Cross-Cultural Inspiration

Even a quick glance at its name makes it safe to assume that Dampfwerk Distilling in St. Louis Park, Minnesota has a far-flung influence. In this case, that influence is German: Owner Ralf Loeffelholz is originally from the Bavarian town of Muhldorf. There, fruit brandies and herbal liqueurs are deeply entrenched in the culture, and Loeffelholz knew that when he opened his distillery on American soil, those European-style brandies and liqueurs would be at the heart of his business. But Dampfwerk (which translates to “steam works”) is a family affair, and distiller Christian Loeffelholz (Ralf’s son) joined Dampfwerk with American single malt in mind—which he makes on the same German-made still his father uses.

“The still was designed to our specifications; it’s not a traditional whiskey still by any means, but it’s tuned for leaving as much flavor in the product as possible—in that way, we have great bandwidth for brandies and delicate, complex whiskeys as well,” Christian explains. (The still in question is a hybrid copper still that was made by Müller Pot Stills in Germany’s Black Forest region.) Aside from the still, Dampfwerk’s single malts were certainly informed by Germany’s rich malt culture, where barley is cultivated for beer, and therefore prized for flavor and not just yield.

Dampfwerk is just one example of a number of distilleries that, while based in the U.S., place another country (most often Scotland or Ireland) at the core of their identity. These run the gamut from distillers like Ralf—immigrants who bring a taste of their home countries—to those simply inspired by the drams of their international counterparts and globally minded producers who blend whiskies from different countries into the same bottle. In any case, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and these distilleries are living evidence of that.

Inspired by Scotland

Step onto the grounds of Tenmile Distillery and it feels like Scotland, despite the fact that it’s located in Wassaic, New York, a tiny hamlet just two hours north of New York City. Before opening for business and filling its first barrels in January 2020, the distillery underwent extensive renovations from its previous life as a dairy farm—four stills are now housed within a century-old dairy barn, and the barrels rest in what was once a mill (and before that, a cow barn). Inside, the Scottish feel continues: The mash tun and stills were custom-built by Scotland-based still maker Forsyths, and master distiller Shane Fraser is a Scot, coming from a long career at Oban, Royal Lochnagar, Glenfarclas, and Wolfburn Distilleries.

Tenmile co-owner John Dyson and his son-in-law Joel LeVangia, co-owner and general manager, are ardent single malt scotch fans, and Dyson, while a born-and-bred New Yorker, is of Scottish descent. The pair developed the distillery together, with the intent of marrying traditional scotch whisky making with an American concept that was rooted in this place and puts single malts at the fore. “Everything involved in the creation of Tenmile and its whiskeys is either traditionally Scottish or extremely local. We get our barley from local farmers, we work with a local maltster, and we’re collaborating with Cornell University on new barley varieties,” says LeVangia. While Tenmile isn’t bound to every standard set forth by the Scotch Whisky Association, the distillery adheres to most of them. Its innovation comes in cask finishing, where expressions have included bourbon, pinot noir, and various sherry-finished whiskeys.

Another family that has directed its overseas roots into American single malt is the Moore clan of Virginia Distillery Co. Owners Gareth and Maggie Moore began distilling American single malts in 2015; the original vision wasn’t purely theirs, however, but rather that of Gareth’s late father, George Moore. “He was an Irish immigrant who came across in 1972, made it big in tech, and sold his company in 2011, after which he decided his retirement project would be to start the next great American distillery,” says Gareth. Having had a lifelong passion for scotch single malts, George wanted those to be the focus, albeit with New World twists. While George was instrumental in getting the idea for the distillery off the ground, his involvement was cut short in 2013 when he passed away at the age of 62, just before it was set to open. In the aftermath, Gareth picked up his father’s mantle, and carries on his legacy to this day.

At first, Virginia Distillery Co. was importing liquid from Scotland and blending it into its own distillate, but that was phased out by 2020 in favor of 100% own-make single malt, bottled under the Courage & Conviction banner. The distillery’s equipment was built exclusively for malt, and the overall layout was designed by longtime Bowmore engineer Harry Coburn, meaning that once inside, you can blink and pretend you’re in Scotland. That Old World setup gives way to New World influence the minute you step out the door, however—Virginia’s humidity alone causes more water vapor to interact with the whiskey (something the distillery counters by filling barrels to 62.4% ABV, just shy of the legal maximum).

