In our family, whiskey is more than a craft—it is a lineage, a responsibility, and a promise passed from one generation to the next. For over two hundred years, every new distiller in our family has followed a sacred rite of passage: the creation of their first barrel, known as the death cask.

The death cask is unlike any other barrel. It is not made for profit, nor is it to be opened in celebration. Instead, it is set aside, never to be tasted by the hands that made it. It will rest in the rickhouse for decades, untouched by its creator, maturing in silence until the day it fulfills its purpose—to be shared at the distiller’s wake, among family, friends, and the next generation of craftsmen.

The tradition began long ago, though no one knows exactly when. Some say it was started as a test of patience and humility, a reminder that a true distiller does not make whiskey for themselves but for others. Others believe it was a way to leave behind a final mark, a spirit aged as long as life itself, to be sipped in remembrance of the one who made it. Whatever the origin, the practice remains, unchanged and unwavering.