PHILADELPHIA, PA – New Liberty Distillery, the Philadelphia craft distillery and home to spirit lines including the now-revived heritage Kinsey brand, is thrilled to announce the release of Bloody Butcher Sour Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey, aged for three years and distilled using heritage grains including bright-red Pennsylvania corn varietals, malted rye, and malted barley.
The spirit, made using a sourdough starter from local breadbasket High Street Philly, is now available for purchase across Pennsylvania via online shipping, on-site in the New Liberty Distillery bottle shop, at New Liberty Distillery’s satellite bar and bottle shop location titled The Bar Cart located in Reading, PA, and at Art in the Age, located in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia.
With the newest iteration of Bloody Butcher Bourbon, the Sour Mash rendition, distillers utilized the traditional sour mash technique with a unique twist, creating a riff on the dunder pit fermentation process used in many excellent Jamaican rums. Spent mash from a previous batch of staple Bloody Butcher Bourbon is allowed to sour in open barrels. A sourdough starter from local breadbasket High Street Philly is added and left to ferment and produce wild esters. After fully fermenting, the liquid is double pot distilled and rested in a 53-gallon new American charred oak barrel.
Robert Cassell, Owner and Master Distiller of New Liberty Distillery and CEO of Millstone Spirits, is working to bring Pennsylvania back to the forefront of bourbon and whiskey prominence with Bloody Butcher Bourbon, the celebrated, history-rich bourbon made exclusively with PA heirloom corn and heritage grains. He commented, saying:
“We had always planned to create different riffs on our staple Bloody Butcher Bourbon; it was just a matter of when,” said Robert Cassell, Owner and Master Distiller of New Liberty Distillery and CEO of Millstone Spirits. “I’m thrilled to put out the Sour Mash version, especially because of all the local tie-ins: the sourdough starter from High Street Philly, the rye and barley from Deer Creek Malthouse, and the Bloody Butcher corn itself from Castle Valley Mill.”
Ringing in at 47.5% (95 proof), Bloody Butcher Sour Mash Bourbon is now available in a 200ml size for $24.99 across the state of Pennsylvania. Created from a base of 70% Bloody Butcher corn, 27% malted rye, and 3% malted barley, the spirit pulls aromas reminiscent of leather tobacco pouches, pound cake, and dried leaves. Its palate notes are hearty, with starting hints of spice that round off into a warm autumn reminder of an apple cinnamon donut, dusted with nutmeg and crystalized sugar. Bloody Butcher Sour Mash Bourbon is best enjoyed sipped neat or in several classic bourbon cocktails.
New Liberty Distillery Bloody Butcher Bourbon celebrates the United States’ early agricultural heritage. In the early 1800s, European settlers in the southern United States blended their corn with a native variety, resulting in Bloody Butcher corn: instantly recognizable for its striking deep red kernels and legendary fruity, buttery flavor. Unsuitable for industrial-scale farming, this heirloom variety is grown by a few farmers in the United States. To make Bloody Butcher Bourbon today, distillers source Bloody Butcher corn from Castle Valley Mill in Doylestown, PA, just 25 miles from the distillery’s flagship South Kensington location, and combine it with malted rye and barley from Deer Creek Malthouse located in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.
