Honored to announce UnCommon Grain, an upcoming photo exhibit at The American Whiskey Convention. Photographed by Jordan Bush, the exhibit features photographs of Dick Stoll’s first distillation of Rosen Rye in nearly five decades.
Learn more about Dick Stoll’s Return of Rosen Rye.
From Jordan Bush: “I am thrilled to announce “Uncommon Grain” at the American Whiskey Convention this April. The exhibit documents Stoll & Wolfe Whiskey distilling Rosen Rye, a grain brought back to life made possible by many hands to make a rare type of Pennsylvania rye whiskey not seen in decades. Distillation was photographed over two days using black and white Kodak 35mm film.”
A limited number of photographs and prints from the exhibit will be available for sale at American Whiskey Convention and Stoll & Wolfe Distillery Tasting Room.
To view the exhibit, get American Whiskey Convention tickets here.
Jordan Bush is a Lancaster County based Photographer and Writer. The current author of Lancaster County Magazine’s Foodographer column, Jordan’s journey to capture compelling images spans five continents and a diverse range of subjects from professional sports to man made and ecological disasters, as well as current and past Presidents and VPs.
Visit Stoll and Wolfe on November 16th at the 2019 West Overton Whiskey Smash. We’ll be on hand pouring our award winning whiskeys and talking Pennsylvania Whiskey past, present and future.
We’ll also be donating 1 of 50 bottles released of Stoll & Wolfe Un Aged Rosen Rye. Signed by Master Distiller Dick Stoll, this bottling is the first Rosen Rye sold in Pennsylvania in nearly 50yrs.
From the Whiskey Smash Site:
“Bring your love of whiskey and join us for our 5th annual Whiskey Smash on Saturday, November 16th. The Whiskey Smash celebrates local craft distilleries and the re-surging popularity craft whiskey and distilled products. As our signature annual event, The Whiskey Smash, provides for ongoing preservation and interpretation efforts.
Distillers and representatives from Barrel 21 Distillery, Dad’s Hat Rye, Liberty Pole Spirits, Red Pump Spirits, Stoll & Wolfe Distillery, and Tall Pines Distillery will be stationed throughout the museum sharing and discussing their products with attendees. Light fare, desserts, cocktails and beverages are included with admission. Live music from tribute vocalist Janie Poole will entertain with standards ranging from Patsy Cline to Motown Hits. Join us learn about distilling and sample various whiskeys and spirits. This an evening you won’t forget!“
To learn more about the event and purchase tickets click here.
Column still churning away as Dick Stoll distills Rosen Rye for 1st time in 50 years at Stoll and Wolfe Distillery. Learn more about the journey from 5ozs of seed to 500lbs of grain here.
Dick Stoll distills Rosen Rye Whiskey for first time in 50 years at Stoll and Wolfe.
Thank you to everyone including Delaware Valley Fields Foundation‘s SeedSpark Campign, the Agriculture Department of Penn State University, the many Pennsylvania Farmers who turned 5ozs of seed into 500lbs over 4 years, and team of friends/colleagues who’ve shared so freely of themselves and their knowledge.
PENNSYLVANIA WHISKEY BLOG: 1st BATCH OF ROSEN RYE IN DECADES.
“American whiskey nerds rejoice- Stoll & Wolfe Distillery in Lititz, PA has done a thing. A big thing. One of the amazing and unique things about the rye whiskey that was distilled in Pennsylvania is that much of it was made with a variety of rye called Rosen rye. On the earliest Michter’s jugs, it was even specifically called out as the variety of grain used to produce the Michter’s Pot Still Whiskey.” Read the full post.
FERMENTED ADVENTURE: HISTORY IN THE DISTILLING
“Dick Stoll was the last man to distill Rosen rye into whiskey at Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pa. Liquid began to flow into the still and Dick looked on with a very watchful eye. It was an emotional moment for Erik Wolfe as he explained the process of what was about to take place in the distillation. Finally, all of the hard work and preparation would become a reality.” Read the full post.
