Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski are co-founders of Lost Lantern Whiskey, an independent bottler for American whiskey. Independent bottlers have a long history in Scotch whisky, but in the United States they are rare. Through Lost Lantern, Nora and Adam’s mission is to discover and share whiskeys from around the country. The bottler was founded in 2018, and in 2020 released its first whiskey: American Vatted Malt Edition No 1, a blend of single malts from six American distilleries. Since then, Lost Lantern has bottled whiskeys from more than 20 distilleries. In 2023, Lost Lantern was named Independent Bottler of the Year at the global Icons
of Whisky.

 

Nora began her spirits journey as a salesperson at Astor Wine & Spirits in New York City, initially focusing on the company’s wine offerings. She was very quick promoted to sales manager, in which job she had to answer questions about everything sold in the store. It was an “amazing crash course in all things spirits”, Nora says, and also where she first fell in love with whiskey. Since then, her love and knowledge of whiskey has only grown. She is now general manager and head blender at Lost Lantern Whiskey.

 

Adam came to spirits via media: he was formerly as journalist for Newsweek, with an interest in cocktails (“think: fancy cocktail parties in a Brooklyn loft”). He jumped at the chance to start writing about the spirits business professionally when offered an editorial role at drinks trade magazine Market Watch. While there, Adam’s love of cocktails evolved into a particular love of and interest in whiskey. He began working for Whisky Advocate, writing about and reviewing global whiskies. It was this that led to the idea for Lost Lantern: a “Scotch-style independent bottler”, focused only on American whiskeys. Now, Adam is head of whiskey sourcing for the company.

 

Whisky #1

Lost Lantern

Gentle Giant Balcones Texas Single Malt

 

We’re big supporters of the emerging category of American single malt and this was a whiskey that we blended to show why. Since it’s made with refill casks, it’s more delicate than many of Balcones’ other offerings (and many American single malts in general), which is why we named it Gentle Giant. It tips its hat to the Scottish tradition while being uniquely Texan.

 

Whisky #2

The Notch

15 Years Old

 

Many people have never heard of the Notch (let alone gotten a chance to taste their whiskey) but it just might be our personal favourite American single malt. And we’re not alone! It has won World’s Best Small Batch Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards multiple years in a row. It’s distilled and aged on Nantucket so it is a true maritime whiskey and has a finesse and complexity to it, which would allow us long tasting sessions on a desert island!

 

Whisky #3

Bruichladdich

Octomore

 

These days, Nora primarily drinks heavily peated Scotch for fun. As head blender at Lost Lantern, she spends her days tasting and thinking about all styles of American whiskey. While there is peated American single malt, nothing is as peaty as the heavily peated Islay single malts, so they are a nice escape for her! And isn’t a desert island all about an escape? Adam also thinks that hot summer days are the perfect time for very smoky whiskies: the smoke cuts through the heat, like coffee on a hot day!

 

Whisky #4

Wild Turkey

Rare Breed

 

We celebrate great bourbon from all across the country, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a soft spot for Kentucky too. Adam is a huge Wild Turkey fan, and Rare Breed is a truly classic barrel-proof bourbon. It’s a perfect day-to-day sipper: warm, bright, bold, and emblematic of what makes bourbon great.

 

Whisky #5

Glenfarclas

Glenfarclas 105

 

Nora already brought our supply of peated Scotch, but we both are serious Scotch lovers, so Adam is throwing another one into the mix! Glenfarclas’ classic, traditional flavour profile has made it iconic for good reason, and we’d never get tired of it. The 105, being at cask strength, has that extra little punch you need to survive being stranded on a desert island!

 

Luxury item

Kindle

 

We’d both bring our Kindles. Adam generally prefers physical books, but you can’t argue with the prospect of unlimited book availability (assuming this is a desert island with Wi-Fi)! We’re both big readers and it would be a great way to keep our minds occupied.