On the opposite side of the continent, distiller Graeme Macaloney is at once a Scotsman and a proud Canadian immigrant. At his distillery on Vancouver Island, he emphasizes this dual identity through peated Canadian single malt whisky, which he makes by the Scottish books. “All of our production methods—milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, maturing—they’re all traditional to scotch,” he says. “I went back to Islay twice to study the method of Islay peat smoking at Bowmore, Kilchoman, and Laphroaig, who were all very generous in letting me spend time watching their peat-smoking techniques.” He stresses that while he’s inspired by these places, he’s not trying to copy their flavors, which is where Canadian barley comes into play—according to him, it’s far better for single malt than Scottish barley, as it’s designed for beer, which inherently lends it more flavor.

In the American Southwest, English expat Colin Keegan grew up with scotch all around, though he didn’t quite understand the hype until he delved a little deeper into the style’s intricacies. “The variations, even on that small an island [Scotland], fascinated me—I started collecting whisky from the Highlands, Lowlands, Campbeltown, etcetera, and in my then-job as an architect, clients would gift me some really fantastic scotches as well, and a vivid picture was painted,” he says. When he set out to build his own distillery, Santa Fe Spirits, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the style of the Scots beckoned. “In 2010, it was a good time to buy a building and a still, and I thought to myself, ‘Mate, you’ve got to make scotch,’” he says. “I like smokier ones, which to me meant bolder at the time. Of course I’ve learned a lot since, namely that smoke doesn’t necessarily mean a bolder flavor—but it has helped in our case, and differentiated us from our compatriots in the market.” In a distinctly American touch, Keegan smokes his Colkegan single malts with mesquite, not peat, for an authentically Southwestern experience.

While the owners of Tucson, Arizona-based Whiskey Del Bac have no direct connection to Scotland, the founder’s deep love for single malts led him to whiskey making. “Our classic Whiskey Del Bac is based on Speyside scotch, and my specific model was the Macallan 12 year old, because that was always my go-to scotch when I went out to dinner,” says owner Stephen Paul. “I was using that more so for level of quality, though, and not so much exact flavor profile—because of where we’re making our whiskey, and how we’re aging it [in new oak], it’s going to taste a whole lot different than a scotch.” The distillery also dabbles in mesquite-smoked single malts, which it has compared to Laphroaig, though Paul is quick to point out that the smoke flavors are vastly different, as proven by tests run by the Islay distillery that looked at the phenol, cresol, and guaiacol levels (all of which contribute to smoky flavors) of both whiskies, which showed that Del Bac’s drams have far lower levels of cresol (a compound that elicits aromas of tar and asphalt).

Inspired by Ireland

When Patrick and Megan Miller went to Ireland for their honeymoon in 2011, the plan was to celebrate their marriage by crisscrossing the country and dipping into droves of fantastic drams along the way. What the pair didn’t anticipate was walking away with a love of Irish single pot still whiskey (Ireland’s signature style, traditionally produced with a mixed mashbill of unmalted and malted barley and triple-distilled on a pot still) that burned so brightly, it would eventually culminate in a distillery of their very own, one entirely dedicated to the style. “We were in a pub in Galway, and our bartender was so excited, telling us all about single pot still whiskey,” Patrick reminisces. “Redbreast 12 year old Cask Strength had just been reintroduced to the Irish market, and from that starting point in that bar, we fell deep into the style.”

It would be six years until the stars aligned and the couple was able to open Arvada, Colorado-based Talnua Distillery, which is something of a love letter to pot still whiskey. Every part of production is done exactly as it’s done in Ireland—Patrick follows the Irish whiskey technical file to a T and works on a custom copper pot still. That said, the Millers are proud of their American heritage, and aren’t looking to overshadow it at Talnua (which means “new land” in Gaelic). “We’re not trying to be Irish whiskey, we’re trying to blend the worlds of the Irish and American styles,” says Megan. “It’s an important distinction for us, maintaining our American identity.” This is highlighted in whiskeys like the Talnua bottled in bond single pot still expression, which debuted in 2022. It’s set to be followed up by another bottled in bond variant early next year.

