Widow Jane (750ml/¥15,000), a hotly anticipated whiskey in the United States that won a Double Gold Award at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards (SWSC), a global whiskey competition, will be making its Japan debut this fall.
SWSC is America's largest international spirits competition, and is selected through blind tastings by a diverse panel of judges, including American hoteliers, restauranteurs, buyers, and journalists. Past winners include The Macallan Fine Oak 17 Year Old, Yamazaki 18 Year Old, and Hakushu 18 Year Old. Widow Jane won a Double Gold Award at the awards in 2012 and is now sold in over 1,600 restaurants and bars in New York alone.
The whiskey was created by Daniel Prieto, founder of Cacao Prieto, a farm-to-bar chocolate brand based in Brooklyn, New York. Fascinated by the beautiful waters of the Weedow Jane Mine in upstate New York, nearby where he spent his childhood, Daniel Prieto pursued thorough whiskey research and pursued his goal of creating a New York-made spirit worthy of the mineral. The Weedow Jane Mine produced limestone, the raw material for the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State Building. Most of the mine closed in the 1900s, leaving behind pristine rainwater for nearly 100 years, leaving behind beautiful water refined by the limestone. The spring water, rich in calcium and magnesium, was discovered to be ideal for whiskey-making. In addition to the mine water, Daniel Prieto also meticulously cultivated the heirloom corn organically, developed a specialized still, and even bottling techniques to create a truly authentic New York whiskey. The whiskey was aged in American oak barrels for eight years, resulting in a pale amber color and fruity aroma reminiscent of a 20-year-old whiskey.