SAN JOSE, CALIF. (PRWEB) – San Jose’s 10th Street Distillery has earned Double Gold at the 2019 New York World Wine and Spirits Competition for its Peated Single Malt American Whisky, which expanded distribution to Southern California on November 1. 10th Street Distillery Single Malt American Whisky offers discerning whisky enthusiasts an award winning, super-premium American Single Malt that draws inspiration from both Scottish whisky-making tradition and Californian ingenuity.
10th Street Peated Single Malt American Whisky (ABV 46 %, MSRP $65) is the first whisky produced in San Jose. It is crafted by a small, passionate team with painstaking attention to detail, combining time-tested methods with a unique sense of adventure. The carefully crafted harmony between the wood, malt and peat has resulted in a delicate, balanced whisky with subtle complexity which has already won Best in Class Gold at Whiskies of the World.
“We wanted to make an authentic peated whisky with California provenance. So, we needed a malted barley that had been dried over a peat fire to give it that essential peat reek with a touch of smoke,” explains 10th Street Distillery co-founder Virag Saksena. “At the same time, we also wanted it to be distinctly Californian, incorporating local terroir.”
After months of searching, partners Virag Saksena and Vishal Gauri found a maltster who created a custom peated malt that perfectly complements the alkaline, mineral-rich water of the Bay Area – the essence and key ingredient in their distillate. The gentle heathery notes of the peat used for malting allowed them to craft a flavor profile which is distinctly peaty yet extremely approachable.
10th Street Distillery founders are engineers with a steadfast passion for making things better. They refused to accept the status quo of making whisky in America (where whisky is spelled with an ‘e’). First, they learned the old ways of making Scotch whisky from the masters; then, they reinterpreted these techniques with an engineer’s precise, meticulous attention to detail and a willingness to erase boundaries. The culmination of eight years of design and development efforts in San Jose’s first modern distillery.
10th Street Distillery’s alembic-shaped, double-pot copper stills are derived from traditional copper pot designs with unique custom modifications for a complex flavor profile. The top-quality, ex-bourbon barrels slowly age and develop the whisky’s smooth, velvety expression without overpowering it with wood. The influence of local microflora during the extended fermentation adds a touch of the local terroir. A premium whisky that respects tradition while breaking new ground, 10th Street’s Peated Single Malt American Whisky promises to be a new American classic.
Peated Single Malt American Whiskey Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus, with a peat smoke essence
Color: Light golden
Palate: Creamy full flavors of vanilla and dark red apple peels, turning into rounded peat flavors. A delicate balance of fruity and smoky notes.
Finish: Full bodied, buttery, with a lingering peaty finish
About 10th Street Distillery:
San Jose’s first craft distillery, 10th Street Distillery was founded by two engineers with just one objective – creating world-class whiskies. A grain-to-glass distillery, it reinterprets time-honored traditions using modern techniques and engineering ingenuity to create its award-winning products. Their first product is a Peated Single Malt Whisky, a new American classic that respects tradition, but is not afraid to forge a new path.
The N.A.B.W.C. was created to promote excellence in Bourbon, Whiskey, and Moonshine. This double-blind competition is based on a 100-point scale. Only American and Canadian made whiskeys have the opportunity to compete against America’s native spirits for the coveted N.A.B.W.C. “BEST OF SHOW AWARD.”
Some of the information on whisky was covered in the first book I reviewed so I will limit my review to what was new for me to share with you from this second book:
The owner and winemaker, Edward Cholakian, helped serve up Texas Beef Sliders alongside Cali Grill chefs, Marlynna and Adam Farleas. The sliders featured Texas beef, bacon, cheddar, onion straws, house-made barbecue sauce, on a toasted brioche bun, served with Cali Grill’s famous waffle fries, and was paired with Lusso Della Terra Cellars’ 2016 Barrel Select Cabernet Sauvignon.
This year’s “Best of Show” cheeses indicate that the traditional European practice of producers working in collaboration with “affineurs” is growing in the U.S. Affinage is the practice of aging cheese in caves carefully regulated in temperature and humidity. Both the first and second place “Best of Show” cheeses were created through such partnerships between cheesemakers—in this case, 
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