At Minnesota-based distiller O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co., Brian Nation—former master distiller for many of Ireland’s most famous whiskeys, among them Jameson, Midleton, and Redbreast—has similarly been working on bringing Ireland and America together in the glass. “The vision at Keeper’s Heart is to bring the best of Irish and American distilling traditions together, and we’re doing that in two ways,” says Nation. “On one side, we’re blending Irish and American whiskeys together—we source 4 year old pot still and 4 year old grain whiskeys from Great Northern Distillery in Ireland, and we’re currently sourcing 4 year old bourbon and 4 year old rye from MGP. But what we’re also doing is laying down stocks of American whiskey made in the Irish style of triple copper pot distillation.”

O’Shaughnessy’s first release, Irish + American, combined those sourced Irish whiskeys with MGP rye, coupling the richness of an Irish pot still whiskey with the spiciness of a rye; a follow-up release, Irish + Bourbon, took those same Irish components and blended them with the boldness of a bourbon. Of course, Nation is looking forward to the release of the brand’s own-make whiskey, the first of which—an American single pot still—should be coming out in the final months of 2025, followed up by a triple pot-distilled rye in 2026 and a triple pot-distilled bourbon in 2027.

An Irish-American blend is also at the heart of Four Walls, a brand founded by “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actors Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, and Charlie Day in 2022. While the trio were fans of whiskey prior to creating their own, Four Walls is more of a love letter to the heritage of the American bar—which has plenty of Irish-American influence—than anything else. “Irish-American culture has tie-backs to the story of the neighborhood bar in America, and that’s what Four Walls is based on; it’s not so much a brand based around its liquid as it is on that idea,” says CEO Casey McGrath. “We wanted this to be the kind of Irish whiskey that becomes a bartender’s shift drink or shot of choice, but with that little bit of rye, it packs more of a punch and robustness that makes for exceptional brown spirits-based cocktails.” Four Walls’s flagship whiskey is comprised of Irish grain and single malt from Great Northern Distillery and rye produced at Iowa’s Cedar Ridge.

Blend of Nations

When Nation began blending Irish and American whiskeys together, it wasn’t an entirely new concept (in fact, Talnua has been doing it since its inception), but the style also wasn’t having the moment it is today, with a host of new brands focused on the idea. Among the newer blends of such worldly whiskies, and arguably the most ambitious available today, is Suntory Ao. A product of Suntory Global Spirits, Ao blends malt and grain whiskies from seven distilleries spread across five countries: Ardmore and Glen Garioch from Scotland, Ireland’s Cooley, Alberta from Canada, Jim Beam from the U.S., and Yamazaki and Hakushu from Japan, with the final blend put together by Suntory chief blender Shinji Fukuyo. The whisky was first released in 2019, but limited to Japan and global Travel Retail; that changed last year, when Suntory brought it worldwide.

In speaking of whiskies that include liquid from different countries, one would be remiss to not mention one of the earliest (if not the first) adopters of the style: High West. The Utah-based distillery released its Campfire whiskey—a blend of bourbon, rye, and peated scotch—in 2012. The dram was inspired by a trip to Islay, where distillery founder David Perkins was treated to a dessert drizzled with peated syrup; the combination of flavors stirred him, and not long after, Campfire was born.

“Campfire is about building something that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and balancing a radical set of flavor profiles,” says master blender Brendan Coyle, who has worked at the distillery since its inception. “It’s all about taking those intense phenols and putting them up against a sweeter backbone of bourbon and the spiciness of rye.” Coyle admits that initially, Campfire wasn’t the easiest sell, to consumers or the government. “There was confusion early on, not just with whisky drinkers, but with the TTB [Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau] as well—it doesn’t fit into just one box,” he explains. “But now I talk to more Campfire fanatics than anything else, and whisky nerds and in-the-know drinkers love the concept.” Campfire has remained an annual release, with just one major change over the years: The rye in the blend is now High West’s own distillate.

