Manatawny Still Works Distillery Visit (2019)

Manatawny Still Works

JSW was part of The Philadelphia Whiskey Society cask tasting and barrel selection at Manatawny Still Works on November 30, 2019. Perched in an industrial park in western Pottstown, PA, approximately 45 to 60 minutes from Philadelphia, Manatawny sits a few hundred yards from the Sly Fox Brewery, with which brewery collaboration is ongoing, not surprising as the master distiller, Max Pfeffer, is a former Sly Fox brewer.

PWS Moderator and Event Planner, Jessica Gallicchio, and I arrived a tad bit late because of traffic and thus were at the back end of a welcoming pour of the BIB, a very nice 4 grain whiskey. We barely had time to taste that initial pour when we began tasting barrels.

We would be tasting a “honey malt” that was matured about 5 years, a blended barrel of 4 grain most akin to a distillery release of their Bottled in Bond, a few other 4 grains, and a peated cask. All but the honey malt were more or less 4 years matured. Distiller Max Pfeffer was using the smallest and most accurate whiskey thief to draw out a Glencairn glass full of each whiskey to pour among the 9 of us tasting.

The first four grain whisky, while nice, did not overly impress. I suppose it needed more time to mature as the wood simply hadn’t imparted as much flavor as one would have expected. Some enjoyed its soft nature, but it wasn’t there for me. I look for much stronger flavor in a cask strength whiskey.

The second barrel drank like a rich, moderately spicy bourbon, though a bit hot, which was not surprising given that the ABV was over 60%. It settled down nicely after a little time in the glass and the addition of a splash of water. This whisky was rock solid and was one of the finalists for the cask selection.

The blended barrel could have been bottled and sold right there. It was quite hot, but a flavor bomb. Fruit and spice were the flesh with a gentle oak spine holding it all up just fine. Being the whiskey geek that I am, I actually used it as part of a blended whiskey in a glass involving the peated and another barrel. The opportunity to blend whisky from a finite set of barrels is one of my great joys, only having done it with whiskies from the cask at Glengoyne. I blend on my own with bottles regularly and then pass around the blend for tasting by friends.

The peated cask was maturing in a smaller barrel. It was a bit lighter in color than it’s siblings, but it was younger and tasted just a wee bit young, though already quite approachable and drinkable. Again, a very high ABV cask strength whiskey at over 60% ABV. It is in my mind lightly peated by scotch drinker standards, yet has a healthy taste of new, highly charred oak vanillins and tannins, that it brings to mind the flavor of some very young lightly peated Islay and Speyside whiskies, just matured in virgin oak barrels.

The true oddball barrel was the “honey malt.” No, there is no use of honey in the honey malt, though they do make and sell a honey whiskey at Manatawny. However, this is an all malted barley whisky aged about 5 years that came across so well and as such a variation from, or at least an enhancement of the traditional style and flavor of the basic 4 grain mash-bill generally employed in most of the distillery’s juice, that the collective we chose that barrel which drinks like a Scotch. The whiskey will likely be made available for pre-ordering through The Philadelphia Whiskey Society on its Facebook page. The release party will be taking place in early May 2020.

This was a tasty sampling of some very good whiskies from another local craft distillery culminating with a barrel selection that will raise eyebrows. I left with some very nice whiskies and have been having fun blending with them.

Thanks to Max Pfeffer and Emily Lader, our patient and generous hosts from Manatawny. JSW and PWS look forward to the release party in May 2020!