Americas best craft whiskey is distilled right here in New England.

Sons of Liberty Spirits Co. of South Kingstown, R.I., was named American Craft Producer of the Year last week at Whisky Magazines annual awards ceremony at Brandy Library in New York City, the best of the 1,400 small distillers across the country.

Tiny Sons of Liberty produces but 60,000 bottles per year, and its spirits are available only in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, two factors which made its nations-best distinction all the more improbable.

I thought wed never win because we dont have a national brand, said Michael Reppucci, who founded Sons of Liberty in 2011. This honor shows that the people who are into whiskey and who read publications like Whisky Magazine are involved and have heard of us and respect what we do.

Sons of Liberty has proven an innovator in the spirits industry for pioneering both seasonal whiskeys and the connection between whiskey and beer. Its seasonal whiskeys include Gala Apple, Honey Chamomile and Pumpkin Spice.

Both beer and whiskey, meanwhile, begin life as a mash of malted grains. That liquid is fermented to create beer; that beer is then distilled to create whiskey.

Most distillers simply ignore the relationship. Few consumers know the relationship. Sons of Liberty celebrates the relationship.

The distillers Uprising American single malt is brewed much like a stout, with the deeply roasted malts that give the beer style its famously dark color and roasted flavor. Its then double distilled and aged in charred American oak with toasted French oak.

Battle Cry single malt uses rye and honey malt in the mash, and is then fermented with a Belgian-style Trappist ale yeast, adding to its dark fruit and spice character. Its distilled and aged in charred American oak.

True Born Gin Belgian Wheat Act begins with a brew of barley, wheat and oats. The mixture is then infused with spices and aromatics coriander, juniper, orange peel, lemongrass plus cascade and chinook hops.

Sons of Liberty also creates what Reppucci calls a family tree of products from the same mash.

Were making a stout, then distilling it to make whiskey, then aging the whiskey in oak, then bottling whiskey and aging beer in the same wood used to age the whiskey, Reppucci said. Nobody nationally is doing that. I think efforts like that are why were getting so much attention.

(Sons of Liberty Spirits Co., 1425 Kingstown Road, South Kingstown, R.I., 401-284-4006, http://www.solspirits.com)

Excerpt from:

Sons of Liberty toasted as best craft whiskey distiller in country - Boston Herald