Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition 1 Review

The Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition 1 is what the Scots would call a blended malt. Though if it were pre-2009 the Scots would have called it a vatted malt as well, but due to regulation changes by the Scotch Whisky Association the term has been outlawed in the UK. Their wonderful loss of terminology is our gain, which is fantastic, but let’s move this conversation to the whiskey at hand.

Created from a 12-barrel blend of American single malts, from six craft distilleries, this is a coast-to-coast representation of the American craft whiskey (specifically American Single Malt) distillation. The distilleries involved in creating this blend were Balcones (Texas), Copperworks (Washington), Santa Fe Spirits (New Mexico), Triple Eight (Massachusetts), Westward (Oregon) and Virginia Distillery Co. (…Virginia).

This is super unique, and on a purely mental level, interesting. They didn’t just pick a barrel or two, slap some slick branding on it and call it a day. They sourced from all over the USA and got the distillers to help build the blend using whiskey from their own distilleries… and then they disclosed it all. To say I’m impressed with the creation of this whiskey would be an understatement… but this isn’t a story blog, it’s a whiskey. So let’s get to drinkin’ and see what this vatted malt is really all about.

Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition 1 – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Region: USA

Distillers: Balcones, Copperworks, Santa Fe, Triple Eight, Westward, Virginia Distillery
Blender: Lost Lantern with the help of the above distillers
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: 2+ Years
ABV: 52.5%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Batch: 1

Price: $120*

Tasting Notes

EYE
Amber

NOSE
Orchard fruit, butterscotch, herbal, woody, vanilla, char, spice, honey, touch menthol citrus and hazelnuts.
It’s a touch raw, but generally sweet with a warm mid-matured craft profile with the woodiness sitting in the middle rather than upfront. It’s missing that mature fullness, but it’s far from unpleasant.

PALATE
More woody and brown sugar/butterscotch profile here with some added biscuity notes, but its essence is similar to the aroma with an added touch of apricot.
Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition 1 carries a bit more herbal and raw grain touches on the palate than on the aroma but, again, it’s far from unpleasant.

FINISH
Med-long -> Grainy, woody, lemon peels, honey and butterscotch, that pulls down dryly and herbally, almost IPA Like (Westward).

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Decent balance, medium body and a dry/warm feel.

Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition 1 – Overall Thoughts and Score

Starts sweet and fruity, but as it opens it turns a bit more woody and raw. With a bit more time it turns a tad herbal on the whole with even more caramel and fruit on the aroma. The raw crafty woody note kicks up a tad more on the palate, which is the downfall of many craft whiskies, but mostly stays in check thanks to the fruity sweetness and herbal notes.

Breaking this down, the nose reminds me quite a bit of both the Balcones Single Malt and the Virginia Single Malt with the fruitiness that pulls through. The palate is where I get more of the earthy-malty and herbally notes that remind me of Santa Fe and Westward single malts.  Though the finish, that’s almost all Westward and I love it. The finish is definitely my favorite part of the Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Edition 1 and is what keeps me coming back.

SCORE: 3/5

*Disclosure: The sample for this whiskey review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.