The Whiskey Word

Smugglers Notch Vermont is world renown for amazing skiiing, and a plethora of outdoor activities...and now a world class distillery. ForWhiskeyLovers recently sat down with distillery president/co-owner Jeremy Elliott to see what what he and his father Ron are cooking in the woods of Vermont.  

Father and son founders of Grand Traverse Distillery, Kent and Landis Rabish, began their distillery journey in the early 2000s. When the duo opened their distillery, they had one primary objective, to “create an exceptional locally-sourced spirit and waste not.” To perfect their spirits, the Rabish family had to make some sacrifices along the way, but with perfection in mind, they stood firm for true craft distilling, all the way down to the grain.

Owner of The Glenesk, Dylan Wren, is a passionate whisky collector and boasts an impressive collection himself, comprising roughly 1,500 bottles. As these whiskies are part of his own private collection and are not for sale, they cannot be added to the total submitted to Guinness World Records.   The Edzell-based hotel serves whisky from every working distillery in Scotland. Its most expensive dram is the Lagavulin 25-year-old costing £248 a measure.   Other notable whiskies on offer include Tomintoul 33-year-old and Port Ellen 33-year-old, as well as some rare bottlings from the Glencadam distillery, now the only working distillery in Angus. Established in 1825, the distillery closed in 2000 only to be reopened in 2003 following its sale to Angus Dundee Distillers.

Named among the top Five Brands of Cognac to Try by the Huffington Post VS & VSOP - Silver at 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition