Newsletter No. 5
At the distillery
On December 30th, just before the new year, we filled our 100th barrel. As with barrel number 1, we filled barrel number 100 with our standard rye mash bill – a combination of malted and unmalted rye and malted barley – and barreled it at 110 proof. Our barrel house, which looked quite empty last winter, now has barrels covering nearly half the floor. With our production goals in 2024 we should fill the floor completely later this year. Our dunnage style barrel house is designed for stacking barrels three-high, and at capacity can hold nearly 800 barrels.
Each barrel is numbered, with corresponding records relating to the mash bill, grain varietals, fermentation process and distillation. Our record-keeping is extensive, but our barrel numbering recently received an aesthetic upgrade with the arrival of new barrel stencils.
Around the farm
With the new year upon us, we are now making plans in earnest for the 2024 growing season and thinking especially about barley. We use barley in our rye mash bill, and it makes up 100% of our single malt. Growing barley in upstate New York can be challenging – winter barley has trouble with our frigid arctic blasts, and barley in general cannot tolerate our hot, humid summers (a portion of last year’s barely crop is pictured above).
Fortunately for barley growers like us, a dedicated team at Cornell University has been developing barley varietals specifically suited for New York’s variable climate. We’ve been able to secure an allotment of one of these varietals – formerly called CU198, and now bearing the familiar name, HudsonNY. Weather permitting, we will plant our HudsonNY in March. We’re excited to be a participant in the reestablishment of small grain production in New York State, and appreciative of the efforts of Cornell and their partners to help make this happen. You can learn more about Cornell and the New York Seed Improvement Project here.
Team Outing: Silver Brothers and Edinburgh Whisky Academy, NYC
Further afield, our team had the opportunity to expand our sensory analysis skills and general whisky knowledge via a recent course from the Edinburgh Whisky Academy (EWA). Our instructor, spirits expert and consultant Lia Niskanen @barrelstrengthtalent, lead the two-day workshop in New York City, detailing whisky history, production techniques, and characteristic styles, combined with in-depth sensory analysis. The course culminated in a blind tasting where our sensory abilities were put to the test. In another proud moment for Silver Brothers, we all passed the assessment and earned our Edinburgh Whiskey Academy certifications.
In and Around the Chatham area, Hudson and the Berkshires
Opening Reception Shaker Museum Pop-up: Palm to Poplar by Caitlin MacBride, Saturday, February 3, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Kinderhook Knitting Mill, 8 Hudson Street, Kinderhook, NY
Canteen Club #1: Lunar New Year Celebration, Bimi’s Canteen, Chatham. Friday, February 9. Multi-course family style feast at communal tables in main dining room. Two limited reservation-only seating times available. This is a special ticketed event; Visit Bimi’s Canteen page on Resy for details.
Olana Third Thursdays: Lunch & Learn: The Underground Railroad Revisited. Sunday, February 18, 11:00am-12:00 pm. “Learn more about the history of the Underground Railroad and the work of the Underground Railroad Education Center during this special FREE lecture celebrating Black History Month. Paul and Mary Liz Stewart will share more about their work researching the Underground Railroad and reinterpreting the underground railroad’s relevance for us today. FREE; meet at the Wagon House Education Center. Refreshments will be provided.”
The Bulb Show, Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Fitzpatrick Conservatory, February 24 — March 17, Daily, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Admission is free.
We hope you enjoyed our free newsletter. Be sure to subscribe and please share with a friend if you think they would enjoy it as well. For more information about Silver Brothers, visit silverbrothers.com and follow us on Instagram @silverbrotherswhiskey.