By Randall H. Borkus Rating: B+ On my recent visit to Leiper’s Fork Distillery, I had the good fortune to meet Sir Paul Bisset, Director of Tour Guides and Brand Ambassador, and pick up a bottle of their 7-year-old Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey. Paul Bisset was gracious host, as well as an entertaining guy that had us …
By Randall H. Borkus
Rating: B+
Leiper’s Fork 7 Year Old Bottled in Bond Rye (Credit: Randall H. Borkus)
On my recent visit to Leiper’s Fork Distillery, I had the good fortune to meet Sir Paul Bisset, Director of Tour Guides and Brand Ambassador, and pick up a bottle of their 7-year-old Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey. Paul Bisset was gracious host, as well as an entertaining guy that had us rolling in laughter.
Leiper’s Fork Distillery is a craft distillery in Williamson County, Tennessee, producing 25,000 gallons annually on their pot stills. Operating on that scale gives them greater attention to detail and flexibility, and they filled their first barrel in the Spring of 2016. The distillery is housed in a beautiful log cabin style building that makes for a great visitor’s environment. Their whiskey is made using the sweet mash process (no backset; each batch starts from scratch), and they have a somewhat low barrel entry proof of 110.
My bottle of rye whiskey is from Batch #01 at the mandated bonded strength of 100 proof. The whiskey is 7 years old, with a mash bill of 55% rye, 30% corn and 15% barley malt.
The Whiskey The whiskey was incredibly dark in my Glencairn. The nose bursts with a candied grassy-herbal essence leading to hints of creamy caramel, molasses, prunes, nutmeg, cinnamon, and oak. The palate is chewy and full of rye grass, raisins, vanilla pudding, nutmeg, minty mocha, cinnamon spice and more oak overtones. The finish is long with complex flavors of a minty brown sugar, baking spice and oak dryness melded together.
I really enjoyed imbibing this 7-Year-Old Rye Whiskey. It drinks smooth, complex and chewy. The corn and malted barley grain influences in the whiskey truly makes for a unique flavor profile. It is a terrific rye whiskey.
The Price The retail price at the distillery was $89.00 and they sold out of the 7-Year-Old Rye Whiskey. I did see a couple of bottles on shelves in Tennessee during my travels!
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Waterford Distillery’s Singe Farm Origin series of single malt whiskeys solves a particular problem facing any new whiskey distillery, but especially one in Ireland and Scotland: how to get spirits on the market without waiting several years or even more than a decade. The distillery began when Mark Reynier, the …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B
Waterford Dunmore 1.1 Irish Single Malt (Credit: Richard Thomas)
Waterford Distillery’s Singe Farm Origin series of single malt whiskeys solves a particular problem facing any new whiskey distillery, but especially one in Ireland and Scotland: how to get spirits on the market without waiting several years or even more than a decade. The distillery began when Mark Reynier, the man behind the re-establishment of Bruichladdich on Islay, bought a shuttered Guinness brewery in Waterford, Ireland. Using repurposed stills from Inverleven in Scotland (these were replaced with new-build stills in 2021), Waterford had its first batch of Single Farm Origin whiskeys on the market in 2020. However, malts with age statements are rarely released at less than eight years old.
So as with Bruichladdich’s new malts, the decision was made to thematically focus on the barley. The virtue of a young whiskey is that it is more grain-forward, with wood and maturation playing less of a role.
Dunmore is in County Galway and hosts John Tynan’s farm. That farm grew Irina variety of barley, which was fermented for a prolonged 6 1/2 days, matured for 3 years, 11 months and 17 days in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels, new American oak casks and new French oak casks. before bottling at 50% ABV. The latter point should be a winning one for Americans, since that puts it on par with bottled in bond whiskeys.
The Whiskey The pour has the look of pale gold. The nose led with fresh cut hay, vanilla and lemon zest, but that followed hard by a wave of oaky spices. The palate flips things up somewhat, with lemon zest and clove leading, and an oatmeal and vanilla flavor following up behind. That turns into pepper, ginger and lemon on the finish.
The Price This was a later release from 2020, and even with a production run of 13,000 bottles, examples are thinning on the ground. The good news is that although it is officially priced at $95, a sampling of online retailers revealed an average price of $84.
