As the name suggests, A Midwinter Night's Drama Act 12, a limited release from High West Distillery in Park City, UT, is inspired by Shakespeare. “Are you sure we are awake? It seems to me that we are still sleeping, dreaming,” says Demetrius. A Midsummer Night's DreamAct 4, Scene 1. High West likens a glass of this new drama to “the works of our favorite playwright…made to be enjoyed and over too quickly.”
High West, which became the first legal distillery in Utah since 1870 in 2006, is known for its philosophy of blending whiskeys to achieve complex flavor profiles.
“From the very beginning, the team at High West pushed the idea of using blending as an art and barrel finishing as a lever for flavor development. Winter's Night Drum is a great example of this philosophy,” says High West distilling manager Isaac Winter.
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The original idea for A Winter's Night Drama came to High West founder David Perkins. It's been held every year for over a decade, and this latest, limited edition release is the 12th iteration of the phrase. The newest whiskey is made with a base from the distillery's Rendezvous Rye, then aged in new charred white American oak barrels and finished in ruby and tawny port barrels.
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These limited releases, some of which have a cult-like following, give the distillery team the opportunity to play around a bit. And while the core concept of Midwinter Night's Dram will always be the port-finished Rendezvous Rye, each year offers the opportunity to “push and pull flavors with deliberate adjustments,” says Isaac Winter, High West's director of distilling.
“Think of it as a vineyard. “We try to celebrate the different personalities of each release,” he says. “We play with the ratio of High West pot still rye to base still rye-sourced column and even a small number of second-fill barrels.”
Although previous editions featured more “Christmas spice,” Winter says this year's release emphasizes the red fruit character in the ruby port barrels. The result is a magnificent sip, the rye delivering pleasant notes of caramel, vanilla and cinnamon, while the two types of port barrels provide deep layers of dried fruit, plums and warm spice.
A Winter's Night Drama Act 12 is available for purchase at High West Saloon in Utah as of October 6; Bottles were offered for sale online at www.highwest.com as of October 8. Suggested retail price is $150.
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