For whiskey makers, flavor is everything. Subtle overtones and minute differences in the depth of flavors will make or break the taste of the whiskey and, therefore, the marketability of your product.  From woodsmoke to spices to peanut butter, the flavor profiles of your favorite whiskeys go through many different experimentation phases along the way to create the product that you love to sip neatly or add to your favorite cocktails.

At Harlem Standard, we like to make the old new again. Although we are certainly inspired by Prohibition ideologies and committed to re-creating these distilling and blending techniques to deliver you the most palatable whiskey around, we also use modern techniques to ensure a safe, high-quality beverage for our valued customers. We use the finest ingredients in our distilling and blending process, and we also ensure that our facility is certified to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, achieving an AA, which is the highest grade. With cleaner pots and serial distillation columns, we can create complex combinations and bring out the subtleties of flavors for our customers.

Building the Best Barrels

Nothing says smooth to whiskey drinkers more than the refined taste of Harlem Standard. With our distilling process and our charred American oak barrels, you will be drawn into our depth of flavors. We offer nothing but the best for our customers, distilling our whiskeys in Indiana, and blending and bottling them in Bardstown, Kentucky. We ensure that the entire process is safe, high-quality, and results in a flavorful, smooth experience for those lucky enough to drink Harlem Standard.

So why do we insist that our whiskey is aged in charred American oak barrels? As far back as the Roman Empire, oak became important to the process of aging whiskey. What began long ago as a simple container for keeping the whiskey that would be sturdy and leakproof turned out to affect the taste of the whiskey in intensive ways. The liquid began to take on the flavor of the barrel itself. In the case of American oak, it offered a hint of caramel, vanilla, and brown sugar. Charring the wood offers a slightly smoky finish and the taste sensation our Harlem Standard whiskey is known for.

In addition to the hints of caramel and vanilla, the charred oak acts as a filter to deal with the sulfur compounds as the distinctive taste of whiskey is created. Besides the flavor, the charred American oak also affects the color and gives Harlem Standard Whiskey our distinctive caramel coloring. The importance of charred American white oak when it comes to whiskey-making cannot be overstated.

Find Your Flavor

If you are looking for a premium blend, Harlem Standard Straight Bourbon Whiskey Four-Grain 111-Proof should be your go-to. Created with proprietary yeast and glacier water, our wheated bourbon ages for over 4 years in new charred American white oak barrels for a full-throttle taste. With hints of brown sugar, maple, and Allspice, expect a powerful taste with a long, smooth finish.

For those whiskey connoisseurs that appreciate a high rye, Harlem Standard Bourbon Whiskey 93-Proof offers a smooth, mellow spice along with the flavor of roasted nuts. Faint fruity notes and a vanilla bean finish is created over 4 years of aging in new charred American white oak barrels. If you need a bourbon to serve neat, this is your drink.

Our Harlem Standard American Straight Whiskey offers a higher-proof blend of light whiskey and rye bourbon. To create this distinctive taste, we age this over 3 years in used whiskey barrels, offering our discerning customers notes of citrus and honey maple. This straight whiskey will give you a slow, sweet burn.

When time is no object, Harlem Standard’s patience creates an amazing Harlem Standard Whiskey 7-Yr  101-Proof. With 95% wheat grain and aged for 7 years, our Speyside barrels offer a hint of vanilla and cream, which perfectly complements the charred wood. The power of this whiskey melds with the sweetness of the oak to create a taste that even the most discerning palate will appreciate.

The Future is Now

We don’t just stop with taste. We believe in our product and in the area of Harlem. A portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold will be donated to the Jazz Foundation of America’s Covid-19 Musician’s Emergency Fund.

With our commitment to making the past relevant, both in terms of the history of Harlem and the history of whiskey, we are committed to meshing the best that our history and our current technology have to offer to create a high-quality whiskey made from top-quality ingredients. With our new American charred white oak barrels and the best aging and distilling techniques, your taste buds will thank you for an intense, delicious experience.