New Massachusetts Single Malt Whiskey Reflects Grain To Glass Philosophy

It has been quite the week for the growth of the American single malt category. Recent or soon to be released offerings from Seattle’s Westland Distillery, Balcones Distilling in Texas and Alabama’s John Emerald Distilling Company are showing this category’s rapid evolution, and now a craft distillery out of Massachusetts has introduced its own take on this spirit and though it is not that state’s first single malt from what I can tell, it is still awesome to see another distiller stepping up to join the party.

Damnation Alley Distillery, located in Belmont, Massachusetts, is releasing today limited quantities of a six month old single malt whiskey known at this point simply as Single Malt Massachusetts Whiskey. It was aged in a 5 gallon new charred oak barrel, which is a little similar to what’s going on in Alabama.

The distillery’s whiskey release seems to reflect what it calls a grain to glass philosophy in which it “distills craft spirits made solely from local grains and produce from farms throughout Massachusetts.” In the case of this offering it was hand made from barley grown and malted at Valley Malt in the town of Hadley.

Damnation told me the single malt will be available in 375 ml and 1 liter bottlings pricing for $40 and $100 respectively for onsite sales only at the distillery. Tasting notes it shared indicate a whiskey that is full -bodied with “a brown sugar and cinnamon start and subtle chocolate and anise finish.”

The name Damnation Alley, by the way, reflects “the nickname of Boston’s first one-way street which usually had two-way traffic. Because of this traffic pattern, often times loud, profanity-laden discussions were heard as travelers used the alley as a short cut to both Quincy Market and business meetings at the Royal Exchange Tavern.”