Borrowed Page Vol. 1
Borrowed Page American Whiskey builds on our mission to advance the narrative of American Whiskey through highlighting and empowering independent craft producers across the country. Borrowed Page is a special limited release series, blended from whiskeys produced by craft distilleries across the country that we have featured on our site. In alignment with our mission, Borrowed Page aims to elevate the profile of the craft producers included in the blend. The unique characteristics of each product can be experienced in this American Whiskey and each producer is properly credited for their exceptional work on the front of the label.
Rather than blend a bourbon, a rye or some other type of standardized whiskey, we have decided to exclusively focus on making American whiskey. Currently a catch all for any American made whiskey that doesn’t fit into one of the established TTB categories, we feel that the vague nature and loose boundaries on American whiskey make it the most interesting and potentially dynamic area for innovation and exploration left. If you want to read more about our thoughts on this, please check out our think piece on American whiskey here.
Borrowed Page Volume 1:
The first distillery we discussed this concept with was Watershed Distillery in Columbus, Ohio. Founder/CEO, Greg Lehman was instantly enamored with it and expressed his interest in being a part of the first release. Watershed distills their bourbon on a column still, which gives their whiskey a soft and smooth texture that lets the sweetness from the corn and the barrel sing, much like you might expect from a Kentucky bourbon.
This was the spark that lit the fuse and motivated us to move forward with the project. We began to consider which other distilleries we thought might be enthusiastic about the project and whose whiskeys would not only compliment Watershed bourbon, but lend something different and interesting as well. The concept for Borrowed Page was that we could blend whiskeys that not only stood firmly on their own, but also use the unique characteristics of each individual distillery’s spirit to draw attention back to the people who made them.
We immediately thought of Spirits of French Lick. Head Distiller, Alan Bishop is quickly becoming a near mythical figure within the craft spirits world. Not only are his disilates garnering a ton of critical acclaim, but his pure love and passion for distilling is apparent to anyone that knows him. On top of that, the Lee Sinclair Bottled in Bond bourbon is made using a mash bill he conceived of as a teenager. It includes oats that lend a soft and creamy texture to the big, bold and spicy pot still flavors Spirits of French Lick produce. Luckily, Alan was as intrigued about the project as we hoped he would be. We had two whiskeys, two bourbons, made in two different ways with drastically different profiles. We weren’t going to stop there.
Wigle Whiskey is the most awarded craft distillery in the country and they produce a Monogaheala rye whiskey. Monogaheala rye used to be the most sought after rye whiskey in the country, back when Pennsylvania and Virginia served as the biggest whiskey making states in the union. Their rye whiskey is historically accurate to that time period in the sense that it contains no corn in the mashbill, instead opting for wheat and barely to compliment the boldness from the featured grain. It’s a beautiful rye that lends a lot of soft fruity sweetness to balance the spice.
To round out this first release, we selected a truly special whiskey to put a distinct twist on this batch. Whiskey Del Bac in Tucson, Arizona is one of the few distilleries in the country that malt their own grain. They are members of the American Single Malt Commission, which has been pushing to help classify American Single Malt as its own category within the TTB. Their flagship product, the Dorado, is a single malt whiskey that is malted with mesquite smoke. They were the second featured distillery on the website, and to this day remain one of the most popular articles on the site. This delicious barbecue smoked whiskey was the missing piece of the puzzle, and to our delight they were more than happy to be a part of Borrowed Page.
Finding a way to blend these spirits that both highlights their unique qualities and also balances them into a truly unique expression of American Whiskey is no small feat. We enlisted the help of Anne Dimmick to collaborate on the blend and help us tackle this monumental task. Anne has spent years working with the Campari group with legendary whiskey brands like Wild Turkey. When we met her she was working as the Barrel Master and Brand Portfolio Manager for Watershed. She has since moved on to become the Director of Retail and Brand Experience for Ohio Liquor. Anne’s wealth of experience in the spirits industry and keen palate helped turn Borrowed Pag from an idea into a reality.
Borrowed Page American Whiskey Volume 1 enjoys much of the sweetness from the Watershed bourbon on the nose and front palate. The oats from the Lee Sinclair bourbon out of Spirits of French Lick give the whiskey a full body texture that coats the palate. The sweetness from the bourbon is complemented by the spice from the Wigle whiskey rye, leading to a long and complex finish where the mesquite smoke from Whiskey Del Bac sneaks in, serving the perfect barbecue sweet and spicy flavors for the summer. You can taste the influence of each of these whiskeys, and together they make something magical. That is what Borrowed Page is and will always strive to be as we continue our mission to expand the profile of the craft whiskey movement and push the boundaries of what American whiskey can be.
We contracted the same designer who designed our logo, Blair Positerry, to help design the label. Additionally, we commissioned a local New Orleans artist, Joshua Duncan, to create some hand drawn sketches that we could use on the label. The sketch depicts the journey whiskey takes from start to finish. On the left hand side you see the grain. As you move to the right you see an ambiguous distiller overseeing a fermentation tank. To their right is a pot/column still, representing both styles of distillation, and next to that are the barrels. The bottle itself represents the last stage, the final product. The hand sketch style of the artwork is meant to represent that we believe that American whiskey still feels like a sketch. The pieces are there but with the help of the craft movement we can continue to flesh out the future of what American whiskey can be. The sketch itself is debossed into the label, pressed into the background as if to say that everything you see here, the grains, the fermentation, the distillation and maturing is what is behind the whiskey in the bottle. The labels were produced by Blue Label Packaging in Lancaster, Ohio. The wood toppers were provided by TAPI USA.
The whiskeys were purchased and shipped to Bluegrass Bottling Company in Stanford, Kentucky. Lisa Stevels and the rest of the wonderful team there helped us make this dream into a reality. Devin and Chase flew down to Kentucky on Thursday, June 23rd. The barrels were dumped and blended together on Friday, June 24th. They were left to marry over the weekend and the first volume of Borrowed Page American Whiskey was bottled and labeled on Monday, June 27th, 2022.
We hope you enjoy this first release. We are incredibly proud of it, and could not have done it without the overwhelming enthusiasm and support of our friends, family, distillery partners and all the vendors that we had the privilege to work with. Get your bottle quick! There are only 724 bottles available for purchase and once it’s gone this particular blend will not be replicated. We look forward to showing you something new for Volume 2!
Cheers!
TASTING NOTES
Borrowed Page American Whiskey Volume 1 (58% ABV)
Nose: Blackberry Jam, Orange Peel, Tobacco, Maple Syrup, Cinnamon, Mesquite Smoke
Palate: The mouthfeel is hot but silky. There is a rich salted caramel sweetness up front that morphs into cinnamon coffee cake with mild black pepper and lingering brown sugar in the midpalate. Dark chocolate and molasses along with orange peel persist through a long and very complex finish where the mesquite smoke creeps in slowly, changing the overall flavor as it grows.