Louisiana’s J.T. Meleck Distillers now offers its brand of rice whiskey throughout the year, including a single-barrel cask strength option for select retailers in its home state.
“With our new American Rice Whiskey, we are offering our best,” said Mike Frugé, founder and owner of Frugé Spirits, in a prepared statement. “We were patient in our process to release a rice whiskey that was the best it could be, authentic to our Louisiana brand and true to our family’s story.”
J.T. Meleck Rice Whiskey first started in 2021 as a limited holiday offering called the Small Batch Founder’s Edition. The whiskey came about after the success of the brand’s first rice-based spirit, J.T. Meleck Rice Vodka.
The vodka earned a Double Gold Medal, Best of Category and Best in Class from the American Distillery Institute in 2020.
Their first rice whiskey came out in July of 2022, and that’s when Frugé and his team tested their Single Barrel Program in four select Louisiana retailers that October. They sold out within a few days, and they decided to continue the program into 2023 throughout the state of Louisiana.
J.T. Meleck’s whiskeys use 100% rice as the mash bill, and every step of the process takes place in Louisiana, from farm to glass. Their whiskey is aged for nearly five years in American oak, 53-gallon barrels. Once bottled, it clocks in at 48% ABV.
The distiller’s notes show the whiskey has an amber color, and the aromas are of vanilla crème cake and white chocolate pudding. The palate has hints of butterscotch, caramel, crème brulee, and dark chocolate with a bit of spice.
“Every single spirit that leaves the farm at JT Meleck has gone through a quality control process, meaning we have smelled, tasted and analyzed to make sure we are giving our fans a consistent spirit,” Fruge said.
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“When conducting this process for whiskey, the rice takes its own path in each barrel. Some barrels stand above the rest in terms of nose and flavor profile, distinguished not only from the batch but also from each other. We identify these barrels and offer them at cask strength to our retailers, who select a favorite to offer their customers. Their chosen barrel will become their single barrel pick, hand-selected.”
For more information or to find a bottle, check out www.jtmeleck.net.
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