Gemini I and II
Gemini I & II
A Dual Release · Two States · Two Finishes · One Question
Same mashbill. Different origins. Different finishes. Gemini started as an experiment in parallel—take two 95/5 ryes from different states and see how the same question gets answered differently depending on where the whiskey came from and what wood it meets.
Gemini I — Indiana 95/5
Gemini I starts with Indiana-sourced 95/5 rye—the same foundation as Batch 1, a mashbill we know well. But the finishing program is different. We ran this rye through a progression of three wood types: Mizunara oak, 48-month seasoned American oak, and ex-rye barrels.
The result is our most layered expression. The Mizunara contributes its signature sandalwood and coconut. The long-seasoned American oak adds richness and vanilla depth without the harsh tannins that come from younger wood. The ex-rye barrels reinforce the grain character rather than masking it.
Where Batch 1 was about discovering what finishing could do, Gemini I is about controlled complexity—multiple wood influences working together rather than competing. It’s more deliberate. More calibrated. And arguably, more complete.
Gemini II — Kentucky 95/5
Gemini II takes a different path. Same 95/5 mashbill, but sourced from Kentucky instead of Indiana, and finished exclusively in Mizunara oak. No progression. No multiple wood types. Just one rye and one barrel, left to have their conversation.
The Kentucky 95/5 has a different temperament than its Indiana counterpart—a bit more grain-forward, with different fruit and spice characteristics that emerged during initial aging. When that profile meets Mizunara on its own, without other wood types mediating the interaction, the result is darker, more intense, and more oak-forward than Gemini I.
That surprised us. We expected the single-wood finish to be simpler. Instead, it turned out to be more concentrated. Where Gemini I spreads its complexity across multiple influences, Gemini II channels everything through one. Different approach, different result, same underlying curiosity.
The Experiment
Gemini was designed to be tasted together. Not because one is better than the other, but because comparing them side by side reveals something about how much the variables matter in whiskey production.
Same mashbill. Different states. Different finishing programs. When you line them up, you start to see how the origin of the base spirit shapes everything that follows—and how the choice of finishing wood amplifies or redirects what was already there.
We didn’t set out to prove which approach is superior. We set out to show that two expressions of the same mashbill, treated differently, can arrive at genuinely distinct destinations. That’s interesting to us. We think it’ll be interesting to you too.