Information
Inaugural release in Pinhooks Collaboration Series Blended from 5 barrels of whiskey distilled in Kirby, Wyoming that Pinhook purchased in 2012 Aged, blended, and bottled at Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, KY Mash bill of 68 Corn, 20 Wheat, 12 Barley Aged 10 Years 57.65 ABV 700 bottles total were produced for this edition This bottling is the first of two editions blended in collaboration with Andr Hueston Mack, award-winning winemaker of Maison Noir Wines and the first African-American to be named Best Young Sommelier in America by Chane de Rtisseurs

The Spirit
Pinhook takes a winemakers approach to whiskey, inspired by Co-founder and Master Blender Sean Josephs time as a sommelier. Andr Hueston Mack is the founder and award-winning winemaker of Maison Noir Wines and was the first African-American to be named Best Young Sommelier in America by Chane des Rtisseurs. Sean and Andr met while working at the lauded New York restaurant Per Se and have been friends ever since. Their collaboration on two five-barrel batches, blended from the ten Wyoming Whiskey barrels Pinhook purchased in 2012, is a tribute to Andrs superlative palate, his long-standing friendship with Sean, and the inspiration Pinhook draws from the world of wine.

The Distillery
Pinhooking is a term used to describe the practice of buying young, thoroughbred horses, overseeing their initial development, and then re-selling them as race-ready champions-in-training. The Pinhook brand pays tribute to this practice and the parallels between investing in a horses potential and that of a young whiskey. Optimism, patience, and vision are paramount when training a young horse for future victory and aging whiskey until its ready to blossom in-glass.

Every year, Pinhook releases a new batch each of bourbon & rye; the whiskey in any given release intended to be the best expression of Pinhooks barrels at that moment in time. Blends and proofs change batch to batch to best highlight that releases unique attributes and can be thought of, quite appropriately, as a whiskey vintage.

The newly restored Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, KY, plays home to Pinhooks operations. Built in the late 1800s, Castle & Key was the original residence for Old Colonel Taylor. Recently, Pinhook has begun releasing whiskey crafted and distilled by Castle & Keyamongst the first distillates made there since its restorationand featuring Pinhooks carefully selected proprietary mash bills for bourbon and rye.