By Richard Thomas Rating: B O’Shaughnessy Distilling Company has certainly stirred up much buzz since getting started. While many new American distillers have procured the services of a master distiller from a big whiskey company, those are usually 1) retired and starting a second career as a consultant; and 2) American. Poaching such a person …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B
Keeper’s Heart Irish + Bourbon (Credit: Richard Thomas)
O’Shaughnessy Distilling Company has certainly stirred up much buzz since getting started. While many new American distillers have procured the services of a master distiller from a big whiskey company, those are usually 1) retired and starting a second career as a consultant; and 2) American. Poaching such a person away from a major foreign company is unheard of, but that is exactly what O’Shaugnessy did when they acquired the services of Brian Nation. Previously the Master Distiller for New Midleton, Nation had spent almost 23 years working for Irish Distillers, 7 1/2 of them as Master Distiller. He had spent a decade under the tutelage of the legendary Barry Crockett, so his departure for Minnesota caused quite the stir.
Actually, there has been a bit of a migration from Irish Distillers to O’Shaughnessy. Those of us who travel in whiskey circles have grown very fond of Ger Garland, a real gent and former brand ambassador manager at Irish Distillers. He has since moved over to O’Shaughnessy as well, and has made such an impression at the new job that I heard tourists at Town Branch Distillery in Lexington singing his praises.
The brand best associated with this very Irish crew up in Minnesota is Keeper’s Heart. That brand is best known for importing Irish Whiskey, either for sale as such or for blending with American-made whiskeys. This kind of international hybrid is a thing, but not a common one. Probably the best known example are Virginia Distilling Company’s hybrids of Scotch Whisky with their in-house malts.
The Keeper’s Heart Irish + Bourbon is a 92 proof blend of a four year old-plus single pot still whiskey, a four year old-plus grain whiskey and a four year old-plus bourbon, all sourced. That sourcing is undisclosed, but MGP is a good guess for the bourbon, since they have stock with the 75% corn mash bill. As for the Irish whiskeys, you can count on one hand the number of options for the grain whiskey and single pot still whiskey, and you don’t need all your fingers to do it.
The Whiskey Reflecting what has been blended into this hybrid, the pour has a dull gold coloring. The nose is light, but fragrant, and smacks of caramel, malty honey and a touch of non-descript citrus. On the palate, the caramel and honey pick up a nutty note, with some traces of cookie spices and garden herbs in the background. The finish opens with a quick wave of leaf tobacco spilling out, followed hard a fast by the cookie spices, oak and a little cocoa.
For the most part, Keeper’s Heart Irish + Bourbon is a tasty, if simple whiskey. Where things get interesting is on the finish, which closes the show in style. What makes the bottle a winner and something all fans of whiskey from around the world and/or hybrids should acquire, however, is the price tag. See below.
The Price Keeper’s Heart Irish + Bourbon goes for $35 a bottle. It’s a serious bargain.
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ Bourbon barrel coffee has been a thing for several years now, which suited bourbon-lovers cum coffee drinkers just fine. The problem with that bad, watery coffee turned my palate off so badly when I was younger that I’ve never been able to overcome the “ick” ever since. I find coffee …
Bourbon barrel coffee has been a thing for several years now, which suited bourbon-lovers cum coffee drinkers just fine. The problem with that bad, watery coffee turned my palate off so badly when I was younger that I’ve never been able to overcome the “ick” ever since. I find coffee notes in things like beer and ice cream are fine, but I detest the real thing. Almost by default, I became a tea drinker, and with my predilections I became the kind of tea nut who made a point of going to places like Darjeeling and the Cameron Highlands.
The Tea I found my brew to have a solid current of smoke, coupled to a balanced pairing of a floral note and stone fruit sweetness. It’s the sort of thing a fan of smoky whiskeys should enjoy, especially if they have discovered an especial love for the recently emerged practice of American single malt smoked using peat from the Pacific Northwest.
The Price A 30g package costs $38.50, or $2.89/cup.
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ As Wilderness Trail co-founders Shane Baker and Pat Heist have declared many times, they were both huge bourbon nerds before embarking on making their own whiskey. Like many bourbon nerds, they had a fixation on wheated bourbon. On top of that, Baker’s grandmother was once employed at that temple of …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B+
Wilderness Trail Bottled in Bond Rye Bourbon (Credit: Richard Thomas)
As Wilderness Trail co-founders Shane Baker and Pat Heist have declared many times, they were both huge bourbon nerds before embarking on making their own whiskey. Like many bourbon nerds, they had a fixation on wheated bourbon. On top of that, