Inside Minden Mill Distillery with Master Distiller Joe O’Sullivan

What happens when you grow your own grain in Nevada’s high desert, age whiskey in rickhouses modeled on Kentucky and Scotland, and operate two distinct distilleries on one campus? Join Ed and Karen as Master Distiller Joe O’Sullivan takes us behind the scenes at Minden Mill Distillery, in Minden, NV. From the ranch and barrel warehouses to the stills and tasting room, we explore the factors that shape their whiskeys, and taste the results. Join us!

CONTENTS

00:00:00 Introduction00:00:52 The Ranch: Carson Valley Water, Grain & Terroir00:08:38 The Bourbon/Rye Rickhouse: Bringing Kentucky to Nevada00:14:07 The Single Malt Rickhouse: Scotland, Barrels & Maturation00:26:12 The Distillery Campus00:27:54 The Bourbon/Rye Distillery00:39:51 The Single Malt Distillery00:51:00 The Tasting: Rye, Bourbon, Single Malt & Coffee Liqueur

Show Notes:

Inside Minden Mill Distillery with Master Distiller Joe O’Sullivan

Our visit to Minden Mill Distillery in Minden, Nevada, takes us well beyond the tasting room. Master Distiller Joe O’Sullivan joins us for a trip to the grain fields, a look inside two very different rickhouses, and a tour of the separate facilities used to make bourbon and rye and American single malt. Along the way, we talk about the land, the equipment, the barrels, and the people behind the whiskey before sitting down to taste the results.

00:00:00 — Introduction

We introduce Minden Mill and the features that drew us here: estate-grown grains, two distinct distilleries, and climate-controlled rickhouses inspired by Kentucky and Scotland. We’re joined by Master Distiller Joe O’Sullivan for a tour that follows the whiskey from its agricultural beginnings to the glass.

00:00:52 — The Ranch: Carson Valley Water, Grain & Terroir

Our conversation begins on the drive out, with a little of Joe’s background before we turn to the Carson Valley and the water that makes farming possible here. We reach the ranch around 00:04:25 and discuss the grains they grow, the challenges of working with oats, and why Joe finds rye such a compelling expression of the place where it’s grown.

00:08:38 — The Bourbon/Rye Rickhouse: Bringing Kentucky to Nevada

Stepping inside the bourbon and rye rickhouse, we immediately notice the change in humidity. We ask Joe how the Kentucky-inspired environment works, why Nevada’s dry climate presents such a challenge for aging whiskey, and what altitude might contribute. We also discuss barrel temperatures, thermal mass, and why the warehouse doesn’