Shane Fraser of Tenmile Distillery

"Perfection in a spirit is to do things very consistently and don't change things. I'm certainly not perfect, but I think what we're doing at the distillery is close to the best whisky I've made for a long, long time. It's grain to glass, and it's all grown and made in New York State." – Shane FraserTenmile Distillery in Wassaic, NY is making the closest thing to Scotch outside of Scotland, thanks to their secret weapon, the acclaimed master distiller Shane Fraser from Aberdeen. Tenmile's focus is on American Single Malt Whisky, a relatively unheard-of and misunderstood category only officially defined as recently as 2025. In this episode with whisk(e)y expert James Pellingra, Shane describes the ins and outs of producing single malt whisky, the advantages of aging whisky in California Pinot Noir casks, and how he defines perfection in a category still establishing its identity.Automatically generated transcripts often make mistakes. Find a corrected version here.Skurnik Wines & SpiritsFollow us on Instagram