Hamilton Distillers, makers of Whiskey Del Bac
In 2006, while drinking Scotch and barbecuing with mesquite scraps from our custom furniture company, Arroyo Design, we had a thought. Why couldn’t we malt barley over mesquite instead of peat, as they do in Scotland, for a single-malt whiskey with a flavor distinctive to the American Southwest?
Unable to shake the concept of a Sonoran Desert single-malt, Stephen began learning how to malt barley and make whiskey, starting with a 5 gallon alembic pot-still from Portugal.
More Info at https://www.whiskeydelbac.com/
Classic
Aged 90 Proof – 45% ABV – American Single Malt
Never Sourced – Never Chill Filtered
Whiskey Del Bac Classic is a true American Single Malt, using the Scottish model of whiskey-making. Classic is made from a 100% barley malt that is mashed, fermented, copper pot distilled, aged and bottled on site.
Classic opens with bright stone fruits on the nose and is balanced with a sweet caramel and Oak finish.
2024 American Craft Spirits Association Awards – Gold Medal
93-points from Wine Enthusiast – Top 100 Spirits of 2021
San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold
Dorado
Mesquite Smoked – Aged 90 Proof – 45% ABV – American Single Malt
Never Sourced – Never Chill Filtered
Whiskey Del Bac Dorado is a single malt whiskey with the true character of the American Southwest. Using the Scottish model of whisky-making, Dorado is made from 100% barley that is malted and smoked over a velvet mesquite fire, mashed, fermented, copper pot distilled, aged and bottled on site.
Dorado has a nose of tobacco and chocolate, giving way to campfire embers, and finishing with soft tannins and sweet toffee on the palate.
2024 Tag Awards – Double Gold – 92 Points
2024 American Craft Spirits Association Awards – Gold Medal
American Distilling Institute – Gold
San Francisco World Spririts Compeition Double Gold
Inside Hook – the most interesting and memorable whiskey of 2021
Old Pueblo
Mesquite Smoked – Aged 90 Proof – 45% ABV – American Single Malt
Never Sourced – Never Chill Filtered
Old Pueblo is a spirit unique to the American Southwest. Made from 100% barley that is malted and smoked over a velvet mesquite fire, mashed, fermented, copper pot distilled, and bottled on site.
On the nose Old Pueblo offers notes of desert campfire and dried ancho chili. The palate is rounded with white chocolate and balanced minerality. With a spirit this unique and diverse, it can be enjoyed neat, or to elevate any cocktail.
Distiller’s Cut
Cask Strength – Aged -American Single Malt
Never Sourced – Never Chill Filtered
Distiller’s Cut is a manifestation of the art of blending, an ever-changing, cask strength, limited production.
Distiller’s Cut is always 100% barley and 100% sippable. Enjoy neat, on ice or with a drop of water. Whiskey Del Bac blenders draw from our two flagship whiskeys, Dorado and Classic Sonoran, then finish in select barrels. Past finishing barrels have included Calvados, Cognac, Madeira and Bourbon casks.
Mesquite Dried, Aged, and Cask-Strength American Single Malt Whiskey.
Sentinal
Our profound love of the desert led us to create a rye whiskey steeped in the traditions of the Desert Southwest.
For Sentinel, we start with a sweet, bold blend of three-year-old and two year-
old 95% rye-5% malt straight rye whiskies from Indiana. Finished in freshly harvested mesquited Whiskey Del Bae casks, it’s then filtered across a bed of Mesquite charcoal from our mesquited malting process,
inspired by traditional American whiskey production methods.
Add a hot, Sonoran summer. The result A striking straight rye with the bold flavors of a traditional 95% rye, smoothed by the soft roundness of a hint of mesquite. Sentinel is
befitting of America’s oldest whiskey style while imbuing the essence of the desert.
With each sip of Sentinel, we invite you to slow down and savor the spirit of the Southwest. Now more than ever, the Sonoran desert is in need of sentinels. Together, let’s keep watch over this place that we love.
