Toxic Masculinity Whiskey®
OUR WHISKEY
We produce small batches of premium straight whiskey. For you non-whiskey geeks the legal designation "straight" means that all of the color, taste, and aroma of our spirits are only what was produced naturally through the distillation and aging process. Nothing added, nothing taken away.
Our first release is our signature classic American Straight Rye Whiskey. As of March 2020 we are have formulated and are working on the launch of a Straight Bourbon and our Black Label Select Reserve Rye Whiskey.
MAKING OF A GREAT WHISKEY
The right mash bill and proper distilling are of course critical to creating a fine whiskey, but it is said that a whiskey derives about 80% of its flavor from the wood of barrel it is aged in. We use large and small distilling partners to ferment and distill the mash bill we're after while we focus on aging and "marrying" of various bills, chars, and ages to develop the most amazing flavor profiles possible.
Oak Barrel Aging
Aging starts with barrel selection. Using the right wood species that has been properly dried, cured before it is assembled. Then it becomes a matter of choosing the barrel toasting and charring levels needed to bring out the flavor characteristics you're after.
Wood, toasting & charring
TxM whiskey is barreled in virgin White Oak that has been naturally dried (not kiln dried) allowing the wood pores to open more completely improving the interactions between the wood and spirits. We age our spirits in barrels that are first toasted and then charred to multiple levels (2-5) because each level of char brings a little something different to the flavor profile.
Some whiskey fans will already know that even the size of the barrel is important to aging. While most of the industry ages their product in standard 53 gallon barrels we use a combination of 53 gal and 30 gal barrels.
The smaller barrels add significant expense to aging but it's worth it! The greater oak surface area per volume allows the aging spirit to pick up more of the lignin, vanillin and tannins from the cell walls of the wood in less time for deeper, richer flavors.
Barrel Sizes
Tasting and Tinkering
Next comes the favorite part of our "job". The arduous task of mixing and marrying the various mash bills, ages and chars to create layers of flavors and character until you find that perfect profile that makes you say "yesss... this is the one!" It's hard work but somebody has to do it.
Bottling & Packaging
TxM whiskey products are mixed, bottled and packaged at our facility in the great state of Iowa. This operation is capable of packaging 5,000 bottles per day. We are even working on getting a Kosher certification!
