:
Whiskey Del Bac Arizona Single Malt
Whiskey Del Bac makes mesquited (mesquite-smoked) single malt in the searing heat of the Sonoran Desert. This trio highlights the distillery’s range of flavors and the unique maturation environment of one of the hottest climates in the United States. All three were made with 100% malted barley, 60% of which was malted in-house and smoked with local mesquite wood.
Single Cask #5: Smoky
The smokiest and most savory of the three casks. Aged for two years in a used cask that previously held an experimental extra-smoky batch of Whiskey Del Bac. Leathery, smoky, and herbal, like burnt embers on a grill. 129.2 proof, 66 bottles produced. Full details here.
Single Cask #6: Fruity
Quite smoky while being more fruit-driven. Aged for two years in a used cask that previously held an experimental extra-smoky batch of Whiskey Del Bac. Rich and smoky, with lots of red fruit flavor. Perfect for hot desert evenings. 130.6 proof, 63 bottles produced. Full details here.
Single Cask #7: Spicy
The most spice- and oak-driven of the trio. Aged in a new oak cask for just over a year. Bold oak and intense baking spice, surrounded by a heavy smoke. 122.2 proof, 66 bottles produced. Full details here.
Watch our Instagram Live with Whiskey Del Bac founders Stephen and Amanda Paul to learn more about the distillery’s unique mesquiting process, the Tucson climate, and what they thought of each of the three casks! And read our post about our stance on small barrels for more information on the cask treatment of these casks.
Lost Lantern Single Cask #8:
Balcones Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Balcones is the original pioneer of Texas whiskey and one of the leading innovators in American whiskey overall. This cask strength bourbon shows why so many whiskey lovers are so excited about the Waco distillery. Made from 100% Texas-grown roasted blue corn, an unusual mashbill for a bourbon. Aged for two years in a 60-gallon new American oak cask, larger than the standard 53-gallon barrel. Tastes like charred, buttery corn-on-the-cob dipped in maple syrup. 126.8 proof, 199 bottles produced. Full details here.
Watch our Instagram Live with Balcones head distiller Jared Himstedt for a discussion of why Balcones uses roasted corn and larger-format barrels, as well as in-depth tasting notes on this cask, our American Vatted Malt, and several of our other whiskies.
Lost Lantern Single Cask #9:
New York Distilling Co. Straight Rye Whiskey
New York Distilling Co. is a champion of the rebirth of cool-climate rye whiskey. This straight rye whiskey cask was aged for four years in a 53-gallon oak cask. Sweet and aromatic, with robust rye spice and notes of oak and chocolate. This is the companion cask and a great point of comparison to Lost Lantern Single Cask #3. 117.2 proof, 133 bottles produced. Full details here.
We’re going live on Instagram with NYDC cofounder Allen Katz on Monday, April 19 at 7pm Eastern to talk about the distillery’s origin, their work with New York farmers and heirloom grain varieties, and the differences between cool- and warm-climate rye. And we’ll taste both of the casks we selected!
We are so excited to get these out into the world! We’ve included some of the most salient production details for each cask on its dedicated page, and we want to emphasize once again that we aim to be as transparent as we possibly can be about all the whiskies we source. If you have any questions about the whiskies, the distilleries, or anything else, shoot us a note!