‘Fanatical Pursuit of Perfection’: Wolves, the Brand Known for Making Whiskey out of Craft Beer, Unveils 11-Year-Old California Single Malt

Wolves Whiskey has announced the release of Lot Two of its American Single Malt release.

On Tuesday, California whiskey company Wolves Whiskey announced the release of Lot Two, the second American Single Malt release in the brand’s Malted Barley Series. Lot Two will release Aug. 31 and will be available from the Wolves Whiskey website.

Aside from the stock sold on the Wolves Whiskey website, 2,010 bottles of Lot Two will be sold at select brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retailers at a suggested retail price of $305.

Aged 11 years, Wolves Whiskey California Single Malt Lot Two is one of the older American single malts on the market. The single malt was distilled and barreled in 2012 by 13th-generation distiller Marko Karakasevic using imported Irish malts with a California ale. Lot Two is bottled at 110 proof.

Wolves Whiskey describes Karakasevic’s distilling process for this whiskey as a “fanatical pursuit of perfection.” According to the brand, Karakasevic lived in the Yokayo Valley of Mendocino County, California, while creating this whiskey. The distiller would stay by himself for 10 days at a time with his imported Alembic pot still while working.

Each bottle of Lot Two is hand-wrapped in an Italian sheepskin label dyed black. According to the brand, the hand-labeling process took four weeks to complete.

“From the whiskey to the labels to the glass we use for our bottles, no one in their right mind would make the decision of their own free will to build a whiskey brand the way we’re doing it,” co-founder Jon Buscemi. “But this is the way [co-founder James Bond] and I have always done things. There’s absolutely no way the steps between distillation to blending to lips should make financial sense – and it doesn’t.”

We greatly enjoyed Wolves Whiskey California Single Malt Lot One, which the brand released in April.

About Wolves Whiskey

Wolves Whiskey was founded in 2017 by Bond (no, not the spy), who co-founded the streetwear brand UNDEFEATED, and Buscemi, a fashion designer who co-founded or founded the popular sauce company Truff and footwear brands Buscemi and Greats.

Rather than start with fresh mash, Karakasevic typically takes fully made craft beer and distills it to make very distinctive hopped whiskey.

Wolves Whiskey’s signature blend is a whiskey made from refined craft beer and rye whiskey.

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