Painting the Stave Blue

Or: Distilling in Delaware Part Deux

For all 2 or 3 of you who read regularly, we’ve already reviewed the products from one Delaware distillery in Dogfish Head. Today, we road tripped up to check out an even more micro-Distillery in the bustling metropolis of Smyrna, DE.

Painted Stave Distilling is making waves that are pretty damn out-sized compared to their business. They hold the distinction of being Delaware’s first standalone craft distillery and they keep the focus local, working grain-to-glass with regional ingredients. Serving only their own products (by law, they’re not allowed to sell any others) and with a taco food truck on the grounds whenever they’re open, it’s a nice little cocktail bar/tasting room combo.

Found in 2011, they opened to the public in the winter of 2013. As with many distilleries they produce vodkas and gins early on and now have more aged products in the lineup. Their 750 mL offerings are considered for general distribution, while more experimental ones are sold in 375 mL size (for about the same price as the 750’s - scarcity means premium pricing). Their Rye won gold medals at the 2025 American Distilling Institute international spirits competition (Google that one- leads to a Forbes article on America’s best rye whiskeys, rarified air!). Their bourbon has also won awards. So…. how about the tasting?

The tasting room has a variety of seating with local artists products on display. The bar’s nice too, but I have a policy of no photos with people in them (I’d have to talk to strangers to ask permission to post and I’m not a good enough editor to just delete them…).

They have a lengthy menu of seasonally-shifting cocktails featuring their main product line and the more experimental ones as well. The most excellent deal to me is the 5 pours for 10$ of their spirits.

This lineup (left to right) is their Pot Still whiskey, Bourbon, Rye, Proximity whiskey and Double TroubleD whiskey.

Disclaimer: Currently have a gross sinus thing going on, so my nose is a mess and it’s probably impacting my taste too. Subtler things are never strong for me, but they’re entirely toast at the moment.

The pot still, first up, is done mostly in the Irish style. While the mashbill is predominantly barley, it also includes a bit of rye and smoked malt. It’s distilled twice in a hybrid pot still, and aged 2 years in former Rye barrels. I thought there was some toffee or caramel there, smooth if a tad oily. Not much finish. Decent, but not stopping the presses.

The bourbon… Honestly, didn’t get much from this. Whether it’s being sick or this just being more subtle and lighter than others, there wasn’t a hell of a lot of flavor to it for me.

The Rye, though, was notably more flavorful. The mild burn it gave was more what you’d get from a strong mint gum than ethanol burn, with a nice sweet underlying fruit. Not currently in the market for more ryes but if I were, this’d be on the to do list.

The last two were the stars of the stave for me.

Proximity is their 4 year single malt, taking its name from the company that prepared the barley. Proximity Malt, in Laurel Delaware, contributed 8 different malts for this expression. This one is a cocoa coffee bomb and it’s delightful. Easy drinking at 90 proof, the flavor is prominent and lasting. If it wasn’t going to be pretty scarce by nature, it’d be an excellent one for adding to your coffee. As is, preserve it to enjoy by itself. Some time, I’ll have to ask someone to pour a blind set for me with this, New Riff’s Winter Whiskey and Pokeno winter malt to see which chocolate reigns supreme.

Finally, Double TroubleD is basically the Painted Stave version of Rogue’s Deadguy (whiskey from a beer base). They took Fordham and Dominion Brewing (Dover, DE, of course) Double D Imperial IPA and distilled it. It was then aged in whiskey barrels for 5 years. At 94 proof, I believe this was the highest ABV of the set but also the oldest in wood. Technically it can’t be called “whiskey” on the label due to the presence of hops during the fermentation… but it’s whiskey.

It has a pretty malty nose and you definitely get the IPA influence on the flavor with grapefruit in particular showing up. Not a huge finish, but well worth your time - as you can see, it’s one of 2 that show up on my counter at home tonight.

100% though - if life brings you to Smyrna, DE, go by Painted Stave. Totally worth the trip.

Drinking While Writing: Widow Jane bourbon, Tequila Ocho cask finish. Damn. No offense to Painted Stave, but this is easily the best bottle that came home today. And still the only one of this expression that I’ve found.

Listening While Drinking: Usual Youtube ramblings, featuring a bunch of Seth Staton Watkins today.