The name Tidewalker is mysterious enough. Google it and you’ll find very little about what it means. In an overactive imagination, it evokes some kind of ghostly wraith trudging upon the seas. But, in actuality, the crew of the Portland-based New England Distilling found this logging term to be the perfect moniker for their latest bourbon.

Ned Wight, owner and distiller of New England Distilling said the name for their new bourbon was named for an important element of Maine history.

“I think we were grilling out for lunch and had a couple of beers then just started brainstorming about what we’d want to name it,” he said. “It’s a logging term that refers to the logs and snags that would make it down river and sort of float around the inner tidal zone.”

Apart from their Gunpowder Rye whiskey, which also has the rugged outdoors attached to its name, Tidewalker has a nice, toasted corn character, with a lot of caramel, vanilla, maple syrup, and pitted fruit flavor, reminiscent of apricots. “Makes me a little thirsty just thinking about it,” said Wight. You can imagine this bottle being passed around an old logging camp after a long day on the river, while the camp cook hauls a cauldron of baked beans out of the fire pit.

“You know, it’s funny, when you think of bourbon, you think of Kentucky, or rural inland areas,” said Wight. “Here we are in Portland and a large character of bourbon is wood, so we wanted to tie the inland, water and wood together with a name that completely fits and I think Tidewalker does that. I don’t know what it is about that word, but it just resonates with people when they hear it.”

— Text: Kay Stephens. Kay loves beer and hiking and often combines the two. She is an author and an arts and entertainment freelance writer whose work has appeared in a number of Maine newspapers and magazines.