ularity, it is rare that a distill-
ery would host a festival in the
walls of where they distil and
age their spirits. During Ken-
tucky Derby, some distilleries
roll out the red carpet and have
celebrations, but they don’t
allow whiskey fans to dive into
anything much beyond their
normal collection of whiskeys.
While you might occasionally
have a chance to sneak a taste
of whiskey right from the bar-
rel, that would almost never be
for an entire night’s worth of
sipping.
The Stranahan’s Cask Thief Fes-
tival in Denver has become the
dream of whiskey enthusiasts
who want to taste whiskey un-
filtered right from the source.
Most whiskey will come out
of a barrel at around 55% or more ABV (or 110 proof). For most palettes,
the flavor is initially hot. Most traditional whiskeys are cut with water to
around 80-90% ABV to allow most of us to drink them without feeling the
effects too quickly in both our head and on our tongue.
For one night in June each year, Stranahan’s Cask Thief Festival gives
whiskey fans an adventure in tasting rare and unusual expressions of 6
whiskeys straight from the barrel. None of these whiskeys expressions
are available on store shelves. So if your friends tell you they’ve tasted
Pappy Van Winkle, these Stranahan’s barrels would actually be even more
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