Appalachian Gap Ridgeline Vermont Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: C-

Named for a path through the Green Mountains of Vermont, Appalachian Gap Distillery is an solar-powered micro-distillery with an eco-friendly ethos that mirrors its home state. Their whiskey is something of an odd duck, having a mash bill that doesn’t fit with any of the major categories: 45% malted barley, 30% corn and 25% rye. All the major categories of American Whiskey—bourbon, rye, wheat, American malt—require a 51%-plus content in a primary grain. This Vermont-made whiskey has no such primary grain.

After a double distillation, the new make is then entered into three different types of wood: ex-bourbon barrels, new barrels and Port wine casks. After at least two years, the whiskey is dumped, batched, and bottled at 98 proof.

The Whiskey
A pour of Ridgeline is golden with orange highlights, while a swish and coat of the glass streams with leaf vein-style legs and a heavily beaded crown. Taking in the nose yielded a strong current of wet cedar and cereals with a pinch of raisins thrown in.

The flavor continued to deliver that woody aspect up front, more in line with oak than cedar now, along with a bit of leather and a bit of dry tobacco leaf. Altogether, the initial experience of a sip of Ridgeline is something like walking into a tobacco barn with a pile of horse tack lying by the door. After some additional air and a bit of time, further notes of butterscotch arose, followed by a dash of pepper. That light touch of pepper rolled into the finish, which was warm and lingering.

Ridgeline is a rich whiskey with a bold pedigree, but when I finally put my Glencairn down I couldn’t shake the feeling it also had an identity problem. What were they trying to make it? It was a little bit like a Scotch Whisky, and a little bit like a clutch of American Whiskeys. My opinion is that it is an expression trying to do too much at the same time.

The Price
This is available with online retailers for $39.