Triple
Eight Distillery has long dedicated itself to making fine alcoholic beverages,
and in 2000 we begun distilling Nantucket Island's first single malt whiskey
called "Notch" because it is "not scotch" but a Scotch-style
whiskey, with 50 barrels set aside for release in 2005. 
To guarantee the highest quality single malt whiskey, we enlisted the professional assistance of George McClements, former distilling consultant to Morrison Bowmore of Islay, Scotland. Working alongside our own distilling team, McClements helps to insure that our whiskey is true to the region in the same way that our wines have been crafted in harmony with their natural setting.
The Art of Distilling Whiskey
The process starts with malted barley, or sprouted barley, an entirely natural process that turns its starch to sugar so it can be fermented. After malting, the grain is kiln-dried, which is the way it comes to us. We then mill the grain and the resulting "grist" goes into a "mash tun," where it is steeped in hot water to release its sugar. The spent grain from this process is then removed and the remaining "wort" is cooled and piped into the "wash back," or fermentation tank.
When fermentation is complete, the wash is pumped into the copper still. There, in a repeated process, it is heated so that the vapors rise through the narrow neck of the still to the cooling tubes of the condenser. Thus reduced, the clear spirit is run off into bourbon casks to begin the aging process. Through gradual evaporation, it is these barrels that will give the whiskey its distinctive color and flavor as well as its body.
After the whiskey has been aged for a full five years in Triple Eight's bonded warehouse, it will be carefully blended with the finest Nantucket well water and bottled. For Nantucket's water filters through hundreds of miles of sand before being drawn for use from our island well, a water that has a perfect ph (5-5.5) for making whiskey. Additionally, Nantucket's cool ocean air is similar to that in the western isles of Scotland, and is ideal for maturing whiskey in oak.
Notch Single Malt Whisky is 44.4% abv
To guarantee the highest quality single malt whiskey, we enlisted the professional assistance of George McClements, former distilling consultant to Morrison Bowmore of Islay, Scotland. Working alongside our own distilling team, McClements helps to insure that our whiskey is true to the region in the same way that our wines have been crafted in harmony with their natural setting.
The Art of Distilling Whiskey
The process starts with malted barley, or sprouted barley, an entirely natural process that turns its starch to sugar so it can be fermented. After malting, the grain is kiln-dried, which is the way it comes to us. We then mill the grain and the resulting "grist" goes into a "mash tun," where it is steeped in hot water to release its sugar. The spent grain from this process is then removed and the remaining "wort" is cooled and piped into the "wash back," or fermentation tank.
When fermentation is complete, the wash is pumped into the copper still. There, in a repeated process, it is heated so that the vapors rise through the narrow neck of the still to the cooling tubes of the condenser. Thus reduced, the clear spirit is run off into bourbon casks to begin the aging process. Through gradual evaporation, it is these barrels that will give the whiskey its distinctive color and flavor as well as its body.
After the whiskey has been aged for a full five years in Triple Eight's bonded warehouse, it will be carefully blended with the finest Nantucket well water and bottled. For Nantucket's water filters through hundreds of miles of sand before being drawn for use from our island well, a water that has a perfect ph (5-5.5) for making whiskey. Additionally, Nantucket's cool ocean air is similar to that in the western isles of Scotland, and is ideal for maturing whiskey in oak.
Notch Single Malt Whisky is 44.4% abv