Spirit Highlight: Weppon Whiskey

Weppon Whiskey Resets The Notion Of Whiskey.

We’ve been fortunate enough to get our hands, and our taste buds, on a wide array of whiskeys over the years. But every so often something comes along that truly stands out. We were recently introduced to Weppon Whiskey, a small distillery based out of upstate New York that has taken a truly novel approach to distillation and aging to produce a clear whiskey that can actually be enjoyed.

Specifically, they’ve completely eliminated the process of barrel aging from their whiskey creation. Clear whiskey is not, in itself, anything new. Unaged spirits like white dog, moonshine, and everclear have been around for centuries. They all carry a well-deserved reputation for being spicy, burning, bitey, and all-around unpleasant in terms of the casual drinking experience. Everything we’ve ever learned about whiskey making has hinged on the process of barrel aging to soften those sharp edges over time — usually a long time.

Weppon uses a revolutionary process, which they’re in the process of patenting, that they call Temper Distilling. This is a triple-distilling process, which isn’t new — but they radically alter the result by introducing a unique mashbill during each of the successive rounds of distillation. According to CEO and cofounder, Eric Paparo, Weppon is the only distillery in the world to use this method. Says Eric:

“In our process, by law, we are able to ‘burn’ our distillation runs higher than any other whiskey on the market. This gives us an edge on mellowing out the harsh tasting and smelling methyl alcohols. Thus, we do not have to rely on wood sugars in the barrels to help mellow, flavor, and color our whiskey. Even at 100 proof, our whiskey is ultra-smooth and has a great taste.

“We can produce our whiskey in days, not years or decades, and do it in a consistent manner which is impossible with barrel aging. This process is highly efficient and reduces the resources required to harvest millions of trees, transport them, and construct barrels and rickhouses.”

Having made several trips back and forth across the Kentucky Bourbon Trail to learn about the traditional methods of distilling and aging bourbon whiskey, these claims sounded like all kinds of blasphemy to us. To try to work through our healthy skepticism, we got our hands on a bottle of Weppon and tried it for ourselves.

In short, we found the results of Temper Distilling to be shockingly smooth and rather pleasant. Weppon hits the palate with a particularly silky mouthfeel. The initial burst of flavor is almost earthy, with a smokey and slightly peppered impression. But this vanishes quickly, and what’s left is fruity and slightly sweet. We experienced flavors like pear and licorice, with a low heat in the back of the throat. Overall, Weppon is a unique hybrid experience with elements of traditional whiskey, tequila, and spiced rum — all in one bottle. The mixing potential is varied but, as the weather cools down, we’ve taken to mixing it with fresh-pressed apple cider and sipping it fireside on the patio.

Weppon recently won the Silver Medal and a 92 rating at the New York International Spirits Competition, which isn’t surprising after tasting it for ourselves. When we asked about the name, Paparo had this to say:

“Our Weppon name is derived from obviously ‘weapon.’ Weapons, as you know, are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities. Whether that’s hunting, self-defense, warfare, or in this instance, making whiskey.”

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Carnivore Magazine Issue 5.

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