Old Pulteney 21

• Old Pulteney is Scotland's northernmost distillery, but it's not out of sight. Jim Murray has anointed its 21-year-old expression "World Whisky of the Year" in his influential 2012 Whisky Bible.

Old Pulteney 21, which had a nice European following before being introduced to the U.S. market in 2007, is drier and a touch spicier than the popular 17 year old. I suspected there was a difference between the types of sherry casks used for each in addition to the ratio of whisky-to-wine barrels.

Master Distiller Malcolm Waring confirmed my suspicions, noting that olorosso casks are used for the 17 and fino for the 21. The 17 year old is aged 90% in bourbon barrels and 10% in sherry. The 21 year old is aged in 66% bourbon and 33% sherry. Both are bottled at 92 proof.

The 17 has pronounced notes of caramel and vanilla, as one would expect, but overtones of honey, citrus and apple come through as well. Once cut with a few drops of water, the nose opened quite a lot, releasing floral esters.

The 21 provides what I refer to as "full tongue," a complete experience of all the elements the tongue can detect -- sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Caramel, chocolate, honey and a touch of smoke are evident, as are lower tannins than in the 17. The complexity of the flavor range makes it a perfect after-dinner drink.

Retail price: Above $100, average $115.

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Troy & Sons Moonshine

• Troy & Sons has something unusual going for it. Troy. As in Troy Ball, a female distiller in a world heavily dominated by men. When I lunched with her at the Mount Vernon Inn in Virginia recently, she insisted her moonshine would be the best I ever tried. Here's what happened.

I examined the bottle. Elegant, classic lines, understated yet bold at the same time. I sniffed the moonshine, ready to pull back quickly as one often must do with such young spirits. Hmmm. No need to. It's pleasant, with a whiff of corn.

I tasted. Right off the bat, something was missing. The acrid taste of your everyday 'shine, which this certainly is not.

Ball's moonshine is made 100% from corn, but not just any corn. Crooked Creek Corn, a white grain Ball says once was grown in North Carolina and Tennessee, but now only in NC, fortunately near her home. She buys hers from the McEntire farm where it has been cultivated for more than 120 years.

Ball experimented with various recipes acquired from the North Carolina State Archives and from residents of Madison to McDowell counties who had a history of home cooking. Her final product, arrived at on August 18, 2010, not only has rounded edges, a slightly floral nose and rich, smooth taste, it also does not linger overly long in the soft tissues of the mouth as so many moonshines of lesser character. It is, as Ball promised, the best 'shine I've ever tried.

Retail price: $29.99 for the 750ml bottle.

Note: If you have difficulty finding Troy & Sons, you can e-mail Joy Suchlicki at joy@troyandsons.com.

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George Washington's Aged Rye Whiskey

Photo by Bill Dowd

• The rebuilt distillery at George Washington's home in Mount Vernon, VA, had its grand opening in 2007. Since then, everything distillers have made there has been a hit. For the most part, the uniqueness of the operation has created the demand for its output among collectors. And that was unaged whiskey, the same way it was sold in Washington's day when he was the young nation's top distiller.

It will be interesting to see how fast the 2-year-old George Washington Aged Rye Whiskey will go when the limited edition goes on sale at Mount Vernon on October 22.

The first such bottles, Nos. 1 and 1, went for $12,000 at auction Wednesday night during the anual gala there sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). The event raised a total of $214,000 for Mount Vernon.

I was fortunate to have a sampling of the aged rye earlier in the day. A distinctive nose, with virtually no alcoholic heat, enticed me to quickly go further. This is a nice rye, not yet in the class of a Michter's or a Sazerac, but made nicely under master distiller Dave Pickerell, formerly of Maker's Mark and now consultant to numerous micro-distillers.

The tang of the rye base is evident, and notes of citrus, leather and perhaps a touch of cardamom are layered, a pleasant surprise from such a relatively young spirit. A tip of the hat to Pickerell and company, working with the only operating 18th Century-style equipment in the nation.

Retail Price: Better get yourself or a surrogate to Mount Vernon early on opening sales day. Just 300 limited-edition bottles will be sold for $185 each beginning at 10 a.m. that Saturday. Proceeds will go toward upkeep and operation of the Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens.

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Go here for "Recreating the past at Mount Vernon distillery."

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Go to Dowd's Spirits Notebook.