Join us Thursday, January 30th, at 5pm PST, as we talk with Ryan Lintz, founder and CEO of River Roots Barrel Company.River Roots Barrel Company, founded by a team including Iron Chef Michael Symon, provides a bespoke barrel pick program for private whiskey clubs. This whiskey is, at once, very good, slightly shrouded in mystery, and compelling in terms of the story of flavor that it tells.For today's conversation, River Roots provided us with samples of three ASMW products which are about the same...
Join us Thursday, January 30th, at 5pm PST, as we talk with Ryan Lintz, founder and CEO of River Roots Barrel Company.
River Roots Barrel Company, founded by a team including Iron Chef Michael Symon, provides a bespoke barrel pick program for private whiskey clubs. This whiskey is, at once, very good, slightly shrouded in mystery, and compelling in terms of the story of flavor that it tells.
For today's conversation, River Roots provided us with samples of three ASMW products which are about the same in specs except for the toast and char level of the barrels, and previously gave us samples to taste of 4 distinct barrels of whiskey distilled from a mixed mashbill of malted rye and malted barley, again at different toast and char levels. This isolated impact of barrel type is a fascinating exploration that we don't get to talk about very often so we'll be discussing that today.
We're going to talk about how River Roots has added value to consumers over other brands when acting as a Non-Distilling Producer (NDP); what the sourcing process has looked like that enables them to tell their story their way, offering the best flavors in alignment with their founding culinary flavor-oriented philosophy; what it's been like working as one of the first NDPs dealing with ASMW and non-traditional mashbills as a major portion of their offerings; the effect of different barrel toast and char levels on the flavor of whiskey which is otherwise identical; and maybe more.
We're already gearing up for a very comprehensive conversation. Be sure to tune in!
You can find River Roots Barrel Company at https://riverrootsbarrelco.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/riverrootsbarrelco/
You can find additional show notes at https://demitastes.com/2025/01/30/ep-36-river-roots-barrel-companys-ryan-lintz/
---
We have merch now! We're selling custom-engraved glencairns featuring the barrel pick sticker version of the podcast logo and The Whiskey Lodge logo. Thanks to everyone who helped make those designs happen. Order here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeIxRxNT_WdJx0gedh0Nuh4RtXLUo5WxbBtmlp4yk9me8IZ9A/viewform
---
As of December 18th, 2024, American Single Malt Whiskey has been ratified as legally standardized whiskey category/type with the TTB! Get our breakdown of the category's official rules and discussion of the news at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dZnkrSVWcI - with more concise written notes to come at https://demitastes.com. As of January 19th, 2025, the rule went into effect and American Single Malt Whiskey is finally a legally-protected category.
But our mission to share knowledge about the category isn't over. Keep following along as we bring you product reviews, news, and perspectives from every level of the industry: farming, malting, barrel-making, producing, non-distiller producers, independent bottling, retail, sales, marketing, and anything else we can think of. Let us know who you want us to interview next!
---
Our Single Malt Frontier x The Whiskey Lodge barrel pick of McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey barrel pick is available for purchase at https://www.hrdspirits.com/mccarthys-rum-single-barrel. Last I heard there are fewer than 60 bottles left. Get yours before they're gone!
Specs: McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey, Single Barrel #701, Cask Strength, aged 6.71 years (6 years, 8 months, 15 days) in an ex-Casa Magdalena Rum Cask. Final yield is 156 bottles. Final strength is 56.83% ABV / 113.66 proof.
Get more information about this release in Ep. 27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUL9nEnIvsE and our closer look video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIYPVxPfY-U
---
We're now a podcast! You can find us on Podbean, Player.fm, and soon coming to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, & more. Let us know where you listen and we'll get our feed published there! https://singlemaltfrontier.podbean.com/
- Single Malt Frontier: https://www.instagram.com/singlemaltfrontier
- Doug: https://www.instagram.com/demitastes and https://demitastes.com/
- Phill: https://www.youtube.com/@therangersrespite and https://www.instagram.com/rangersrespite
- The Whiskey Lodge Discord: https://discord.gg/KQGkBmtzPT
- Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/AmericanSMW
- ASMW reviews and more: https://maltrunners.com
Disclaimer: While some products we discuss on our show have been provided to us free of charge by industry sources, this conversation is 100% unsponsored and candid. We give our unbiased opinions, discuss brands as they are relevant to the conversation, and retain full editorial control. For today's conversation, River Roots provided us with samples of three ASMW products, and previously gave us samples to taste of 4 distinct barrels of whiskey distilled from a mixed mashbill of malted rye and malted barley.
Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5015366613991424
