14: Nic Christiansen of Barrell Craft Spirits Pieces Together the Blended Whiskey Puzzle

As blender and manager of blending operations for the blend-focused brand Barrell Craft Spirits, Nic Christiansen’s job is to understand flavors, how they develop, and how they interact with each other to create harmonious wholes.

In this episode, Christiansen and host Molly Troupe discuss:

• finding new avenues for flavor in blended whiskey
• building micro-blends that are then married through additional barrel conditioning
• the benefits and challenges of sourcing whiskey
• calculating derived mash bills from the component whiskeys
• taking a flavor-focused approach to blending
• aging in a variety of casks and the concurrent evaluation process
• designing whiskey blends around a creative brief that’s experience-based
• developing blends that push past typical whiskey guardrails
• protecting one’s palate
• working in threes

And more.

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