Whiskey on the Weekend with Timber Creek Distillery
While on a recent vacation, we took a visit up to Timber Creek Distillery to enjoy their whiskey on the weekend. They’re located on a family farm just north of Destin, Florida. They use local ingredients including their corn, wheat, and rye. The only main spirit ingredient they have from outside of Florida is their molasses from Louisiana and the barley (as barley does not grow well in Florida). You can visit Timber Creek Distillery for more information about their distillery and spirits. In this post I will comment on our tour and tasting. We will post reviews of their bourbons, rye, rums, and vodka in coming posts.
The Tour
Aaron, a co-owner in this endeavor, greeted us as we arrived on the family farm. Aaron has a passion for his craft, was easy going and funny, and accommodated our boys as he gave us a tour. He has a history with brewing beer and seems to have applied some of those lessons to building his spirit distillery. The bourbon market is growing at leaps and bounds and it could be difficult for small craft operations to get a foothold. My hope is that he will grow outside of the panhandle in the coming months.
Aaron cooks all his bourbon ingredients separately and stores them in new small charred Missouri Oak Barrels, each is then aged at least 9 months. This process allows him to custom make blends of whiskey. Storing in Florida during the summer provides plenty of heat to have the oak impart an intense flavor and color. I was very surprised at the coloring after such a short period of time in the barrel. Most people, me included, would have a hard time telling much difference in color from any other whiskey in the home cabinet. The pictures show the layout of the distillery.
Coming in follow up posts will be reviews of the Florida Bourbon, Reserve, and Rye Whiskey. We will also be posting information about their Vodka and Rums. Let’s just say its the first Vodka I would ever drink straight. And, the Coffee Rum goes great in the morning cup of joe or in a white russian. We came home with several bottles, all 3 whiskies, 2 of the Coffee Rum, and a Vodka.
Cheers and Good Luck to Timber Creek!!!!
Bill