Levant Heights Dark Malt Lebanese Whisky
Unlike the Levant Heights Single Pot Still I wrote about yesterday, the Levant Heights Dark Malt isn’t inspired by a whisky.
It’s inspired by a beer.
Stouts, to be precise. The 100% malted barley mashbill is split between Imperial/Espresso and Munich malts, both on the dark end of the spectrum for roasting barley. These are for those nearly or fully opaque beers that feel, as Kathleen Madigan put it, “like drinking a pot roast with a head of mashed potatoes.”
The roasting does two things, both of which greatly impact flavor: first, it toasts the barley, caramelizing the sugars and the hull. This adds proportionate levels of nuttiness and roasted, almost charred flavors, firmly in the savory camp. The other effect is to intensify the barley: the acceptable moisture level for malted barley on average is around 10% when kilned and ready for milling. Coffee or Espresso malt is at 4%, Imperial at around 3.5%, and Munich at a miniscule 2.2% (approximate averages combed from several beer and brewing sources).
As a result, there is less water in the barley and less volume to mill into smaller pieces ready for fermentation. The color of these malts - from which they derive their names - doesn’t carry through. The distillate will still be as clear as if “regular” malted barley were used. The flavor compounds that are developed are what continue the roasted malts’ key characteristics. The nutty, dark chocolate, and espresso notes all survive through distillation and maturation.
When it comes to beers, I’m not much of a stout, porter, or dessert beer guy. I prefer ales, especially IPAs. The hoppier the better. But trying this Levant Heights Dark Malt, I didn’t feel like I was drinking a dark beer. It felt and tasted like drinking liquid tiramisu. There was an overlay of espresso powder, dark chocolate underneath, and a rounded mouthfeel that was neither too thin nor too heavy.
Considering distiller’s beer (a.k.a. wash) is made the same way consumable beer is (give or take - I hear the beer experts growling at me), it’s an undervalued part of the process. A rare few distilleries will show off their distiller’s beer - Westland has one that tastes like the bread at Outback - but most are undrinkable as beers despite eventually making delicious distillate. I’m glad Riachi had the stones to not only show off this part of the process but to celebrate what could be done with it.
If Roy is to be believed, they’re even experimenting with how to commercially produce the beer for this distillate as a consumable product. The holdups at the moment are whether they could get the beer to stay good past the 2 months or more it takes to freight to the US. If Riachi manages to pull it off, it’ll be an incredible double feature.
Selling a whisky with a bottle of the beer from which it was distilled? Count that as something I haven’t seen before.
Levant Heights Dark Malt Lebanese Whisky: Specs
Classification: Lebanese Whisky
Origin: Riachi Winery & Distillery
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Age: 3 Years Old
Location: Lebanon
Levant Heights Dark Malt Lebanese Whisky Price: $30
Levant Heights Dark Malt Lebanese Whisky: Tasting Notes
Eye: Brewed iced black tea. Thin rims, medium legs and quick drops.
Nose: Dark, dark malt hits right away, roasted and bitter chocolate. Almost too much roasting for me - not at all like a peat, genuinely like an espresso bean in chocolate. Dark pretzel crusts.
Palate: The coffee and espresso comes out on top, brash and bold right out of the spigot. The cream follows with clove on the tip of my tongue. Dark chocolate shavings turn this into a liquid tiramisu and I’m all for it, even the creamy and slightly tangy mascarpone. Mouthfeel is like a latte, creamy and coating without being heavy. Roasted notes diffuse all over the palate.
Finish: The tiramisu continues to build on itself on a medium-length finish. Still on the bitter, coffee-like side, though signs of vanilla cream eke through the roast.
Overall: I’m of two minds on this. On one hand, it does exactly what it advertises as well as any product I’ve recently seen. It’s roasty and malty and you know that every bit of that barley was darkened. So as far as intent goes, this is nearly perfect. On the other hand, for my palate, it’s too much. I love my coffee but I’m not a dark beer guy at all. I enjoy the tiramisu and dark chocolate notes, but I’m not sure I could finish a bottle by myself. Take that dichotomy for what you will.
Final Rating: 7.2
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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