The Sentinel Story:
“What if we added a Southwest twist on rye?” That question kept popping up at the distillery. We finally decided to try it. As a small team, we couldn’t take time away from producing our handcrafted American
single malts to make our own rye so we sourced from Indiana and added our own twist as we finished it. We were pleasantly surprised with what we tasted. Never stop asking, “what if?” You might discover
something really good.
Frontera
The medieval city Jerez de la Frontera sits on what was once the edge of Spain and is known as the world capital of Sherry wine. This once border city still embodies a cultural richness that is common where countries meet.
Frontera is part of our newly launched Global Cask Collection. The Global Cask Collection is a collection of annual releases inspired by places around the world where oak barrels are used to age delicious wines or spirits. This collection includes Spanish Sherry inspired Frontera, a French-inspired Calvados finish called Normandie, and the heavily-smoked Islay-inspired Winter Release.
Frontera is our handcrafted Classic American Single Malt, matured in new American white oak and finished in specially selected Pedro Ximenez sherry botas. Pedro Ximenez is made from overly ripe grapes of the same name, dried in the sun to obtain an exceptionally high concentration of sugar.
On the nose, you may find raisin, walnut and crushed red grape skin. On the palate, we taste heavy vanilla, stone fruits, followed by bright acidity, finishing with lingering honey, Oak and leather. We recommend serving Frontera American Single Malt with one large ice cube.
2024 Tag Awards – Platinum – 95 Points
93 Points Whisky Advocate
Normandie
The culinary charm of the coastal region of Normandie, France lies in its creamy cheeses, rich seafood, and an abundance of apples and pears to make its famous ciders and Calvados brandy. Calvados is an apple
brandy which is only produced in Normandie.
Normandie is part of our newly launched Global Cask Collection. The Global Cask Collection is a collection of annual
releases inspired by places around the world where Oak barrels are used to age delicious wines or spirits. This collection includes Spanish sherry- inspired Frontera, a French-inspired Calvados finish called Normandie, and the heavily-smoked Islay-inspired Winter Release.
Normandie is our handcrafted Classic American Single Malt whiskey, matured in new American White Oak and finished in ex-Calvados barrels.
Calvados typically boasts flavors of green apple and citrus with hints of cherry and freshly-cut flowers. On the nose, you may find caramel-dipped apples, sour
cherry, and dulce de leche. On the palate, bright citrus brings up the front, with peppery notes across the mid palate. It finishes with short-but-sweet caramel and stone fruits.
2024 American Craft Spirits Association Awards – Gold Medal
93 Points Whisky Advocate
Ode to Islay
This year’s Ode to Islay is a mix of three different 100% malted barley mash bills and three different finishing casks. We’ve blended together a 100% mesquited-not-peated malt mash bill, with our standard 60% unsmoked/40% mesquited mash bill, along with our 100% unsmoked mash bill.
Those three disparate mash bills have all been initially aged in brand-new American White Oak toasted and charred quarter casks, then finished in a mix of ex-bourbon, tequila, and second-use Whiskey Del Bac Dorado barrels.
These were all then blended together, allowed to marry for more than three months, and then slowly proofed down to 110 proof (55% ABV).
The final result is a beautiful love letter to both Islay and the Arizona winter.
On the nose, you may find cocoa nibs, cinnamon, charred mesquite, and earth. On the palate, are caramel-dipped apples, sour cherry, and dulce de leche.
When neat, soft vanilla up front, blossoming into plumes of mesquite smoke and white pepper, tapering off into soft cinnamon and candied toffee.
On the rocks, you may find the mesquite moves to the forefront, contrasting against new notes of vanilla and dried stone fruit. The pepper spice recedes, replaced by notes of honey and butterscotch.
2024 Tag Awards – Best in Show, Platinum – 96 Points
2024 American Craft Spirits Association Awards – Gold Medal
2022 New York International Spirits Competition – Gold Medal