Mad River Hopscotch Whiskey Review (2019)

By Douglas Fraser

Rating: C+

Deep in the heart of the Green Mountain State lies some of America’s best craft breweries and distilleries that use the rich, local resources of the state of Vermont. Mad River Distillery is one of those craft distilleries nestled in the Green Mountains just outside of Warren, VT.

While visiting Vermont in October, I attended an arts and crafts festival where several local distilleries were promoting their products. The opportunity arose to try variety of the Mad River Distillery whiskies. The one that piqued my interest the most was called Hopscotch, a single malt Vermont whiskey that uses a wash from a different brewery for every batch, which changes every year. This year, Von Trapp Brewery located in Stowe VT was selected to be used in the production of the whiskey.

Per the bottle, the wash for Hopscotch is brewed by the partner brewery. The barley is fermented, then dry hopped just before its distillation in Mad River’s Müller Still. The spirit is then aged for at least six months in oak casks before bottling at 46% ABV. Hopscotch is a complex whiskey I would not recommend for beginners.

The Whiskey
I sampled from Batch 4 in September 2019,  Bottle #139.

The coloring is light brown. On the nose are hints of butterscotch, maple, oak, peppery spice, hops, and lager. When tasted neat, on the palate, the spice intensifies while hints of cinnamon, barley, hops, and leather are present.  The finish is long, and the spice lingers with some hints of the oak. Throughout the tasting, the spice was a bit overwhelming which took away from the other notes.

The Price
Mostly found in Vermont, you can purchase a bottle for about $40.