Project Description
SMALL BATCH WHISKEY – NEW YORK INTENSITY
The origins of every element – water, grain and barrel – contribute to the superb bourbon and rye whiskies from this craft distillery based in Brooklyn, NYC.
THE PERFECT AQUIFER
As great whiskey makers throughout the world from Kentucky to Scotland have long known, it takes sweet water from tough rock to make great whiskey. And, that’s what Widow Jane is all about. Their whiskeys are proofed with pure limestone mineral water from the Legendary Rosendale Mines of NY, just 100 miles north of their home in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
The hollow caverns left in New York’s Rosendale mines – mined for almost a hundred years before being abandoned in the early 1900s – became the perfect aquifer. Year after year, rainfall filters down these underground caverns, sweetened en route and enriched with minerals imparted by the remaining layers of limestone rock.
AMERICAN HERITAGE
Working each day within the city, over cobblestone streets, in Red Hook at the juncture of old and new New York City. Where things get done in their own way—a place that defines itself.
Widow Jane scours the country for the finest barrels of Straight Bourbon & Rye Whiskeys. Hand assembled in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, bringing these their liquid with non chill-filtration, and proofed with a hard-yet-sweet pure limestone water from the Legendary Rosendale Mines of Upstate New York.
Widow Jane distill every week in Red Hook using the finest non-GMO ingredients, including corn varietals such as Baby Jane that are unique to only themselves, nurtured by them over many years.
RESPECTING INGREDIENTS
When the Widow Jane team set out to produce their own whiskey, they wanted to offer something that was bold and rich with character, but most importantly had the intense taste of New York in each sip. The Widow Jane team distils using GMO-free ingredients throughout the process, including unique corn varietals such as Baby Jane, which they have carefully nurtured for the best flavour. It is interesting to note that Widow Jane recently had the largest heirloom corn project in North America as they worked to create their own corn varietal. Baby Jane is an open-pollinated cross between two heirloom varieties: Bloody Butcher, which dates back to 1845 in the US and Wapsie Valley, favoured by the Amish and grown since around 1850. ‘It has this incredible richness to it, with heavy cream notes,’ says head distiller Lisa Wicker of the Baby Jane corn that has been put down in barrel to age.
THE BOURBON BENCHMARK
Strict regulations control the production of bourbon. Firstly, it must be made in the US. It must have a mash bill of at least 51% corn, the remaining 49% may be made up of grains such as rye, malted barley and wheat. It must be aged in new charred oak barrels. Bourbon that has been aged less than four years must include an age statement on its label.
To qualify as ‘straight bourbon’, it must have been aged for a minimum of two years, and caramel colouring may not be used. The US Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits state: ‘The only allowed modifications to straight whiskey prior to bottling consist of batching whiskey from different barrels (sometimes from the different distilleries, although only from within the same state), chilfiltering the whiskey, and adding water to reduce the proof while retaining at least 40% ABV concentration.’
WIDOW JANE 10 YO
Reviving the lost art of marrying the finest whiskies, this 10-year-old is Widow Jane’s signature bourbon. Widow Jane delivers a high-quality small-batch whiskey so unique in its intensity and complexity that it justifies its premium. It is hand-assembled in Brooklyn using the richest and rarest straight bourbons, only ever in five-barrel batches, non-chilfiltered and proofed with limestone mineral water from the legendary Rosendale Mines of New York
