Altamar Brands’ High N’ Wicked is an importer and bottler of premium whiskeys with a heavy focus on bringing forward new and complex American and Irish whiskeys. Based in Jackson, Wyoming, High N’ Wicked partners with exemplary distilleries to create unique whiskey creations that live up to their daring name.
Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
The Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is a permanent fixture in the High N’ Wicked collection of whiskeys. This whiskey is distilled at New Riff Distillery in Newport, Kentucky with water from the distillery’s famed limestone-rich aquifer. Three days of fermentation are followed by a pass through an All-Copper Distillation Path, which heats the mash, 95% Rye and 5% Malted Rye, at every heated point of the process. Full contact with the copper maximizes the rye’s intense, full-bodied qualities.
Aging lasts for 5 years in special New American White Oak barrels. These barrels are first toasted, which infuses flavors of vanilla, caramel, chocolate, and spice into the rye, and then given a “Number 4” 55-second char. By adding this quick char, a layer of charcoal is put in place to enhance the natural filtration process that occurs when the rye interacts with it. Bottling is completed without chill filtration so that the full power of this rye’s aroma, color, texture, and flavor can be retained.
Aromas: Caramelized apples, peaches, dark cherries, orange peel, cinnamon, clove, allspice, dark cocoa, white pepper, and a touch of dill.
Palate: Delicate caramel and honey notes followed by bold spice notes of cinnamon, fresh cracked black peppercorns, and a touch of chili pepper heat. Lingering finish is bright with apple, peach, dark cocoa, and nutmeg notes galore.
Singular Limited Release No. 4 “Aeneas Coffey” Irish Whiskey
Coffey Column Still diagram from Whiskipedia
High N’ Wicked has their well-loved permanent collection, but their singular releases are groundbreaking creations as well! For example, their “Aeneas Coffey” Irish Whiskey, is an exceptional single grain Irish whiskey named in honor of the inventor of the Coffey Column Still. This style of still was a revolutionary invention, creating a much more efficient continuous process that is unmatched by pot stills even today. This makes it is a preferred method of hundreds of distillers around the world.
Hailing from Cork, Ireland, the “Aeneas Coffey” Irish Whiskey features a mash bill of 95% French Maize and 5% Irish Malted Barley. After distillation, the whiskey is double cask matured, first in ex-Bourbon barrels and then finished for a period of 6 months in Tinta Negra Caste Extra Sweet Madeira casks. This whiskey is finished by Noel Sweeney, one of the most awarded distillers/blenders in the world of whiskey.