Ocean Voyages Far and Wide

Given how much travel some whiskies do, it’s a wonder they don’t have their own passports. Take Jefferson’s Ocean Aged— the whiskey, now in its 29th iteration, spends a great deal of its life on a ship. Each batch starts its odyssey in Savannah, Georgia, departing the city and following slightly different sea routes, which can culminate in as many as 30 ports spread across 5 continents. The most recent edition—Voyage 29, a wheated bourbon—left Savannah and headed southwest to Panama, crossing the Panama Canal and sailing onward to Tahiti and New Zealand. It then visited four ports in Australia, rounding the continent on its way up to Singapore, South Korea, China, and Japan. After a stop in the port of Yokohama, the whiskey began its journey back home, making stops in Tacoma and Long Beach before landing back in Savannah. Jefferson’s founder, Trey Zoeller, was inspired to create the whiskey while on a boat drinking bourbon; as the whiskey rocked back and forth in the bottle, Zoeller considered what might happen if that were happening to a barrel instead.

Another whiskey whose identity is centered around cross-ocean journeys is Never Say Die. The brand’s first bourbon was sourced from Wilderness Trail in Kentucky, then sent across the Atlantic aboard a ship to England, where it was ultimately bottled at White Peak Distillery. More recently, Never Say Die debuted a rye that was sourced from the same distillery. It spent 5 years aging there, and then made the same six-week-long trans-Atlantic journey to England.

Then there are whiskies that are truly melting pots, blending the identities of more than one culture. Legent is among the most high-profile examples of this—the blended whiskey (a combination of straight bourbon and bourbons finished in red wine and sherry casks) is distilled and aged at Jim Beam’s Clermont Distillery by master distiller Fred Noe, then shipped to Japan, where master blender Shinji Fukuyo oversees the finishing and blending processes. Ahead of releasing Legent, Noe and Fukuyo experimented considerably with Jim Beam’s 4 year old bourbon, an undertaking that saw samples flying back and forth between Kentucky and Japan.

Kaiyō Distillery in Japan has also played around with American distillate, purchasing aged barrels of American rye whiskeys from distilleries in two states for the third release within its Omakase Series. After being blended together, the ryes were then re-barreled into mizunara casks for an undisclosed period of time, pairing a quintessentially Japanese element with a distinctly American one. The resulting whisky is balanced and intriguing, tying the delicate floral notes of the wood to the spiciness of the rye.

Border-Defying Whiskies To Try

94 points - Virginia Distillery Co. Courage & Conviction American Single Malt, 46%, $75
Grapefruit, marshmallow, creme brûlée, dark berries, black coffee

93 points - World Whiskey Society Double Barrel Japanese Single Malt by Chip Tate, 51%, $120
Rustic, red fruit, lemon peel, well-spiced, vanilla, barrel char

92 points - Macaloney’s Signature Selection Siol Dugall Canadian Island Peated Single Malt (Batch 2), 46%, $82
Sweet peat, campfire coals, fresh guava, chocolate, peppery spice, lemon cake

92 points - Never Say Die Kentucky Straight Rye, 52.5%, $85
Dole fruit cup, cornbread, cooked cherries, rich chocolate, barrel char

91 points - Colkegan American Single Malt, 46%, $60
Menthol, pine, sandalwood, baked apple, black pepper, lemon pound cake

91 points - Keeper’s Heart Irish + Bourbon, 46%, $40
Grilled pineapple, cinnamon rugelach, whipped cream, lemon curd, cereal milk, lemon bars

91 points - Tenmile Distillery 3 year old Little Rest Classic American Single Malt (Batch 002), 46%, $100
Cedar, dried leaves, honey, brown sugar, lemon cupcake

90 points - Talnua Bourbon Cask & Stave Single Pot Still, 43%, $75
Vanilla ice cream, florals, fudge, apple, pear, vanilla, cinnamon toffee

90 points - High West Campfire Blend of Rye, Bourbon, and Blended Malt Scotch (Batch 22K18), 46%, $80
Anise, charcoal smoke, raisins, apple pie, and black pepper

90 points - Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea Blend of Straight Bourbons (Voyage 28), 45%, $85
Vanilla, coconut, cooked fruits, cinnamon, raisin cake, and oak

89 points - Four Walls Irish American, 40%, $35
Honey, brown sugar, rye spice, herbal notes, Cheerios

88 points - Legent Straight Bourbon, 47%, $35
Porridge, cinnamon, baked apple, spearmint, caramel, red fruit, tobacco