September 03, 2024

14: Nic Christiansen of Barrell Craft Spirits Pieces Together the Blended Whiskey Puzzle

53 minutes

As blender and manager of blending operations for the blend-focused brand Barrell Craft Spirits, Nic Christiansen’s job is to understand flavors, how they develop, and how they interact with each other to create harmonious wholes.

In this episode, Christiansen and host Molly Troupe discuss:

finding new avenues for flavor in blended whiskey

building micro-blends that are then married through additional barrel conditioning

the benefits and challenges of sourcing whiskey

calculating derived mash bills from the component whiskeys

taking a flavor-focused approach to blending

aging in a variety of casks and the concurrent evaluation process

designing whiskey blends around a creative brief that’s experience-based

developing blends that push past typical whiskey guardrails

protecting one’s palate

working in threes

And more.

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