Credit: Reservoir Distillery

Richmond, I have a confession to make. I’ve never had Gingerbread Stout. I know it is shocking but I have a good reason to avoid GBS and other milk stouts like it. Unfortunate as it is, that pesky lactose that makes a milk stout, well, a milk stout just doesn’t agree with my digestive system. I wish the solution was a simple as just taking a few pills but I’m afraid that will just not work for me like it might for others.

Fast forward to me discovering that Reservoir Distillery would introduce the second of Mash-Up Series with a spirit distilled from GBS during Hardywood’s GBS release party Saturday November 4th. My first reaction was excitement followed immediately by the question of whether I’d even be able to drink it.

Lucky for me, and for you, it was pretty easy to put my chemist hat on to dispel any fears I had. The main question I had was whether it was possible for lactose to be distilled over with the alcohol.  The simple way to answer that question was to look at the boiling point of lactose which a Google search shows to be 1,236 °F (668.9°C). This means it would be impossible for lactose to be present in the final spirit; even if the distillation was performed under extremely low vacuum condition, the temperature required would still be too high. Yes, I went and used a nomograph to figure out the conditions that would be required but it was kind of crazy.

Ok that’s enough for the chemistry lesson, let’s drink some Christmas bourbon!

Head over to the Facebook event for more details and updates:

Specially available at Hardywood Brewery for the Hardywood Gingerbread Stout – Official Release Party!
Reservoir Distillery brings you a special collaboration with Hardywood Park Brewery and their famed Gingerbread Stout. Hardywood made the GBS and Reservoir distilled the stout beer and aged the whiskey in charred new American oak barrels just like the Reservoir Bourbon. The combination of the two styles created a beautiful whiskey carrying the notes of ginger and spices as Christmas in a dram!