Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD) announced today the release of the long-awaited Shays’ Rebellion American Whiskey, a unique whisky made in collaboration with the Sam Adams brewery. In the summer of 2012, Berkshire Mountain Distillers had the idea to experiment with triple distilling a batch of Samuel Adams Cinder Bock, a fiery Rauch Bock beer. The resultant whiskey made from this beer was then aged in Samuel Adams Utopias casks for nearly three and a half years, at which point the team at Berkshire Mountain Distillers felt it had finally reached perfection. Shays’ Rebellion American whiskey maintains the smokiness and malt character of the Cinder Bock that it was made from, but finishes with port and dried fruit notes from the Utopias casks that it was aged in, resulting in a mature, complicated and delicious whiskey.
“The final battle of Shays’ Rebellion occurred only three miles from our distillery in Western MA. Two hundred and fifty years later, we’re working with our friends in the East to create a whiskey that celebrates Massachusetts’ spirit of independence,” said Chris Weld, Master Distiller at Berkshire Mountain Distillers. “The aging process really intensified the mature, complex flavors of this small batch whiskey. We’ve released a limited number of bottles, so I encourage folks to track down a bottle and enjoy this whiskey responsibly.”
“Chris is as passionate about distilling as we are about brewing, and we had a lot of fun working together and learned a lot in the process,” said Jim Koch Samuel Adams Brewer and Founder. “For the past few years, we’ve been patiently awaiting the release of this special whiskey, made with Sam Adams Cinder Bock, and it’s exciting that drinkers now have the opportunity to enjoy it.”
The aging of whiskey is a very complex and multi-faceted process which is why the project took multiple years to complete. Both BMD and Samuel Adams share great passion for the art and science of beverage-making, and also the same philosophy – use only the highest quality ingredients to produce award-winning, innovative craft beer and spirits. There will be less than 3000 bottles of this whiskey released nationally, and will be available in MA, NY, NJ, GA, MI; as well as at Berkshire Mountain Distillers’ retail store located at the distillery in Sheffield, MA. MSRP $120.
