It's been a number of years since I visited Bristol Tennessee-Virginia and loved spending time on State Street during the
MLB's Speedway Classic. After a mandatory lunch at the historic Burger Bar we walked across the border to visit
Lost State Distilling - a small, but prolific producer of Tennessee whiskey, bourbon, vodka, gin, rum, and canned cocktails. The distillery resides in a century old building sitting just below the famed State Street sign and across from the historic
Bristol Train Station. It has been operating for about five years - and somehow I had missed them during my last trip to the
Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival. Along with a mixture of Braves and Reds fans we participated in a short tour of their facility given by co-owner Joe Bianchi (who's son Nick is the other co-owner and head distiller) which concluded with the ability to sample their entire portfolio.
The operation is named after the "lost" State of Franklin where in 1784 the area of now Northeast Tennessee was offered to the Union from North Carolina as payment for debts from the American War for Independence. The cession was not accepted, and the residents of the territory seceded from North Carolina to become the State of Franklin. Unfortunately after 4 years North Carolina rescinded its offer of cession and fought to reclaim the now seceded lands. This event set the stage for Tennessee becoming an independent state in 1796 and according to the distillery, "Lost State Distilling’s products are made 'with uniqueness in mind' and 'represent the heritage of Appalachia'."
Lost State operates two different stills depending on the intended spirit. The whiskies run through a larger column still whereas the rum, gin, and vodka run through a smaller pot-column hybrid. Their barrel room is larger than expected with a heavy investment in new American oak barrels used for both the bourbon and charcoal filtered Tennessee whiskey. There are also rows of secondary use barrels for their gold rum and other offerings.
We decided to focus on the rum and vodka during our tasting and eventually purchased bottles of the
Nolichucky Jack Silver Rum and
Andiron Vodka. The vodka is a pleasant 100% corn expression with a slight sweetness and creamy texture. The Nolichucky Jack Silver Rum is distilled from 100% panela mash, which is evaporated sugar cane juice sourced from Columbia. This gives it a distinct flavor profile characterized vanilla and butterscotch and at 80 proof - very little burn. The rum is named after John Sevier, the only governor of the State of Franklin, and given the nickname "Nolichucky Jack" for his expeditions along the Nolichucky River. A variant of the silver rum is the
Nolichucky Jack Gold Rum, made by aging the silver rum in used Franklin Four Straight Bourbon Whiskey barrels for just over a year. At 90 proof, this expression is hotter and more inducive to cocktails as opposed to a sipping rum. However, we preferred the silver.
Next visit we will focus on their whiskey which include a Bottled In Bond Tennessee Whiskey as well as cask strength, straight, and white whiskies.
