PLCB "Guide To Better Product Knowledge- Spiritous Liquors" Some PA Spirits History!

 Here's a little piece of PA spirits history. This handy little guide was published December of 1964 by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for employee training and knowledge. I've found it to be quite comprehensive and accurate even today. I've chosen to scan it in its entirety and display it here for other's learning and also as an example of PA spirit history. Enjoy!

Dick Stoll 1933-2020

 Definitely a post I never wanted to make. Our friend Dick Stoll- Navy veteran, husband, father, distiller, outdoorsman- has passed away. Dick was the man that took my Michter's hobby and turned it into a passion of mine. He was the last distiller at Michter's, the last living distiller of the "original distillers" in Pennsylvania, the knowledge base that guided Stoll & Wolfe, and a heck of a genuinely nice guy. To the man that distilled the world's highest rated bourbon, to the man that gave me massive amounts of information about Michter's, to the man that was eager to jump back into the distilling business well after his retirement, to the man that was always good for a laugh, to the man that never saw himself as important as he was- Thank you. Your legacy will live on through the lives you've touched. Your work and kindness will not be forgotten.

Photo credit Amy Spangler (below):

The Ethan Smith Blog - The Podcast!

Have 49 minutes? Want to hear my story of how I began the Michter's collection?

Click here: http://fermentedadventure.com/

Click FA Podcast at the top of the page and then click your preferred listening platform.

Look for the podcast with me, Ethan Smith, talking about Michter's Distillery.


Rich Shane, of Fermented Adventure traveled to meet me and view my collection. After a short tour, we got down to talking about Michter's and how I got interested in it. We sip a little Michter's too!




Of course, the obligatory Michter's picture. This one shows the bottling line with a young Dick Stoll in a white shirt helping the ladies bottle up some product.......

Two More Pieces Come Home

I was shocked one morning when, in my email, was a notification that two Michter's/Pennco barrel head stencils were up for sale. It's been a dream of mine from early in my Michter's collecting career to own at least one Michter's stencil. Now was my chance! I was fortunate to win both, though not cheaply, and they arrived a few days later. Understand that this is not a personal pride thing- I am trying to amass the largest and most complete Michter's collection to not only ensure history is preserved, but also because I want to make sure anyone looking for information on Michter's and its predecessors gets detailed and accurate information to answer all their questions.

The Pennco barrel stencil appears to be nearly new, if not new. Yes, it's real and not a reproduction, but it appears to have been an extra or back up stencil. Pennco produced quite a lot of rye over the years, so it would have been well used. The distillery was a famous rye distiller, so I am happy to have it.

The Michter's stencil tells a story. I'll walk you through some of the secrets a keen eye would notice....

The first interesting thing we're going to look at is the obvious spot where tape had been applied over "INC." on the stencil. As Michter's changed hands in the early 80's, the "Inc." was dropped from the Michter's name. From what I can tell, it was dropped after the Veru era of ownership in about 1982. To ensure the correct name was applied to whiskey being barreled after the ownership change, the simple thing to do was just tape over the "INC." and keep using the stencil.

A very sharp eye would notice that at one time the small "C" has been occasionally taped over as well. I am not 100% sure what "C" designates on barrels, but I would assume it means the barrel was charred or new cooperage. Being that Michter's Whiskey was aged in a combination of new and used barrels, they may find themselves in situations where the "C" would have been taped over when filling used barrels.

The last secret hides on the rear of the stencil- Tan paint residue. Michter's, when reusing barrels, would paint the heads tan to cover the old stenciling of the prior product. Then new stenciling was applied. It seems they were in a rush at times and the tan paint was not dry before stenciling with the new information.

These stencils were made by Quaker City 234 Arch St in Philadelphia. Today the building appears to be occupied by an insurance agency.

A Tour of Michter's- the Tour Guide Way!

 Going through some files today, I came across what appears to be a complete tour guide script from Michter's. Definitely some great information in it and also some interesting takes on their own history and operations. I won't comment on the accuracy of it (Some of it may or may not be 100% accurate and true....), I'll just post it as is for your reading enjoyment.

Of note, I am now an employee of Stoll & Wolfe Distillery in Lititz, PA and work in the spirits production end of the business. I also do tours every other Saturday. Come visit us and if you're up for a tour, which includes a tasting, you can sign up through the Stoll & Wolfe website here:

https://www.stollandwolfe.com

Stoll & Wolfe Distills the First Batch of Rosen Rye in Decades.

American whiskey nerds rejoice- Stoll & Wolfe Distillery in Lititz, PA has done a thing. A big thing. One of the amazing and unique things about the rye whiskey that was distilled in Pennsylvania is that much of it was made with a variety of rye called Rosen rye. On the earliest Michter's jugs, it was even specifically called out as the variety of grain used to produce the Michter's Pot Still Whiskey. As rye drinking, and whiskey drinking in general, waned over the years, Rosen Rye became a "dead" variety that was no longer planted and used for anything. Through Laura Fields at the Delaware Valley Fields Foundation and their Seed Spark project, Rosen Rye was planted in conjunction with Penn State University. When enough was available for harvest, Stoll & Wolfe was selected to be the distiller- since Dick Stoll is part of the operation, it would only seem fitting! This past Tuesday, the grain was cooked and mashed and the yeast was pitched. Saturday saw the first distillation of Rosen Rye in decades, probably 50 some years! Of course Mr. Stoll was there, as were many other folks from the world of American whiskey. It was an excellent day that went wonderfully and produced a whiskey that is rounded, full of flavor, and yet not rough or harsh in any manner. I look forward to seeing what comes out of a barrel in a few months and years! Pictures below are all taken by my wife. A special thank you to all the folks that really made this happen- the farmers, the folks from Penn State, Laura and her team, Lisa Roper and Steve Bashore for their expertise, and the whole team at Stoll & Wolfe! Also, a special note too that Dad's Hat will also be producing a Rosen Rye that should be an equally impressive whiskey. Look for it in the future too!

https://www.delvalfieldsfoundation.org/

https://www.stollandwolfe.com/

 The copper pot still.

 Me running the column still.

 Erik Wolfe checking condenser temperature.

 Dick Stoll and Erik Wolfe. The men that the distillery is named after.

 Mash Cooker. 528 gallon capacity.

 Rosen Rye being distilled in the column still.

 Mr. Stoll taking a taste of the new distillate.

 The distillery and attendees.

 Group photo! (Rear L-R) Jim Wolfe, Erik Wolfe, me. 

(Front L-R) Elaine Stoll, Dick Stoll, Avianna Ponzi Wolfe

The column still bubbling away!