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Reservoir Barrelman Nick Vaughan holds a bottle of the forthcoming release aged in cognac casks.
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The special limited release will be available in mid-December.
City identities are formed by the people within them who do great things. Fast becoming a cornerstone of Richmond’s profile is Reservoir Distillery, our resident whiskey maker tucked into a neat little corner on Summit Avenue in Scott’s Addition, which has been working on its latest release, a cognac-finished whiskey in partnership with renowned French cognac maker François Voyer, for over a year. This particularly bright feather in the distillery’s cap is called the Reservoir Distillery Cask Experience, and the collaboration with Voyer was a meticulous and deliberate one.
The two houses originally connected with each other at a trade event. “Dave [Cuttino, Reservoir Distillery founder,] and Shelley [Sackier, education director,] were in the U.K. teaching a master class, and a representative there said that Voyer and Reservoir had similar characteristics and beliefs — so we connected with them,” says Marketing Director Leslie Griles. Sparks flew, a 20-sample whiskey set was sent to France, and eight cognacs came to America to kick off the decision-making process regarding a future product.
The Voyer family produced its first cognac at the end of the 19th century, so the forging of a relationship between a relative newcomer and such an experienced maker is significant. Despite the difference in experience, there are clear similarities in their creative approaches and commitments to quality. Both distilleries keep batches small, as industry standards go, for greater control over their unique, layered flavors (Reservoir favors 13-gallon quarter-casks for aging as opposed to the typical 53-gallon beasts). Voyer eschews sulfites, preferring natural yeast growth; Reservoir uses the open-top fermentation method, allowing naturally existing yeast from the environment to impart unique flavor to its spirits.
Founded in 2008 by Cuttino and Jay Carpenter, Reservoir was only the third producer outside of Kentucky to make bourbon whiskey. And when they made their debut, it was with a bold move, using 100% mash bills — the bourbon is 100% corn, the wheat whiskey is 100% wheat, the rye is 100% rye — whereas most distilleries blend grains. In the past decade, Reservoir’s collection of offerings has grown to include a lineup where each bottle has won medals in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Reservoir is ending the year with a handful of new changes. The team recently reopened and reintroduced its tasting room after expanding the space to twice its original size and introduced new drinks to its cocktail list. The team also released seven new products in September, including two Grey Ghost series spirits (one a wheated bourbon) and a wheated rye, all of which are only available at the distillery, in addition to three of their limited-edition Holland’s series bourbons, typically only available for purchase one release at a time.
As for the forthcoming release, Reservoir chose a wheated rye to make the cognac barrel-finished American product — two parts rye, one part wheat — that was aged 2 1/2 years. Barrelman Nick Vaughan says he knew that “the French oak barrels move fast, and adding the solvent at its strongest leaches tannins immediately.” Once the rye was in the Voyer barrels, weekly tastings were arranged to assess the levels of cognac influence. The limited 750 ml final product will be available at Reservoir in mid-December for $124.99, with another release to follow in January.