Stalk and Barrel Single Malt hails from one of the new breed of whisky distillers in Canada – Still Waters Distillery. Started by two guys named Barry, it was Ontario’s first micro-distillery and was among the first micro-distillers in Canada. They helped pave the way for the modern rebirth of distilling in Canada, but instead of doing the same-old-same-old style of Canadian whisky they jumped head-first into single malts – which are on the rare side for Canada.
In Still Water’s Words: Stalk and Barrel Single Malt
“Made from 100% Canadian two-row malted barley. We mash, ferment, and distill by hand in small batches in a copper pot still. Our whisky is aged in ex-bourbon casks on site for a minimum of three years. Each barrel is bottled individually as a single cask offering in individually numbered bottles, offered at either cask strength or at 46% alc./vol. No additives nor colouring and no chill-filtering.”
Almost four years ago I got to try their first batch to hit the US market and I liked it right away. It had an obvious youth to it, but it wasn’t that raw oak, raw grain and spirity vanilla driven youth that is the hallmark of American craft whisky. They did, and still do, age that whisky in full sized ex-bourbon barrels for at least 3 years so it didn’t have much of that raw oak character neither did it have much of the raw grain character. It was youthful but delightful. Let’s hope it still holds up in the Stalk and Barrel Single Malt review.
Stalk and Barrel Single Malt Info
Region: Ontario, Canada
Distiller: Still Waters Distillery
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: NAS (at least 3 years old)
ABV:
Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Cask: 5-126
Price: ~$100
Stalk and Barrel Single Malt Review
EYE
Golden
NOSE
Sweet and farmy: Earthy malt, apples, hay, vanilla cake, almonds, apricots, banana and a touch of spice. Great presentation.
PALATE
Farmy and sweet: Earthy malt, hay, Bananas Foster, apples, almonds, apricots, toffee and a bit of spice and vanilla cake. Nice.
FINISH
Long fade of almond, malt, cinnamon, hay and caramel.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great sense of balance, full round body and a heavy oily feel.
OVERALL
Stalk and Barrel Single Malt delivers a powerful kick across the senses of earthy farmy malt and bakery quality sweetness with a spicy kicker that keeps things interesting. I like everything about this whisky, it’s definitely one I would keep around the house if it fit into my regular budget and was easy to find. Alas, it doesn’t hit either of those requirements.
However, this is about the 5th or 6th time I’ve enjoyed one of their releases over the years so I can’t complain too much. Stalk and Barrel Single Malt is the kind of earthy relaxing whiskey I want to sip on the couch while I watch something good on Netflix with a dog on each side. This is comfort whisky territory, the kind your reach for after a long day at work to slough off the grit of the day.
SCORE: 88/100 (B+)