Credit: Lost Cargo
Clermont Steep is an American Single Malt whiskey produced by James B. Beam Distilling Co. It is the first single malt whiskey produced in the company’s history and was developed by 8th Generation Master Distiller Freddie Noe.
Unlike bourbon or rye production, American single malt whiskeys do not have well-defined requirements to be labeled as such. In the absence of formal requirements, Noe hand-selected the malted barley used for the mash and used the same yeast as all other Beam releases.
Noe chose to use barrels with a unique char profile for Clermont Steep. While most bourbons are aged in barrels charred to a level 3 or 4, Clermont Steep was aged in barrels that were toasted and then quickly charred to a relatively light level 1 char. It was then aged for 5 years at Beam’s Clermont, KY campus.
“I’m always looking toward the future of American Whiskey, and the boundless runway in this category intrigued me. We don’t just want to participate in American Single Malt Whiskey; we want to help define it for the future of the category.”
– Freddie Noe, Master Distiller
