American

Lost Lantern Flame

$100

OVERALL
RATING

Whiskey Review: Lost Lantern Flame

by Nino Kilgore-Marchetti
March 6, 2024

Tasting Notes:

About:

A blend of mesquite-smoked American single malts from Whiskey Del Bac in Arizona and Santa Fe Spirits in New Mexico; bottled at 113.9 proof; $100.

Appearance:

There’s a nice reddish-amber glow in the glass, much like a beautiful campfire at night in the desert Southwest. The legs and viscosity of this are thinner.

Nose:

If there was any doubt about the mesquite smoke aroma aspect, it was quickly done away with one sniff. Robust notes of smoked wood, smoked meat, brown sugar, rich caramel, and dried apricots dance around.

Palate:

This brings the mesquite, but not in a heavily smoky way like some Islay Scotches. There’s the smoked wood and smoked meat like in the nose, but it backdrops with porcini mushroom, burnt brown sugar, black pepper, chewy caramel, and a tiny bit of baked bread.

Finish:

The finish is long and smoky, letting you know this is a whiskey to keep you warm on a cold night as it drags on for a short eternity.

Comments:

This one is for you if you like single malts that bring the smoke and are not overly aggressive. I find mesquite-smoked whiskeys a learned love, particularly for those used to the peat side. This blend showcases well the combination of two American distilleries with this style as a focus.

Lost Lantern Flame review — We review Lost Lantern Flame, a blend of mesquite-smoked American single malts from Whiskey Del Bac in Arizona and Santa Fe Spirits in New Mexico. (image via Lost Lantern)

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

American independent bottlers are a new and emerging category on the domestic whiskey scene. Mirroring practices of similar outfits in Scotland, this niche of producers seeks out high-quality expressions from distilleries across the United States, making them single bottlings or blended whiskeys. They also tend to believe in transparency, putting alongside their brand the name of the distillery, where the whiskey came from, and as much other relevant information as possible.

One of the leaders of this movement is Lost Lantern, who is out of Vermont. Founded by Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski, they were recently named Independent Bottler of the Year at the global Icons of Whisky Awards in London. They take very seriously where they source from and the transparency of information, regularly releasing blended and single distillery expressions with unique identities.

This past November, they offered four new expressions as part of their Lost Lantern Winter 2023 Collection. Crafted “specifically to be enjoyed during the coldest season of the year,” the one I’m reviewing today is Lost Lantern Flame. Described as “a blend of smoked American whiskies that together evoke brightness and warmth,” this whiskey brings together mesquite-smoked single malts from Whiskey Del Bac in Arizona and Santa Fe Spirits in New Mexico. It consists of aged components ranging from 1 to 4 years.

Bottled at 113.9 proof and priced at $100, just 400 bottles of this whiskey were released. It was recently named Best American Blended Malt at the 2024 World Whiskies Awards.

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