Everytime I take a sip of today’s award-winning Whiskey Sour from Carolina Bauernhaus, I feel like I’ve stepped into a prohibition era bar.

It’s dark but filled with the sound of busy whispering. I take a seat on a brown leather stool at the counter. The bartender slides a glass my way as a jazz band croons softly in the background.

I take a sip and layers of lemon, black cherries, and a touch of whiskey spice appear on my palate. I take another and notes of amaretto, lemongrass, and hint of oak wash over my tastebuds. The bartender brings me another glass —   before I can raise it to my lips, he tells me to savor it because it’s the last batch of this specific medley and there’s no telling when it will be back.

Okay, so I don’t really hang out in exclusive speakeasies drinking nano-batch cocktails. But that’s exactly how I feel every time I taste this craft Whiskey Sour. This light, Golden Ale was aged on oak with real lemons and limes, and every sip makes me want to throw on some Louis Armstrong and dig my fedora out of the back of my closet.

To give this Whiskey Sour its depth of earthy funk, Bauernhaus ages their Sour Golden Ale on oak from local distilleries, adds in a mixed culture of their house Lacto and wild yeasts, and tosses in a couple hundred pounds of citrus. The result is a brew so light and bursting with complexity it took home top prize at the 2018 US Open Beer Championship.   

Like a master mixologist, Bauernhaus is committed to using only locally-sourced ingredients. It’s what makes every sip of today’s brew brim with elegance and what earned them a Gold medal at the 2017 GABF.

But this dedication to quality means Whiskey Sour is only available in extremely limited batches. And like the password to get into the exclusive underground speakeasy, share this Sour secret with only the most deserving of your craft buds.

Rated 4.00 on Untappd

Packaged On February 1st, 2019

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