Low Gap Clear Wheat Whiskey (750mL)

Low Gap Whiskey is made by hand by Crispin Cain, who apprenticed with Hubert Germain-Robin, and has been distilling for 20 years. It is made from malted Bavarian wheat, fermented slowly, distilled using rigorous and painstaking craft methods, and brought to bottling proof with unfiltered rainwater.

trivial fact: The Germain-Robin 16-hectoliter cognac still comes from the the Triac, France chateau of the people who bottle Maison Surrenne for the company. It is an antique, operated entirely by hand. They brought it over for small lots of varietal apples, but have also used it for grape spirits. The didn't realize how special it was until Crispin Cain began to distill whiskey on it: the still produces beautifully round, soft, elegant and complex distillates.

Whisky Advocate Award: 2012 Artisan Whiskey of the Year (North America)

"There are an increasing number of whiskeys coming from small distillers. At first, a small number of distillers bottled unaged distillate as a somewhat hokey packaging of moonshine-like white lightning; some were flavored, some were spiced, but almost all of them were meant for mixing (maybe a more accurate description would be ‘spiking’). But over the past eighteen months, a new interest in white whiskey has led to a batch of more carefully made, more flavorful bottlings — or maybe it was the other way around, it’s hard to tell which caused which. Even the big distillers like Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace got into the act, and some folks were buying white whiskey to custom age in small barrels. 2011 was the Year of White Whiskey.

That’s why a whiskey I gave an 80 rating is walking away with this award. Of all the white whiskeys that came across my tasting table in 2011, Low Gap was the solid winner, and this is recognition that there are some white whiskeys out there that are worth drinking on their own for more than the once-or-twice novelty of it.

Low Gap, distilled from malted Bavarian hard wheat, is a round, fruity spirit that smells like fresh flour and crisp crackers, but drinks like brandy — aromatic and vaporous — with a real grain-laced finish, not just an alcohol wick-up. That’s hardly a surprise coming from Craft Distillers, who make Germain-Robin brandy; they know their way around a still, particularly the 16 hectoliter cognac still they use to make Low Gap.

There were aged whiskeys from small distillers this year that I liked better, but this was exceptional in its niche…and I can’t wait to see what it’s like when it has had a chance to age. —Lew Bryson