It\u2019ll be at least a year until the full glory of McClintock Distilling\u2019s spirits collaboration with The UnCapped Podcast is ready to enjoy \u2014 but the base flavor components of the distilled product are already exceeding expectations.<\/p>\n
McClintock set out to create a classic whiskey flavor with a \u201cbeer twist\u201d for UnCapped\u2019s first ever spirits collaboration. The product of that idea became a 100 percent malted barley single-malt whiskey vapor-infused with the perfect blend of U.K. goldings and meridian hops. The robust hops blend pairs nicely with the malted barley, which has a luxurious espresso chocolate flavor, simulating a rich golden ale or stout taste.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were thrilled,\u201d said Braeden Bumpers, one of the owners and head distillers of McClintock. \u201cIt came out better than we even anticipated because the hop character translated through nicely but wasn\u2019t overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The concoction was put in a first-use American white oak barrel, so the whiskey can absorb the wood sugars. It will rest in the barrel between 12 and 18 months. The distillers will taste it every month after a year and pull it once they feel it\u2019s just right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat that\u2019s going to do is mellow out harsher components to the spirit and give it a little bit of a nice, rounded wood-bodied flavor,\u201d Bumpers said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/05\/hop_whiskey-1024x777.jpg\")
Tyler Hegamyer and Braeden Bumpers, co-owners of McClintock Distilling, and Chris Sands, host of The UnCapped Podcast, are shown in the distillery. – Staff photo by Graham Cullen<\/p><\/div>\n
Chris Sands, host of the UnCapped podcast, said the process to see the final product of this collaboration will take much longer than the podcast\u2019s two previous beer collaborations. But the excitement is still palpable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still exciting because even in white-form, it\u2019s ridiculously good,\u201d he said, likening the initial taste to chocolate-covered bananas or papayas.<\/p>\n
Sands said he supports McClintock\u2019s focus on using quality organic products in their spirits. The company is the only certified organic distillery in Maryland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s cool because that\u2019s another thing that makes them unique,\u201d Sands said.<\/p>\n
The podcast host began featuring distilleries on his beer-focused show around January 2017. It was a natural crossover for the show, he said, because craft beverage companies were already collaborating with one another.<\/p>\n
McClintock offers beer and wine distillations as a side business, Bumpers said, and they just re-distilled a Rockwell Brewery beer that will be released sometime next year. The distiller said he worked with Monocacy Brewing Company\u2019s Tom Flores to find the right hops blend for the UnCapped collaboration.<\/p>\n
Sands admitted that before his show forayed into the world of distilleries, he never drank spirits. But that\u2019s not the case anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first couple [distilleries I had on the podcast], I would always give the disclaimer that if I made a face, it wasn\u2019t an indication of the quality of what they made; it was because I just don\u2019t drink spirits,\u201d he said. \u201cNow I don\u2019t have to say that anymore because I genuinely enjoy them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UnCapped whiskey still doesn\u2019t have an official name, Bumpers said, but the creators have a year to figure it out. Once it\u2019s ready, Bumpers said there will likely be a big release party open to the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just a very unique spirit,\u201d he said. \u201cThere aren\u2019t a lot of hop-infused whiskeys out there. We thought it\u2019d be a cool idea and we\u2019re really happy with the way it turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch our video.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By\u00a0Hannah Dellinger It\u2019ll be at least a year until the full glory of McClintock Distilling\u2019s spirits collaboration with The UnCapped Podcast is ready to enjoy \u2014 but the base flavor…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liquor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/uncapped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}