It is the creation of Buffalo Trace master distiller Harlen Davis Wheatley and the vodka is called HDW CLIX – named using his initials and the Roman numerals denoting the number of times the vodka was distilled.
The vodka is made from red winter wheat, rye, yellow dent distiller’s grade corn and distiller’s malted barley, combined with limestone-rich water. The process includes cooking, fermenting and distilling from an original 28,400 gallons of mash, dividing it down and re-distilling over a period of twelve months, resulting in 159 distillations, 332 gallons and 2,000 bottles of vodka. Before the final bottling, the product was rested in a cool tank for 12 months.
It is to retail for £299 – it was $299 in the US. It comes in a crystal decanter and wooden box and the vodka is 40%abv.
Wheatley said: “This project has been a long time in the making and we’re pleased to see it finally come to fruition.
“With four different grains, multiple recipes and 159 separate distillations, the complexity is balanced and markedly pure.”
Jeremy Hill, chairman of Hi-Spirits, who will distribute the vodka in the UK said: “Understandably, the interest we’re getting is from top end bars and specialist drinks retailers.
“Some bars want to serve HDW CLIX in a premium cocktail, while retailers expect it to appeal to collectors. It will definitely be a talking point for customers, and we don’t expect to have our allocation in stock for very long.”
