Whiskey Del Bac "Classic" American Single Malt, Tucson, Arizona (750ml)   

Producer Notes - "Like many great ideas, it came about while drinking Scotch...Whiskey Del Bac Classic is a true American single malt whiskey, borrowing from the Scottish model of whiskey-making but matured in new American white oak. Classic is made from 100% barley malt that is mashed, fermented, copper pot-distilled, aged, and bottled on-site. Classic opens with bright stone fruits on the nose and is balanced with a sweet caramel and oak finish. It was named one of the best whiskies in the world by Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Spirits list in 2021. 46% ABV.

It was one of those cool desert nights in 2006 where Elaine and Stephen Paul sat outside on their patio, barbecuing over a mesquite fire and enjoying a glass of Scotch. Elaine had an idea — “What if you made single malt whiskey with ‘mesquited’ malt instead of peated malt?” Stephen couldn’t shake the concept. After all, he knew mesquite well. He and Elaine owned a furniture design company that specialized in mesquite. Well-known for the flavor it imparts to food that is cooked over it, mesquite is a beautifully grained wood native to the desert Southwest. Stephen began learning everything he could about how the Scots make their whiskies. While learning how to floor-malt barley, he began with the recipe for Classic, modeled after the unpeated style of Speyside Scotches. If he could nail down a clean-finishing American Single Malt Whiskey that rivaled Scotland’s finest, then he could take the recipe and put a Southwest spin on it — which is how our mesquited (not peated) Dorado was born."