So, this was cool to realize: I’ve actually driven past this distillery multiple times and never realized it. From where we’re at in Iowa, the easiest way to get to Rochester, Minnesota is to take a straight shot up Highway 63, north of Waterloo, and go through Denver (not that Denver), New Hampton, and Lime Springs before crossing the border at Chester. A few miles further up the road, you get to Spring Valley and the road bends westward and just before it bends back north to go through Racine, Stewartville, and into Rochester, you’ll pass the Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery.
I never knew they did whiskey- but they also apparently are the progenitors of Loon Juice Hard Cider, which I’m going to have to acquire when next we cross the border to the Medium White North.
Every distillery has a story and this one is no exception, but the last couple of sentences are, I think, worth quoting in full:
For nearly a decade they used grapes and apples to craft wonderful wines and ciders enjoyed all throughout the upper Midwest. There was a sense of contentment at the winery until one day, a distiller walked in and asked, “What are you going to do with all this corn?”
The website is a little thin for a lot of details about the distillation process how they do it and what they use and that’s fine— these websites are about selling you a product and in the end, less really is more here. They’ve got a range of three offerings- Classic, High Rye, and Wheat Run with basic tasting notes on all three, but not a lot beyond that.
I haven’t actively sought out ‘farm-to-table’ or ‘single estate’ whiskies, but the ones I’ve tried so far have been delicious. (I reviewed another Minnesota offering, Roknar Rye back in 2018 and I’ve tried Kilchoman before, though that review might be lost in cyberspace forever.) I don’t generally approach tastings with a suspicious eye— but after the kerfuffle over Templeton Rye a few years back, I like to examine my labels, just in case. (TL;DR: Templeton contracted with a company out of Indiana and never hid the fact, but folks took issue with the ‘Made In Iowa’ label when at the time, it was just bottled there. They’ve moved production back to Iowa now!) Here’s what The Traditionalist has on the back:
Looks pretty standard for small-batch bourbon, as far as I can tell. The mash bill is interesting, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen toasted oats on a mash bill before, but the percentage of corn to rye definitely explains the flavor profile, to me. (The oats show up in their tasting notes for this one as well.) Spring Valley’s Finest is very fine indeed! Here are my tasting notes:
Color: Deep and rich, it’s definitely in the territory of reddish-amber, dark honey. (And yes please accept the now-expected disclaimer: I want to get better at this aspect of tasting because I feel like one can only use variations of the words ‘yellow’ and ‘honey’ so many times before it gets boring.)
Nose: I did three rounds of tasting on this one and it was interesting to unpack. Initially, I got a lot of vanilla and maybe apples. The underlying smoothness was not caramel and didn’t feel sweet enough to be brown sugar to me, so I went with vanilla. The fruit/sweetness, if it’s not apples, then it was definitely a crisp orchard fruit that grows on trees but isn’t pears— it was too sharp for that. The second time around, either my pour was too heavy or my nose wasn’t in the best of moods, because I got a big old sniff of booze right off the bat that singed my nose hairs a little bit. The final tasting I want to discount because I had read the mash bill and saw the toasted oats and suddenly, the power of suggestion kicked in and I was getting oats/oatmeal from this.
If I was going to go with a combined tasting here I would say: vanilla, a touch of apples and yes, I would add in some oat/granola/oatmeal tones as well.
Body: The is light on the tongue and well-balanced. It’s not weak and watery and it’s not heavy and syrupy either. Consistently with all my tastings, is how smooth this is. It doesn’t hit you right up top either, it’s just smooth and allows you to get more of the flavors before the burn hits you. I would say with the body, the smoothness shifts away from vanilla and gets more into the caramel area— it’s not toffee, but it’s definitely something softer. I got a hint of citrus at one point, but nothing consistent there.
Finish: Spicy but smooth, the warming is gradual, very pleasant, and not at all harsh. This is eminently drinkable straight or on the rocks and if you’re interested in discovering local/regional products that support your local distilleries, I can offer a hearty endorsement of The Traditionalist. My Grade: 9/10