Episode 097 - Solera Aged Rum

This time around, we chat with Andy Keller, head distiller for Blackwater Distilling, Maryland's oldest currently operating craft distillery. We examine one of the really unique and ambitious projects they began just a couple years ago: aging some of their product in a solera system. Some of the things we discuss include: What a solera is, and how it's used to add both consistency and complexity to a spirit. A tasting of Blackwater's flagship products, including the first batch of their solera aged rum How the solera is organized and managed, including barrel sourcing, aging time, and blending specs. A vertical tasting from all five levels of the Blackwater Distilling rum solera - and this is where we really uncover some of the surprising differences between different levels and barrel finishes. Some interesting thoughts on yeast strains and fermentation styles What to drink if you run into Russian novelists Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky And much, much more