There's a new whiskey coming out of Los Angeles, and it's got a backstory stranger than most of what's sitting on the shelf at the liquor store. Filmland Spirits, the company that's built its whole brand around B-movie horror concepts and whiskey, is rolling out its first American Single Malt. It's called The Malted Mummy, and it's making its first public appearance at BrewzleFest on August 29, 2026.
What's Actually In The Bottle
This isn't some gimmick with nothing behind it. The Malted Mummy is an 86 proof Straight American Whiskey made from 100 percent malted barley. That's the defining feature of an American Single Malt — it has to be all malted barley, no exceptions, no cutting it with corn or rye like a lot of standard bourbons and whiskeys do.
Image credit: Filmland Spirits
The whiskey spent five years aging in Oak IPA Barrels. That detail matters more than it might seem at first glance. Barrels that previously held IPA beer carry hop character and other flavor compounds into the wood, and that gets passed along to whatever spirit ages in them next. It's a technique that's been picking up steam among craft distillers looking to give their whiskey something a little different than what comes out of a standard used bourbon barrel.
Troy Bolotnick, the founder and CEO of Filmland Spirits, explained where the barrels came from. "We procured these barrels from a distillery in Iowa several years ago, and after letting them age in Kentucky, we felt now was the time for The Malted Mummy to join the Filmland family," he said.
Why American Single Malt Is Having A Moment
If the name American Single Malt sounds unfamiliar, that's because it's a relatively new official category. For a long time, single malt whiskey was something people associated almost entirely with Scotland. That's changing fast, and Bolotnick pointed out just how fast.
"After years as a niche product, American Single Malt is the bright spot on whiskey shelves; it has been one of the fastest-growing categories of whiskey in the world for several years now and has great potential in the US," Bolotnick said.
The numbers back that up. The American Single Malt Whiskey Market was valued at USD 846.3 Million in 2025, and it's projected to climb to USD 1500 Million by 2035. That works out to a compound annual growth rate of 5.9 percent over that stretch. For anyone tracking the whiskey business, or just anyone who likes to know their favorite drink is only going to get more attention and more competition on the shelf, that's a serious growth curve.
The Company Behind The Bottle
Filmland Spirits isn't a brand-new operation. It launched back in 2022 with a pretty simple pitch: take whiskey seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously while you're making it. Every bottle they put out is tied to an original B-movie concept, complete with a custom bottle design and a label made to look like a movie poster. It's whiskey as storytelling, basically, and the company has leaned into that idea from day one.
It's not just theater, though. Filmland Spirits has a real blending team behind the operation, and every bourbon and rye they've released so far has picked up a Gold or Double Gold Medal at competition. So while the packaging and the horror-movie backstories grab attention first, the company is banking on the whiskey itself holding up once people actually taste it.
The Story Behind The Malted Mummy
Like every Filmland release, this one comes with its own mini horror movie built into the marketing. The Malted Mummy tells the story of Raiya, an Egyptian beauty killed in the grain fields by a jealous Queen. Thousands of years pass, and her spirit gets reanimated by a pour of whiskey. She ends up wandering the Midwest, chasing three things: her thirst, her lost beauty, and a love she lost long ago.
Filmland even put together a trailer for the release, treating the whiskey launch like a genuine movie premiere. It's the kind of over-the-top presentation that separates this company from the usual straightforward whiskey rollout, where a press release and a bottle shot is about as far as most brands go.
What It Actually Tastes Like
Setting aside the mummy mythology for a second, here's what people can expect when they actually pour a glass. On the nose, The Malted Mummy comes across as aromatic and sweet, with a scent that calls to mind sugar cookies. That's a fairly approachable, comforting note for a whiskey to lead with.
On the tongue, things shift a bit. Lemon zest and honey come through, giving it some brightness against that initial sweetness. Then comes the finish, and it's described as long and enveloping, layering in notes of sourdough, leather, and smoke. That's a pretty wide flavor range for one whiskey to cover, going from sweet and bright up front to something deeper and more savory on the back end.
Bolotnick credited the barrel aging for a lot of that character. "The years spent in the Oak IPA Barrels have added slightly sweet honey notes that bourbon fans will enjoy," he said. That's a notable comment, since it suggests Filmland is hoping this single malt will appeal to bourbon drinkers who might not normally reach for something outside their usual category.
Why BrewzleFest Specifically
The choice to debut this whiskey at BrewzleFest wasn't random. Bolotnick made clear that the relationship between Filmland Spirits and the Brewzle community goes back a while, and this launch is partly a thank-you.
"The Brewzle community has been very supportive of us, so we are excited to give them the first sip," Bolotnick said.
For anyone who follows the craft beverage scene, Brewzle has built a loyal following around beer and spirits content, and BrewzleFest is where that community gets to gather in person. Giving them first access to a limited release like this is a way of rewarding the people who've already been paying attention to the brand.
Where To Find It And What It Costs
The Malted Mummy is a limited-edition release, so it's not going to be sitting on shelves indefinitely. It'll be available in retail stores across 19 states, along with an online option for anyone outside that footprint. The suggested retail price is set at $74.99.
Given that it's a five-year-aged American Single Malt with a fairly involved barrel-aging process behind it, that price puts it in the same conversation as a lot of other premium and craft whiskey releases currently on the market. Anyone interested in trying it before it's gone will want to keep an eye on both retail availability and the online store, since limited releases like this tend to move fast once word gets around.
For more details on The Malted Mummy or the rest of the Filmland Spirits lineup, the company's full catalog and information is available at their official website.
