Lost Lantern Leading Strong Industry Trend Toward Independent Whiskey Bottlers
A decade ago, there were close to 300 active distilleries in the United States; that number has since increased exponentially. Today, according to the American Craft Spirits Association, there are almost 2700 distilleries across the U.S., most of them producing whiskies or planning to in the future.
That's a lot of whiskey.
With so many distilleries, how do you know who's producing great whiskey, who's doing something interesting, and how you can actually get hold of that whiskey from smaller or regionally focused producers?
Several years back, industry insiders Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski realized that this was a challenge they wanted to tackle. In October 2020, they launched Lost Lantern, modeled on Scotland's long tradition of Independent Bottlers. As a new American Whiskey Independent Bottler, their purpose was clear: shine a light on the most exciting and unique whiskies being made in America and release them as single casks and blends with complete transparency.
Since debuting less than 3 years ago, Lost Lantern has released 36 single casks and one blend, working with 20 different distillery partners across 17 states.
In the past year, Lost Lantern releases have been recognized by some of the most respected critics, publications, and competitions in the whiskey industry, thus acknowledging their expertise at identifying top-notch whiskies and distillery partners and their skill in creating collaborative blends.
Lost Lantern Boulder Distillery Colorado Straight Bourbon was the top rated Bourbon in the Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Spirits of 2022, earning 98 points, while Lost Lantern Watershed Distillery Ohio Straight Bourbon was the fourth highest rated Bourbon in the annual list with 94 points.
The 2022 Ascot Awards named the Lost Lantern Cedar Ridge Iowa Single Malt Sherry Finish a Double Platinum winner, and that same single cask earned a Double Gold Medal and was named Best Of Class Special-Barrel Finished Whiskey at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
2022 was a great year for Lost Lantern's single malts. The venerable San Francisco World Spirits Competition also bestowed a Gold Medal on the Lost Lantern McCarthy's Peated Oregon 6 Year Old Single Malt. The John Barleycorn Awards gave Lost Lantern Breuckelen Distilling 8 Year Old Malted Wheat Single Malt a Gold Medal, and Breaking Bourbon named Lost Lantern Balcones Distilling Texas Single Malt Aged in a Tequila Barrel one of their Best Finished Whiskey selections for the year. That whiskey was also Lost Lantern's fastest selling whiskey of the year, selling out in under 2 hours.
Not to be outdone, Lost Lantern's flagship blend, American Vatted Malt Edition No. 1 received several stellar awards from top competitions in 2022 including Best American Blended Malt at the World Whiskies Awards, and Best Blended Malt and a Platinum medal at the Ascot Awards. The Ultimate Spirits Challenge gave the selection 92 Points with an "Excellent/Highly Recommended" designation.
Lost Lantern whiskies are the result of a rigorous selection process by the Lost Lantern Tasting Panel, which consists of Nora and Adam. Both came to the company with significant industry experience: Nora previously ran the sales floor at Astor Wines & Spirits, one of New York's top whiskey retailers, and Adam had served as a Senior Whisky Specialist, editor, and whiskey reviewer at Whisky Advocate magazine.
Lost Lantern has committed to visiting every single distillery they work with?both for single casks and blends. The co-founders believe the visits allow them to get to know the whiskies on a deeper level. "We look for distilleries that have a unique point of view and are making whiskies with a real sense of place. We want to release whiskies that reflect where they're made, how they're made, and who made them," said Nora. "The whiskey must be good, obviously, but it also has to be interesting or distinctive in some way. We research every distillery extensively and do not even begin our selection process until after we've visited." The team has visited more than 100 distilleries since founding the company.
In addition, the single cask selection process is never completed on-site. Whiskies go through a rigorous multi-flight, multi-day tasting process, and ultimately both Nora and Adam must agree on the final selections ensuring the single cask fits the Lost Lantern palate and purpose.
Lost Lantern's flagship blend, American Vatted Malt, was the product of a collaborative process with hands-on involvement from all six distilleries involved. "We are excited to be part of the growing movement of American blenders. For so long, the focus in American whiskey has been on the distiller but we think blending can be equally as important," commented Adam.
For 2023, Lost Lantern expects to continue to release unique single casks, as well as new multi-distillery blends and other new forms of collaborations with its distillery partners. "The world of American whiskey is rapidly transforming," said Adam. "New and innovative whiskies and distilleries are emerging all the time, and projects that were impossible just two years ago are now coming to fruition. The future of American whiskey, and the role of independent bottlers as part of it, is very bright."
Subscribe to Lost Lantern's newsletter to learn about new offerings as they become available. Lost Lantern Whiskey is available for purchase at LostLanternWhiskey.com, at Seelbachs.com, and at select retailers in California and Canada.
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