Lost Heritage Rye Grain Becomes New Pennsylvania Whiskey
For the first time in decades, the long-lost heritage grain, Rosen rye, will be distilled into rye whiskey in Pennsylvania! “The last man to distill Rosen rye into whiskey at the historic Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pa will be the first to distill it here again,” said Laura Fields, founder of the American Whiskey Convention and CEO of the non-profit, The Delaware Valley Fields Foundation.
“Dick Stoll, of Stoll & Wolfe Distillery, is a legend in distilling, and it is an honor to deliver our Rosen rye grain into his very capable hands.”
Laura Fields, CEO Delaware Valley Fields Foundation
Since 2015, Rosen rye seeds have been cultivated and re-planted on agricultural test plots in State College, PA to produce enough usable grain to distill into whiskey. The Delaware Valley Fields Foundation’s SeedSpark Campaign has gone from 5 ounces of Rosen rye sourced from the USDA to over 900 pounds today! 500 lbs of that rye grain will placed into fermenters on Tuesday, September 3, 2019 and distilled into rye whiskey on Saturday, September 7th at Stoll & Wolfe Distillery.
About Delaware Valley Fields Foundation The Delaware Valley Fields Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes local farming and its history. The organization works with farmers and other non-profits to bring attention to the vital role small farming plays in communities. Members educate the public through events including the American Whiskey Convention. To learn more, visit delvalfieldsfoundation.org.
SeedSpark Campaign The Delaware Valley Fields Foundation’s Seed Spark Campaign is funded by their annual event, the American Whiskey Convention, which takes place each spring in Philadelphia. Each resurrected seed varietal is offered to local farmers once enough seed has been propagated and well-documented research trials have determined which farming practices can be utilized to grow the healthiest and most viable crop.
Rosen Rye Seeds
What is a Heritage Grain? “When Prohibition was enacted, it wasn’t just alcohol production that stopped. Many grains stopped being produced due to the sudden drop in demand. When farmers shifted their attention to other crops, their knowledge and use of those old crops slowly faded away. These are the “lost grains” that we now call heritage grains. Due to changes in local agricultural land use, climate and soil health, many of these seeds (which have not been planted in decades) face challenges that can seem daunting to a modern local farmer. The Delaware Valley Fields Foundation is making every effort to remove any costly “trial and error” period from the farmer’s workload by providing them with growing directions and guidelines for a successful crop using these heritage seeds.
Heritage grains can be very important to the local Pennsylvania economy. If we can help establish these grains with farmers and producers, we can create an industry that is unique to Pennsylvania helping to provide a premier identity for the region. Seed Spark is working to bring back some of those “lost” grains for which the region was once famous. We are working with United States Department of Agriculture Research Service, local universities and farmers to resurrect these treasures. In doing so, we will help kick start economic development in the Delaware Valley and across the state.” -Delaware Valley Fields Foundation
Thank you to Liberty Pole Spirits family for inviting us to be a part of such a fun event and to Countryside Frame Shop for your hospitality. Rumor has it, plans are already in the works for next year’s festivities.
If you’re a fan of American History, American Whiskey or a bit of both, visit Stoll & Wolfe at the upcoming Whiskey Rebellion Festival in Washington, PA. We’ll be on hand Saturday July 14th from 12-4pm to pour samples, and talk PA and Lancaster County Whiskey History. We’ll also have bottles of our Bourbon & Rye Whiskey for sale at the event.
“While the Whiskey Rebellion may be 225 years ago in history, whiskey distillers from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are once again rallying together in Washington Pennsylvania this summer at the 10th Annual Whiskey Rebellion Festival.
This year’s festival will highlight the craft distilling movement which is booming across the state. More than a dozen Pennsylvania distillers will be paired with local shops in and around the festival grounds along Main Street in Washington PA.
Participants will receive a souvenir sampling glass and distillery locator map at the check-in point before exploring the festival grounds and the National Road Historic Corridor.”
To Learn More and Purchase Tickets Visit their Site Here.
