Hey everybody, Jesse here. Just jumping on the ol’ news blog to share this picture of me with Tony Hynes, one of the esteemed owners of Adirondack Barrel Cooperage.
And forgive me for fan-girling out right now, but this snapshot is pretty significant; it depicts one of the principal authors of our whiskies’ celebrated taste holding the product of his ingenuity. (I’m talking about the whiskey… not me.)
My team often heralds the terroir of our spirits—a result of the “New Scottish” grain we distill. But even more influential when it comes to the taste of our whiskies is the barrel in which they spend 5+ years aging. That’s because we use barrels from Adirondack Barrel Cooperage, and in this photo you’re looking at a key author of our company’s signature flavors.
The white oak barrels that Tony and his team char for us is what gives Helderberg Whiskey its sweet taste. Our rye has been noted for its floral honey flavors, while our wheat whiskey and bourbon are notorious for their notes of caramel, butterscotch, and vanilla. Evan our single malt was recently commended for packing a “muted molasses” flavor in the finish.
Tony is the founder of Precision Valve and Automation and, more importantly, our friendly neighborhood cooper!
And all those salubrious qualities come not from artificial flavorings, but from the natural process of charring the barrel, thereby caramelizing the organic starch compounds into sugars.
So here’s to Tony, holding our “Helderberg Winter Wheat Whiskey”—a man reunited with his barrels via the product they make possible. It was incredibly rewarding to see him stop by our booth at our event on Monday, August 1, 2022. When he introduced himself, Rebecca and I couldn’t even believe it at first.
We owe him so much for his contributions to our company through the auspices of his barrels, yet he wouldn’t even permit us to give him a free bottle; he insisted on graciously purchasing our product to give to one of his companions. Is this guy a class act of what?
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UPDATE (18 September 2022):
Oh my god. Guys. This is happening…
OUR COOPER IS MOVING TO THE CAPITAL DISTRICT!
Adirondack Barrel Cooperage is relocating to Schenectady County!