by Marc Tiar
Verdi Local Distillery offers flavored whiskeys, including an apple cinnamon flavor.
Distill life
Photo/Eric Marks
complimentary tastes and cocktails, “just tell all your friends about us.” You had me at free whiskey. Friends, I’m telling you. Despite feeling like we were crashing A badly planned Ikea trip turned into a a house party, we felt welcome to ask for stop in Verdi for lunch instead. Always on tastes of any the bottled spirits and cocktails the hunt, my alcohol radar alerted, remindmade to order. We started with sips of ing me that there was a distillery nearby. Hoppymess whiskey. An almost clear I’ve had brief encounters with Verdi Local spirit, Hoppymess is made from distilled Distillery—bottles at the supermarket, a Mammoth IPA beer. I enjoyed it enough taste at a special event. I’d flirted enough, to bring a bottle home—a nice hop flavor it was time I got to know her better. Alas, neither dominates nor hides behind the a look at the website revealed the hours alcohol. Before diving into mixed drinks, to be utterly impossible for me—Tuesday we tasted the Mahogany Whiskey, a corn/ through Thursday, entirely within my rye whiskey aged for two months with working hours. The saving grace was a mountain mahogany in stainless tanks. It tasting event. (They’re held on the first and was so smooth I would have thought it third Friday of each month.) I marked my spent years in a barrel. Struggling for what calendar. to order, I asked and our host suggested her The first Friday arrived, and my wingown concoctions, mixing the spirits with man (father-in-law) and I saddled up (got ginger beer, soda and orange or lime. I was into my Toyota) on a cold Northern Nevada embarrassed by how quickly I drained the evening for the short cup. But my embarride out to Verdi. I rassment quickly wondered if they would faded enough to ask wrap up early due to 1155 Old Highway 40, 247-4628 for a taste of the Yeti low turnout from the For more information, visit Jackalope, a lovely gin icy roads and very low www.verdilocaldistillery.com. made with orange peel temperatures. and juniper, certain to My fears were be quite nice with tonic in the summer. entirely unfounded. Wandering into what While the other spirits—most in 750 ml appeared to be an old house, it was like bottles and 200 ml flasks—didn’t appeal something out of the movies—the rustic, to my taste, I know how popular Bloody small Western town roadhouse, filled with Marys are, so you should know they sell jovial faces, laughter and song from a a spicy mix and a garlic flavored whiskey guitarist off to the side. Friends clustered that must go really well with it. An apple at the lone table, among the distilling cinnamon whiskey rounds out the core equipment, and behind the bar. It was lineup. The current seasonal release is a hard to tell who was staff and who wasn’t, also appear, a black licorice whiskey—in the crowd spilling into every corner of flask size only. the small space—they’re seeking official After tasting all we wanted, we Guinness recognition as the smallest purchased our bottles and shuffled into the distillery in the world—enjoying beverages snowy night. From worrying we’d be the and conversation with fellow Verdi-ans and only ones there to experiencing a uniquely whiskey drinkers. Approaching the little local night, a good time was had and good two-stool bar, a friendly face explained spirits consumed. Ω that the bimonthly tasting events offer
Verdi Local Distillery
18
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RN&R
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01.19.17
