Sometimes you get a read on someone and can’t quite put into words where it came from. When I interviewed Nathan Mahinski from Driftless Glenn, I got the distinct impression his mind was only halfway in the room. It was mostly down in the distillery, watching over his mash. If I were to choose a single word to describe Mahinski, it would be studious. He is a whiskey nerd and a hard-working distiller of the highest order, blessed with an internal mental library of classic literature, the audacious spark of a capable amateur chef, and the deep nerdish commitment to evoking the soul of whiskey into every bottle he makes.
What whiskey first made you say fuck yeah?
Four Roses
If you weren’t making whiskey, you’d probably be . . .
Nathan: Stay-at-home dog dad (I have a huskie shepherd mix and a basset hound)
What’s a fucked up way you drink whiskey you probably wouldn’t tell anyone if you weren’t filling out this questionnaire?
10 am on a Sunday straight out of the bottle
What’s a fucked up way someone you know drinks whiskey that makes you want to throw them off a cliff, and seriously, Jesus Hashtag Christ, why, Darryll? Why?
I don’t judge.
What song will get you onto the floor no matter what?
Give a quote from a movie you obsess over:
“Nope”
Nope
Besides making whiskey, what do you do right?
I do peach salsa, peach avocado bruschetta.
Sum up the essence of great whiskey with a single word.
Nuanced.
What moment during your process strikes you as perfect?
Making the cut in the still for the final heart’s cut when it hits—especially the bourbon. There’s a point where it’s pure cotton candy.
Name the single most underrated or overlooked distillery in your state.
A little distillery on the east side of Madison called Old Sugar Distillery.
Name a whiskey you think our readers never heard of.
Same, although Northern Waters Distillery
What was your most embarrassing mistake making whiskey?
It involved a forklift and a garage door track.
What are you reading?
Blood Meridian, Good Omens, Carl Jung’s Autobiography, and Hawk Mountain.
Who would you like to see answer these questions?
Dan Carry from New Glarus
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