What Makes Brother Justus Whiskey Unique
From novice whiskey drinkers to long-time aficionados, those who have tasted Brother Justus Whiskey will all tell you the same thing: Brother Justus Whiskey is different.
The difference comes from a foundation we built on crafting the most excellent whiskey, straight from the land we call home. From the barley to the water, to the white oak trees that become our barrels, Minnesota is the origin of it all. In fact, it’s the uniqueness of the Minnesota ecosystem that offers us the opportunity to create a bespoke whiskey with such depth and character.
Homegrown Whiskey from Minnesotan Land
Time for a geography lesson! We promise we’ll keep it short, but to understand the treasure that is Minnesota whiskey, you must first understand the incredibly rare circumstances under which it’s created. Minnesota is the only state where four unique, distinct bioregions converge:
Headwaters of the North
The Great Plains
The Eastern Hardwood Forest
The Boreal Forest
That alone is special, but it matters for us because the four regions lend themselves to the niche element of our whiskey. Brother Justus was born from this verdant land that continues to provide us with individually impressive parts of a whole that combine to deliver a most exceptional whiskey.
Water from the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River cascades over 640 miles of limestone bedrock between its headwaters in Lake Itasca and our distillery in Minneapolis. The water's flow over the limestone helps it acquire an ideal pH and mineral balance for distilling the purest whiskey.
Barley from the Great Plains
With the deepest topsoil on earth, the tallgrass prairies of the eastern great Plains are ideal for cultivating barley. A generally flat terrain, dark soil, and good moisture encourage the grasses to grow tall and strong. Once harvested, our barley is malted in Minnesota at the Western Hemisphere’s largest malt house, Rahr Malting in Shakopee.
White Oak from the Eastern Hardwood Forest
A dense, broadleaf forest, Minnesota’s is the largest American White Oak forest outside of Missouri, home to the world's coldest white oak. Our harsh winters and short but sweltering summers create the seasonal extremes that pack the oak with rich and full vanillin, tannin, and sugar, so our barrels can mature whiskey with unmatched flavor.
Peat from the Boreal Forest
Minnesota has over 6,000,000 acres of bogs rich with ancient peat, more than both Scotland and Ireland. These vast stretches of land, some of which were never harvested, host a diverse and constantly evolving ecosystem. Millennia in the making, Minnesota peat contains flavors that began forming at the end of the Ice Age 10,000 years ago, as glaciers traveled southward.
At Brother Justus Whiskey Company, our Minnesotan landscape elevates our whiskey from standard to extraordinary, with influences and contributions straight from our roots – literally. We developed spectacular varieties of single malt whiskey that offer a versatility unmatched in the whiskey space: American Whiskey, Silver Whiskey, and patent pending Cold-Peated® Whiskey. Each whiskey is incredibly nuanced and influenced by our home state. To quote Dorothy, there’s no place like home – and no better place to make whiskey.
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