In 2006, while drinking Scotch and barbecuing with mesquite scraps from our custom furniture company, Arroyo Design, we had a thought. Why couldn’t we malt barley over mesquite instead of peat, as they do in Scotland, for a single-malt whiskey with a flavor distinctive to the American Southwest?Unable to shake the concept of a Sonoran Desert single-malt, Stephen began learning how to malt barley and make whiskey, starting with a 5 gallon alembic pot-still from Portugal.
