Editor’s Note: We received a review sample of this whiskey from the brand. However, in accordance with our editorial policies, this has not influenced the outcome of our review in any way.
Tenmile Distillery is a purpose-built, American single malt operation operating from a converted 100-year-old dairy farm in Wassaic, New York. Using the high-end Scotch single malt-focused distilling equipment from Forsyths in Rothes, Scotland, master distiller Shane Fraser leads the distilling team here. Fraser is a veteran of the Scotch world, kicking off his career at Royal Lochnagar in 1990 and, before coming to Tenmile, working at “startup distillery” Wolfburn, where he was “able to develop the type of whisky he wanted to produce, in the way he wanted to produce it.”
Tenmile’s focus in the whiskey space under Fraser’s watch is single malt specific. This includes using 100% New York grains grown locally by New York State farmers, having a 7-day fermentation, and making distillations slow, “taking the full working day for both wash and spirit runs.”
The distillery’s current lineup of American single malts falls under their “Little Rest” lineup, so named “because of a steep hill near the distillery that in days past required an extra horse to pull a full cart uphill. A hamlet grew at the top of the hill so horses and drivers could have a little rest.'”
What’s in the bottle
The whiskey being reviewed here, Tenmile Little Rest Oloroso Sherry American Single Malt, is a distillery exclusive. It was aged for three years in ex-Oloroso sherry casks after being distilled from 100% New York State barley. 597 bottles were released with an ABV of 60.7%.
It is priced at $185.