Tamworth, NH – Tamworth Distilling and Mercantile, the experimental liquid lab of spirits maverick and brand creator of Hendrick’s Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum, Steven Grasse, is excited to announce the national availability of their flagship Chocorua Rye Whiskey through Warehouse Wines & Spirits. The 100% Organic Rye Whiskey has been one of the distillery’s most prominent spirits since its debut, garnering a strong local fan base for its embodiment of the New Hampshire scratch-made ethos and non-profit donation towards the inspirational Chocorua Lake.
At 45% ABV and 90-proof, Tamworth Distilling’s Chocorua Rye Whiskey is the product of one single crop that is seasonally fermented, then batch distilled and laid in 53-gallon white oak barrels to age for over 2 years. The straight rye whiskey has a cherry-like nose, a slight pepper kick from the 100% rye grain beginning, and a medium length finish.
Chocorua Mountain and its lake basin are icons of Tamworth township, with its bare peak visible in almost every direction, the mountain garnered its name as the setting of the historic New England folklore called the “Curse of Chocorua”. As the 1720 legend goes, trusts between natives and settlers were broken, and on the rocky peak that now bears his name, Chocorua struck a curse to all settlers around him: “May the Great Spirit curse you when he speaks in the clouds and his words are fire! Lightning blast your crops! Wind and fire destroy your homes! The Evil One breathe death on your cattle! Panthers howl and wolves fatten on your bones!”
Drawing inspiration from this story, mountain, and area, Tamworth Distilling’s Chocorua Rye Whiskey also pays homage to its creation, donating $1 of every bottle sold to the Chocorua Lake Conservancy, a volunteer-led non-profit land trust founded in 1968 to protect the scenic and natural resources of the 931 acre Chocorua Lake basin. Since launching in July 2017, the spirit has generated a donation of $2,168 based only on its availability at the distillery and various New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets.
“We couldn’t be more excited to share our Chocorua Rye Whiskey with the rest of the country because it’s a perfect example of our distillery’s scratch-made ethos and wilderness-to-bottle approach to creating small-batch spirits. It’s one of the products we’ve been most proud of at Tamworth Distilling and with national availability, it could lead to larger donations for the Chocorua Lake Conservancy,” says Steven Grasse, founder of Tamworth Distilling.
About Tamworth Distilling
Since the turn of the 20th century, Tamworth, New Hampshire has been a haven for artists, writers, thinkers, and innovators – from Henry James and e e Cummings to President Grover Cleveland. The owner, Steven Grasse, found that this small town at the foot of the White Mountains is the perfect place to do some innovating of his own. Welcome to Tamworth Distilling: Our story is as old as America, planting our flag in the heart of a historic New Hampshire village. Steven Grasse set up his distillery in accordance to the land around it, not against it. What Tamworth Distillery takes, it gives back. And what they have, they give to you. Taking a cue from the 19th century Transcendentalists of New England, Tamworth Distilling pull its inspiration from the surrounding atmosphere. Their recipes are born from the crops they grow, and the histories buried in the soil below.