I have been a friend of Todd Leopold for several years. He and his brother are from Michigan, where they learned distilling after several years of brewing beer. They later moved to Colorado where they built a distillery and started to make whiskey. They are known for an interesting combination of innovation and traditional methods of distilling. One of the traditional methods they have brought back is the three chamber pot still. This style of still was very popular in Pennsylvania before Prohibition for making rye whiskey. They have had made for them a three chamber pot still and started to make rye whiskey in the old Pennsylvania style. It is excellent whiskey. I have a bottle of this whiskey and it was chosen for our “Whiskey of the Month” for February 2024. Matt and I sat down and tasted it the other day and here are our tasting notes.
Leopold Bros. Three Chamber Pot Still Rye
Proof: 100
Age: Six Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, peaches, apricots, baking spices, oak wood.
- Matt: Rye grass, peaches and cream, vanilla, baking spices, oak wood. It reminds him of the George Washington Rye.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, peaches, pears, cinnamon, nutmeg, oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla is enhanced and cardamom spice comes forward. Tasted with a pecan and dark chocolate comes out with cardamom and ginger spices.
- Matt: Rye grass, vanilla, peaches and pears, cardamom spice and oak wood. The dried cranberry enhanced the vanilla and cardamom spice. The pecan made the vanilla a buttery caramel, with apples, peaches and cardamom spice.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with lots of fruit and oak wood. The dried cranberry added some lingering vanilla. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak, spice and lingering chocolate.
- Matt: Medium long with oak, peaches and citrus. The dried cranberry brought out the citrus with lingering vanilla. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak, citrus and rye grass.
I would pair this excellent Rye whiskey with a My Father The Judge cigar. The rich vanilla and chocolate notes in the smoke would pair well with the sweet vanilla and fruit of the whiskey.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller