Bold Times in the Rockies: Sugar House Distillery Boilermaker #3

History

What drives life in the west? Is it the towering mountains in every direction you can see? The abundance of mother nature's gifts as they spring up in the rocky mountains. The high altitude and free spirits of the population that claim this land as home? Or is it on a much simpler scale? Maybe it is the mundane, the day to day that claims our lives as we move forward in a humdrum cycle towards each inevitable weekend. Is it that much different than anywhere else out there? Absolutely. 

To those that don't claim these towering mountains and sweeping vistas as home, the mountain west can be intimidating. The bold spirit that still lives on, a remnant of that all-encompassing American mantra of "Westward Expansion" which can leave visitors flustered and as out of breath as the high altitudes that we claim as home. That spirit of exploration is still alive and well today in the west, and it can be seen in the residents of the Wasatch Front and their works. 

Sugar House Distillery is a South Salt Lake institution at this point, a founder in the fight to bring local craft spirits to the good people of Utah and a pretty damn good distillery. Founded in 2013 bringing small-batch bourbon, rye, and malt whiskey to the state focusing on true grain to glass products.  That bold spirit of the west that we mentioned earlier? Owner and distiller James Fowler has it in spades. It shines through in their signature series The Boilermaker. 

The Boilermaker series first run was completed in 2017 with number two coming in 2018 and number three in April of this year. 

So what makes this bold? Let's discuss first what a Boilermaker is. The Boilermaker is a classic beer cocktail typically served in two ways: either with whiskey as a chaser to beer OR how I prefer it whiskey mixed with the beer. It originated out here in the west in Butte, Montana which is extremely fitting to the theme. The process of making a boilermaker is simple. beer, whiskey, drink. Done. The process of making Sugarhouse Boilermaker is a bit more involved. 

In order to create this amazing craft spirit the geniuses at Sugarhouse have come up with an elegant, bold, and simple idea. What if we asked for some barrels back that we've given to local breweries to age their beer in and then aged some of our bourbon in it? 

The Boilermaker Series 3 barrel started life out aging Sugarhouse Bourbon when completed the barrel was passed to local (and extremely delicious) brewery Kittos where it aged a nice coconut stout, once completed it was passed back to Sugarhouse where it was filled with finished Sugarhouse Bourbon which was then aged an additional nine months! 

For those following along at home here it is in four easy steps: 

1. Bourbon Barrel. 
2. Coconut Stout Barrel. 
3. Boilermaker Barrel. 
4. Nine months later . . . Drink. 

It's as simple of an idea as the beer cocktail that gives this great drink its name. It's bold, inventive, and encapsulates that spirit of the mountain west and I'm positive Butte, Montana would approve. 

The Spirit

All right you say, that sounds fantastic but we are here to see how it is. For this tasting, I decided to sit down with my wife, taste and discuss. In transcript form here are our notes from our tasting, full disclosure this bottle had been open since April so it had mellowed a bit: 

Sugarhouse Boilermaker 3#

Neat

Glencairn Glass

Justin: So what do you get on the nose? 

Sara: It's not sweet, harsher. Vanilla, cinnamon, tobacco? 

Justin: I definitely smell the vanilla. It's got that distinct Sugarhouse bourbon vanilla smell but I can smell the stout as well. I don't get a lot of the coconut off of the stout but it's pretty subtle in Kittos beer. What about taste?

Sara: Smooth, not too hard on the tongue. 

Justin: There is a bit of spiciness on the palate. 

Sara: Some burn on the finish. 

Justin: The extra time in the barrel means you can really taste the char, and I do get a subtle coconut taste on the finish. 

Sara: It reminds me of winter, perfect sit by the fire and relax while it snows outside. 

Justin: It's . . . comfortable. Can we say that about a whiskey? It's cozy. Delicious. The color is a perfect caramel.

Sara: It is much sweeter than it smells. 

Justin: That's going to be the coconut coming through. 

Sara: I don't really get the coconut flavor. 

Justin: It's super subtle, yet very interesting, lots of flavors coming through. The beer, bourbon, coconut, tobacco, vanilla, chocolate and even some cinnamon. 

Sara: The color is part of the "comfort", a dark amber. It tastes warm but not hot. 

Justin: Ok so final verdict? 

Sara: I can drink this for the rest of the night. Can I?

Justin: No. It's limited release! 

Sara: Oh.

Justin: Yeah, maybe we need another bottle. 

Conclusion

Nose: Chocolate, vanilla, sweet, malt

Palate: Chocolate, spice,  oak and char, subtle hints of coconut 

Finish: Spice, coconut, leather, some heat. 

A simple cocktail, a not so simple spirit. Sugarhouse Boilermaker #3 is delicious, bold, and encapsulates that spirit of the west of innovation and exploration.

Sold only at the distillery and in limited release get some before it disappears for good. 

Spirit Guides Cocktail: 

None. This is a whiskey that deserves to be enjoyed in a glencairn glass neat. Add a few drops of water to open up the flavors if you prefer. 

- Justin, Elder Statesman of the Spirit Guides

Sugarhouse Distillery

2212 S. West Temple Unit #14, Salt Lake City, UT 84115

(801) 726-0403

Tours: Book online at https://www.sugarhousedistillery.net/distillery-tours/

Tastings: Walk-in tastings available for $5.00.

Bottle Shop Hours: 11 AM - 6 PM.