Pre Prohibition Grain Ledger from Historic Bomberger’s Distillery. Photoby Jordan Bush from December 2018 Issue of Lancaster County Magazine
“Whether or not you’re a whiskey drinker, it’s difficult to imagine Lancaster’s countryside filled with rye fields and dotted with distilleries. Such a scenario existed during the 18th and early 19th centuries. According to an article read before the Lancaster County Historical Society in the 1920s, 183 distilleries had existed in Lancaster County in 1813. Twenty-seven years later, just ahead of the temperance movement and the Civil War, the county total fell to 102 distilleries (along with 135 grist mills and eight breweries).
A Perfect Recipe
What was the reason behind the proliferation of distilleries? A need grew out an abundance of rye grain harvested across the region’s farmlands. A surplus of rye could fall plague to ergot mold, a hallucinogenic, which some theorize spurred on the Salem Witch Trials. Rather than let crops go to waste, farmers could preserve their rye yield and turn it into a tradable commodity, a currency by the gallon or barrel.”
Click here to read the full article on the Lancaster County Magazine Site.
Boehm Transitions to Beam
“If I may interject a bit of foreshadowing before we temporarily depart from the subject of Kentucky, it’s of note that many early frontier-bound settlers traveled through Pennsylvania. Jacob Boehm was one of them, emigrating from Germany in 1740 to what is now Berks County, which was once a part of Lancaster County. The Boehm family owned land purchased from William Penn in Willow Street, where the Boehm Chapel stands to this day. The family name later changed to one you may find more familiar, “Beam,” which we see today on thousands of bourbon bottles from Kentucky. In 1788, Jacob moved to Kentucky ahead of a legal revolution in the distilling community.”
Click here to read the full article on the Lancaster County Magazine Site.
Learn about 250+ years of local whiskey making tradition with Stoll & Wolfe’s very own Jim Wolfe.
Discover more about the people, places and products behind our local whiskey history and find out why the National Register of Historic Places recognizes our area as the birthplace of the American Whiskey Industry.
Have a historical item (bottle, book, photo, etc.) you’d like to share? Stop on by. Admission is Free.
Horting’s Rye Whiskey, distilled by John C. Horting less than a mile from our Tasting Room in Lititz prior to Prohibition. Although distilled here in Lititz, much of the whiskey was sold via retail in Lancaster City (as indicated by the label and link below). For Lancaster County residents, the building is the current home to M&E Roofing located behind The Gatehouse.
Bricks from the distillery where Horting distilled now support our back bar and a portion of our whiskey still. Happy to add this one to the collection and can only hope one of our bottles brings so much excitement to a future generation. For more information on Horting, his distillery and other associated businesses, click here.
Pre Prohibition John C. Hosting Pure Rye Whiskey Bottle. Lancaster, PA.
Producer: Stoll & Wolfe. Distillers: MGP and Finger Lakes Distillery.
ABV: 43%. Blend: 80% bourbon, 20% rye. Batch 1.
“Stoll & Wolfe Distillery was called Bomberger’s before Michter’s owner Chatham Imports sued them over the use of the name. (It’s complicated…see Fred Minnick’s excellent site for the blow-by-blow.) Stoll & Wolfe has made the best of a bad situation with a beautiful new identity by David Cole (he of that stunning Yellowstone brand, the Laphroaig 15, and many more–the pic above is his), and they’ve also released a very tasty sourced whiskey blend while they get their own distilling up and running.
Batches 1 and 2 are a blend of 80% 2.5-year old MGP-sourced bourbon and 20% Finger Lakes Distilling 2-year-old rye.
Too young to impress? No, sir–not in the hands of the legendary Dick Stoll. Stoll was the last master distiller of the old PA-based Michter’s, and maker of the fabled A.H. Hirsch Bourbon, a.k.a. “The Best Bourbon You’ll Never Taste.” Anything he puts his hand to deserves a close look.
Batch 1, which I tried, is bright, fresh, delicate, making the best of the youth with a lovely rye herbaciousness. Light honey and chamomile on the nose. The palate adds green stem and barrel-aged grappa notes, and there’s fresh apple on the finish. Refreshing
Batch 3, which substitutes Death’s Door rye for the Finger Lakes, was due in fall 2015, but has been delayed by forced rebranding and relabeling after the lawsuit. Hang in there, Stoll & Wolfe–we’re all looking forward to more.” – BO
