We take every precaution to maintain the highest standards for our spirit production, having said that, stuff happens! There are some things beyond our control that are part of manufacturing spirits as clean, natural, and pure with no additives or unnecessary filtration.
What’s that sediment swirling in my whisky?
When you purchased a bottle of our whisky is possible you will find a hazy wisp (or snow cluster like appearance) swirling in the bottom of the bottle. It is common in “craft” spirits especially if that bottle experienced a drop in temperature at some point of its storage (does that ever happen here in Upstate NY? :). But don’t panic… what you’re actually seeing is flavor!
During the fermentation, distilling and the barrel aging processes various lipids, phenols and esters are produced or released. These components make up a lot of the flavors we all love and enjoy in whisky. Because of their natural properties, if the liquid alcohol’s temperature is decreased the molecules sometimes join hands (bond together) into long enough molecular chains where they become visible to the human eye. The large volume producers use chill filtering to remove the visible components (mainly the lipids). Why? Because it makes the product look pretty! But this practice of chill filtering is strictly for cosmetic reasons and actually diminishes the flavor and mouth-feel from the product, leaving the connoisseur wanting for more of a flavor experience. Chill filtering in whisky production has been a common practice for most of the last century but luckily with the renaissance of small batch craft producers, this practice is being challenged and therefore more flavor is remaining in those true farm-to-flask whiskies where filtering for cosmetic reasons is not utilized! While as Craft Distillers we do filter (mainly to filter out wood and charcoal particles from the barrels), we do not employ chill filtering. At Dragonfyre Distillery, we want to present our whisky to our loyal whisky enthusiasts with its maximum flavor profile still intact, just as close as if it came straight from the barrel, and sometime it does!
Don’t like how it looks in the bottle? Simply shake the bottle and these flavor components will unlock hands and be dispersed, falling back into suspension and returning the whisky to its clear state!
So in the future, if you find “floaties” or “sediment swirls” in whisky please: Use your whisky prowess and knowledge of the above to be informed of what this actually is… Flavor molecules that are showing themselves. Know that a little shake of the whisky will break the flavor fatty-acid/lipid bonds and the whisky will clear (and the best part… the flavor will remain).
Remember. we could filter to a higher degree but know that although higher levels of filtration lead to clearer whisky they also lead to a slightly lesser taste profile as they ultimately filter out the sediment which holds many of the beautiful flavors. In our opinion… the family of Dragonfyre Distillery (and honestly, most whisky connoisseurs) would take substance over appearance any day!
Does it have legs?
No we don’t mean whiskey legs like the glass of whiskey below.
Certain times of the year, fruit flies can be the bane of the beverage manufacturer, we take every precaution to keep them out, and it is very unlikely you will find one in a bottle, doesn’t mean you wont see them at a tasting event, especially an out door event, and we keep caps on our pour bottles to help keep them out of your glass, doesn’t mean one wont find its way in after the fact. If that happens, we will gladly pour you a fresh one if your squeamish about fishing it out!