Had a great visit at Whiskey Thief. I drove down the long gravel driveway past rolling hilly fields…read moreto the large barn structure, large sliding doors open front and back. I entered. A huge Big Ass fan (that's its real name!) helping to cool the space and adding much noise. The greeter at the entrance welcomed me and gave a brief introduction to what they're about here and I walked over to the tasting area, where the whiskies are served directly from the 5 open barrels using the siphoning device known as a "whiskey thief"; hence the business's name. All corn is grown right at the farm and the rye is from Minnesota.
The tasting experience is very informal: just walk up to the barrels, tell them which one you want, then either hang around and talk to them or wander around and sip. Take all the time you need. Pretzels were provided as a "palette cleanser". Also some truffles were offered for pairing with the whisky but in my opinion that just confuses the experience. Although they were very good truffles. Tasting directly from barrels is a different experience. The whiskey is unfiltered and the glasses contained floating black specks, carbon from the charred barrels. This doesn't affect the taste.
The pours were generous and I was already feeling mellow after 4 when it was time for my tour. It really wasn't much of one, just a brief walk around the distilling area over the catwalks accessing the equipment including the tanks where I could directly peer into fermenting grain ooze. (Sure glad I didn't drop my camera down into it. What then?) 7 people were on the tour, all men. Only I asked questions; the rest were silent. Curious. Who knows what they were thinking.
After the tour I went back to the tasting area and got my 5th sample. I Iiked everything I tried. I knew I wanted to buy a bottle but couldn't decide so I ended up buying 2 375ml bottles. This is an experience in itself, as all bottles are filled by the customer, using the whiskey thief device, from the very barrel that was just sampled. What you see (and taste) is literally what you get!
Last but certainly not least: Some food, another drink, and some music. This happens on the outside back patio. There are several tables with umbrellas, an outside bar, and a food truck. Burgers, nachos, cheese fries, and more. I had some truffle fries, crispy, with skins on, and subtle with the truffle flavor; top notch. And a Manhattan, made with one of their bourbons of course, served in real glass and with an excellent Luxardo cherry. I nursed this very strong drink and read my book a long time (close to 2 hours) because the music and ambience were so special. "Lil' Jimmy Ritchie" put on an excellent show, singing high energy country songs and accompanying himself with spectacular guitar playing, lots of fast picking not just strumming. During his break he made rounds of the patio, saying hello to everyone there. Lil' Jimmy in his cowboy hat, enduring toothy smile, with the backdrop of pasture and an aging barn behind, struck me as the quintessential country music experience.
