Vanilla extract | Nougat | Caramel | Some heat

Goetze’s Old Fashioned Caramel Creams candy | Graham cracker | Underlying graininess | Slight astringency

Baking spices | Nutmeg | Vanilla custard | Long

Lost Lantern is located in Vergennes, Vermont. Founded by Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonsi, the company is an independent bottler who seeks out unique whiskeys from across the country. Often bottled as single casks, the company has now released whiskey from more than 30 distilleries in over 20 states.

Lost Lantern’s 2024 Summer of Bourbon collection includes 9 whiskeys originating from 12 different states. Lost Lantern 2024 Single Cask #12: Rock Town Arkansas Straight Bourbon is Lost Lantern’s first whiskey from Rock Town Distillery, which was founded in 2010 by Phil Brandon and is known as the the first legal distillery in Arkansas since Prohibition. Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, Rock Town Distillery creates grain to glass spirits using Arkansas grain, celebrating the farmers who grow it. Their spirits portfolio includes bourbon, rye, single malt, vodka, liqueur, gin, and moonshine.

I reviewed Rock Town Bottled in Bond Bourbon in 2021, and this release from Lost Lantern shares some similarities with it, though it deviates as well. Lost Lantern’s most prominent distinguishing attribute is the bourbon’s proof, which is over 17 points higher than Rock Town Distillery’s Bottled in Bond Bourbon. However, with the increase in proof, there is a fair amount of heat as expected and an ever present underlying graininess. This makes for a unique pour albeit still one that isn't completely dialed in. However, to Rock Down Distillery and Lost Lantern's credit, it's a whiskey that highlights the locally-grown Arkansas grains as a tenet of the bourbon’s flavor profile.  

Lost Lantern 2024 Single Cask #12: Rock Town Arkansas Straight Bourbon is a 200 bottle release.