Adam Polonski

“Sustainability in Rectifying”

Adam “Apolon” Polonski knew early on that he would always be chasing something. He was born into the literal upstate definition of suburbia, quiet and safe with maple-lined streets. He spent Saturday afternoons reading whiskey books and sneaking nips from his parents’ liquor shelf when he thought no one was watching, and from these, he took notes. Young Adam, even then, gravitated naturally toward both writing and spirits. Once in college, he majored in English literature but also moonlighted reading every whiskey magazine he could find, flying through tasting columns and cask reports late into the night. After graduation, he quite naturally landed a position as a junior editor at Whisky Advocate, publishing tasting reviews, interviewing distillers, and following the subtle arc of flavor lines across old barrels. Over time, he became a Senior Whisky Specialist, his reputation growing among distillers, connoisseurs, and publishers.

In 2014, Adam connected online with Nora Ganley‑Roper, a spirited woman who worked in wine and spirits retail in New York City. They bonded instantly over tasting notes and the argument of whether peat or mesquite smoke could be blended. Their courtship unfolded across tasting flights in countless bars, shared travel to distilleries, and late-night talks of founding a rectifying/blending and bottling business of their own. By 2018, the idea could no longer stay cooped up in their heads. They scaled back their prior roles and embarked on an audacious eight‑month “Great Whiskey Road Trip” across the United States, visiting some fifty distilleries. They slept in Airbnbs, and sometimes in their car; they drove across dust-blown plains, up mountain passes, and through humid river towns. In distillery tasting rooms and in back offices, they spoke with founders, distillers, and rectifiers; they also sampled barrels and negotiated terms. The road trip had a dual purpose: it was both reconnaissance and emotional baptism. In the end, they had also secured contracts to purchase and bottle Estate-Grown bourbons from about 15 different distillers, including Far North Distillery of Hallock, Minnesota; Frey Ranch of Fallon, Nevada; DeKalb, Illinois’ Whiskey Acres; and Atwater, California’s Corbin Cash.

By the journey’s finale, Nora and Adam had also made firm commitments to one another and to a new vision. They decided to settle in Vermont, close to where Nora grew up, in the hamlet of Vergennes. There, they relatively quickly raised a seed round of $1 million to build their operation. Finally, they formally founded Lost Lantern Independent Bottlers in 2018, with their first product coming to market in 2020. At their backyard wedding in 2020, the first samples of Lost Lantern whiskey were uncorked, not as a gimmick, but as a promise. Their marriage ceremony had been much like their plans for Lost Lantern: sustainable, intimate, and filled with whiskey lovers who understand the alchemy of grains and oak and time.

At Lost Lantern, they blend, bottle, and curate whiskeys under their own label. Adam states that they “never plan to be a distiller” and that their operations are rooted in the Scottish tradition of independent bottling. As such, their facility houses blending, bottling, and barrel storage, but not a distillation plant. They opened a tasting room in Vergennes in autumn 2023, giving locals a chance to sample rare blends and to meet Nora and Adam face-to-face. Since then, there have also been tremendous successes. Lost Lantern Whiskey has now released more than 40 whiskeys, blends from two dozen distilleries, while racking up the accolades. Adam has been featured in prominent media outlets, including The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes, and Seven Days, along with Distillery reviews from Wine Enthusiast, Breaking Bourbon, and others. Lost Lantern also won Double Golds and Best of Class medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the John Barleycorn Awards, and the World Whiskies Awards. Perhaps most gratifying was Lost Lantern being named the 2023 Independent Bottler of the Year for the entire world at the Icons of Whisky Awards Gala in London in March of 2023. Though Apolon had prior commitments, Nora made the trek to Britain to accept the award in person, with luminaries from all across the whiskey world cheering on the tiny Vermont-based operation.

Now 39 years old, Adam’s influence also reached beyond Lost Lantern. He joined the board of the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA), playing a strange role for a man who is not a distiller; nevertheless, he offers perspective as a buyer, blender, connoisseur, and connector. Through that role, he works to advance market access for small distillers, increase media visibility, and help distillers collaborate more effectively. He is also committed to sustainability practices. Explains Polonski, ”Whiskey is a business that's fundamentally rooted in agriculture, utterly dependent on clean water, and heavily affected by local climate. The distilleries we work with embrace this, and many seek to use their business as a force for change. We find if even one distillery has developed a new way to conserve water, reduce waste, support local regenerative agriculture, or has developed other innovations in sustainability, hundreds of other distilleries across the country are still struggling with those same problems without realizing that real, workable solutions are out there.”

Adam’s success proves that great whiskey doesn’t have to come at the expense of the earth. In just a few short years, Lost Lantern has become a model for how tradition and innovation can thrive together. As awards continue to pour in, so too does his hope that sustainability could become the true spirit of the industry.

Sources:

  1. American Whiskey Magazine, “Interview: Lost Lantern,” Phoebe Carter, August 1, 2022

  2. Vermont Biz, “Lost Lantern Spirits Completes $1 million Fundraising Round,” May 3, 2022

  3. Seven Days Magazine, “Lost Lantern Aims…”, Anne Wallace Allen, August 23, 2022

  4. American Craft Spirits Association, americancraftspirits.org, August 2024

  5. University of Vermont, “Sustainable Innovation MBA Alum…”, Sharon Harper, April 21, 2023

Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee