The Buffalo Fiddich Distillery has introduced a new, limited edition super-premium whiskey known as Toe Stubbin' Whiskey to commemorate the Great Toe Stubbing of 2010. Master Distiller Harlen Miller explains:
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was walking through the warehouse, and someone had left a barrel right in the walkway. Well, I didn't see it and I just banged my big toe against it. I tell you, I've stubbed my toe before but this hurt something fierce. There was blood, the nail was broken, and worst of all, I thought we'd lost the whole cask. Well, after I put on a band aid, I sampled the whiskey, and it was terrific; I think the toe stubbing might have made the whiskey even better. That made me think of that old saying, "When life gives you lemons...make an expensive, limited edition whiskey." So that's exactly what we did. We thought about calling it the Toe Phoenix or Toe-r-nado, but in the end, we settled on Toe Stubbin' Whiskey. I really feel good about this. We took something that was a real tragedy and made something positive come out of it.
Toe Stubbin' Whiskey, a vatting of different barrels in the warehouse the day of the toe stubbing, will be available for $95 per bottle. As Miller says, "You're not only buying an expensive, limited edition whiskey, you're buying a piece of history."
The price is already $150 on the secondary market.
ReplyDeleteWhat?????
ReplyDeleteLet it be known that GlenMack West has plans to bottle a whiskey designed to perfectly recreate, from nose to finish, the historical legend that is Toe Stubbin'. It shall be called Miller's Crossing after the fateful warehouse stroll that resulted in the original release.
ReplyDeleteToe stubbing must be an occupational hazard around whiskey distilleries. On the Lynchburg tour of Jack Daniel's, they recount the story of how Jack bumped his toe on the safe in his office. He later died of complications from the injury. Let's hope Miller has a full recovery.
ReplyDeleteI read that each commemorative bottle will contain a lost toenail scavenged from the rickhouse floors, presumably lost due to similar accidents over the years. According to Harlen, the toenail in each bottle adds a savory note and complexity to the whiskey that they've been unable to duplicate in other trials. When whiskey enthusiasts critiqued the move as "disgusting" and "uncivilized," Harlen responded with "Don't worry, all dirt, grime, and bacteria are removed from the toenail during the 159 pass distillation process used to make Toe Stubbin Whiskey."
ReplyDelete