Our Process
Agave spirits, shaped by the voyage
From the agave fields of Mexico to Canada's coast, oak barrels aboard Lady Hawk continue to mature throughout the passage, not simply transported at sea, but changed by wind, motion, and time.
THE OCEAN IS NOT THE BACKDROP. IT IS WHERE THE PROCESS LIVES.
Mariner's Spirit Supply Co.
Lady Hawk
From Mexico to Canada under sail
We begin in Mexico, working with producers to select exceptional agave spirits and the oak barrels that will carry them north.
The barrels are loaded aboard our restored tall ship Lady Hawk and sailed across the Pacific to Canada. They are not simply transported at sea. They continue to mature throughout the passage.
Inside the cargo hold, each barrel moves with the ship. The spirit is repeatedly washed across the oak as the vessel rolls and pitches through changing weather, temperature, and humidity. Rather than resting undisturbed in a climate-controlled warehouse, the contents remain in near-constant motion for the length of the voyage.
There is no simulated motion, accelerated laboratory process, or decorative maritime story added afterward. The voyage is real, the distance is real, and the barrels remain aboard for the passage. Every barrel crosses the Pacific under sail before it is bottled.
Maturation at sea
Why age spirits at sea?
The idea has precedent. Jefferson's Ocean carries bourbon on ocean voyages around the world. Tres Hombres has spent more than a decade carrying rum under sail and giving it a second maturation at sea.
These projects established that an ocean passage can become part of the maturation process. We are bringing that idea to agave spirits on a working sailing voyage across the Pacific.
What happens inside the barrel. Oak aging is an exchange between spirit, wood, time, and environment. At sea, the movement of the ship keeps the spirit moving across the interior of the barrel. Changes in temperature may also encourage the liquid to move into and out of the oak. We are not trying to make every barrel identical, each one will experience a particular route, season, cask, and set of conditions. The differences are part of the process, intentional.
From barrel to bottle
The voyage determines the release
The barrel, the voyage, and the final spirit will determine what each release becomes.
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Document
A process we intend to show
Every stage will be recorded, producers, spirits selected, barrels, loading, route, weather, and passage. When possible, samples will be taken before and after the voyage so the effects of the passage can be compared rather than merely claimed. The purpose is not to tell you what the ocean did. It is to show you.
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Arrival
Evaluated on arrival
When the ship returns to Canada, each barrel will be assessed individually. Some may be bottled as single-barrel releases. Others may be blended when doing so creates a superior final spirit. The finest and most distinctive results may be reserved for limited editions and Founders Circle only releases. Nothing will be forced into a fixed formula simply for consistency.
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Release
Bottled with its history intact
Every bottle will remain connected to the voyage that shaped it, producer, barrel, route, departure, arrival, and time spent at sea. Photography, video, and shipboard records will preserve the story behind the liquid. The result is more than a spirit with a maritime label. It is a spirit whose production includes an actual ocean passage.
Production at sea
The voyage is part of what we make
Most spirits finish their journey before transportation begins. Ours continue changing along the way.
We are using sail not only to move cargo, but to create the conditions under which the final product is made. Wind, oak, distance, motion, and time all become part of the process.
Founders Circle
Steer with us
Join with a contribution of $100 or more to secure your place before the first voyage. The finest and most distinctive results may be reserved for Founders Circle only releases.
- Priority access to limited releases and Founders-only editions
- Private dispatches from restoration through first crossing
- Harbour events, tastings, and opportunities to come aboard