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I’m always two minded when I hear things like this.

Because on the one hand I just think the resources, the logistics, it must be multi year, multi millions.

But on the other hand…It is quite cool.

Distilling whiskey on solid ground can be challenging enough, but doing it in an octopuses garden, in the shade?

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I also recently learned that the plural of octopus is octopodes. Bit weird. Anyway.

Distilling on a boat.

You stroke you chin (or beard if bearded), surely on a boat it’s difficult to control temperature? And the movements? Yet enter Jefferson’s Ocean bourbon, the brainchild of Trey Zoeller.

In 2012 they decided that the best place for aging whiskey wasn’t a farm in Kentucky but rather the wobbly ocean. Clearly, he looked at the meticulous science of whiskey-making and thought. nah

The idea behind Jefferson’s Ocean is simple: place barrels of bourbon on a ship in a random storage container, and then send them around the world, let em move. The climate variations do their magic.

According to Zoeller, “the constant motion and temperature fluctuations enhance the interaction between the whiskey and the wood, resulting in a flavour profile that’s as adventurous as its journey.” 

While traditional Scottish and American distillers might shudder at such unpredictability, Jefferson’s Ocean seemed to have found success. The movement of the ship forces the whiskey in and out of the charring in barrels more aggressively than stationary aging. I guess an analogy would be imagine watching washing in a washing machine get churned.

This creates a flavour that’s different from whisky on land. If a little briny. Of course, Jefferson’s Ocean isn’t the first experiment to shake up the whiskey world. 

Other distillers have toyed with the idea of movement and unconventional environments. Some have aged whiskey in sub-zero temperatures, while others have tried desert climates. Some we have investigated here on The Whisky Road like the Whisky aged in far away places like Space, or Australia. 

So, if you ever see a glass of Jefferson’s Ocean on a whiskey menu, just know that it is probably more well travelled than you and will taste nothing like the previous glass.

I wonder if pirates experienced similar results with their rum?