In 2011, 13th generation Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic laid down the first 12 barrels of what would become Wolves’ Malted Barley Series. In the following years, Marko created twelve more 8-to-12 barrel lots of Malted Barley Whiskey.
Each lot was distilled over a 10 day period in a small, copper pot still that was imported from Cognac, France in 1983. The process creates distillate with massive body and viscosity.
Each lot in the Malted Barley Series is unique, with different sources and types of barley, different yeasts, and different maltings. Some lots were peated; some were not. The lots were housed in American oak sourced from the finest cooperage in Napa Valley, typically relied on only by cult winemakers. The barrels provided were treated with one of six different toast and char levels, ranging from Light Toast to Char 3. Barrels also alternated between American and Hungarian heads, the latter providing the darkest of chocolate notes.
The variations in oak produced stark contrast across each lot of malted barley whiskey. One barrel in a lot is not like the next, despite being created from the same run of whiskey. Each bottle is wrapped by hand in a sheepskin label, and hand-numbered in Los Angeles.