Iron Horse Brewery and Moses Lake Distillery Collaborate on Something Not Irish and Not Whiskey
Any business holding a Brewer’s Notice knows better than to tangle with the Tax and Trade Bureau — the TTB, the federal agency that collects excise taxes on every drop of alcohol produced in this country and holds the power to end your business with the wave of a pen. That Notice is your golden ticket to legally make beer, wine, spirits, and any other kind of booze. Don’t mess with the Revenue Man. That’s the lesson here.
Keep that in mind as I tell you about Redacted Death, a collaboration between Iron Horse Brewery and Moses Lake Distillery that produced an alcoholic beverage that is definitely, officially, and emphatically not Irish Whiskey.
Every Whiskey Starts as Beer
Here’s something I find delightful: every whiskey begins its life as beer. A grain-based, fermented liquid — essentially beer — goes into the still, and what comes out the other side is the result of a process I can only describe as sorcery. I’m a beer guy. I don’t fully understand distillation. I accept it as magic and move on.
When Moses Lake Distillery decided to make liquor with Iron Horse Brewery, the obvious candidate was Irish Death, the brewery’s beloved flagship. Dark, rich, and full of character — surely the wizards at the distillery could do something extraordinary with it. So they did. They made Irish Death Whiskey.
Which is where things got complicated.
Don’t Cross the Peaky Blinders
Riley Schmit put it well on the Iron Horse Brewery blog, comparing the TTB to Tommy Shelby’s crew of gangsters in the popular TV series Peaky Blinders — people you really, truly do not want to cross. Beyond collecting federal excise taxes, the TTB protects consumers through product integrity, labeling accuracy, and fair competition. Calling the TTB mobsters or thugs might be hyperbole, but the TTB holds real power over a producer’s right to exist.
So, politely, do not mess with them.
As Riley explains, “We can’t call it Irish Death Whiskey. Kind of like you can’t just call any old sparkling wine ‘champagne’ unless it comes from the Champagne region of France. Or tequila; if it’s not from Mexico, you can’t put the word ‘tequila’ on the bottle. In the eyes of the booze cops, putting the word ‘Irish’ anywhere on this bottle of whiskey would be considered false advertising since it’s not an Irish whiskey.”
Fair enough — though I’ll note, as a brief tangent I’ll resist pursuing, that an India Pale Ale rarely comes from India, and a West Coast IPA is often brewed nowhere near the West Coast. But I’ll leave that alone. For now.
Anticipating the “Irish” problem, they landed on a workaround: Redacted Death Whiskey. It seemed like a modest proposal (Jonathan Swift fans will get that reference). Clever. Preemptive. They submitted the label to the TTB, feeling pretty good about themselves.
The TTB said no.
“Traditional whiskeys are made from three ingredients: water, cereal grains, and yeast,” Riley explained. “But to get the best flavor out of this particular whiskey, Moses Lake Distillery also utilized hops, which is not one of those three whiskey ingredients, and which made the TTB throw a fit and ask us to not call it a whiskey at all.”
A Mouthful of Something Not Called Whiskey
So the official, TTB-approved name is Redacted Death Distilled From Grains With Hops. Nice the way that just rolls off the tongue. A mouthful of something, not whiskey or Irish.
The Revenue Man has his name for it. The rest of us can ignore their reasoning entirely — that’s the beauty of not having a federal license on the line. I don’t have a Brewer’s Notice or a Distiller’s Notice hanging in the balance. So I’ll say it plainly, on behalf of those who can’t:
It’s Irish Death Whiskey. And it sounds delicious.
We will keep you posted and let you know how to get your hands on some of this not-Irish, not-Whiskey as soon as it’s available. Otherwise, follow Iron Horse Brewery on the socials.
Want us to share your news here on the Washington Beer Blog? Click here to learn how to reach us.
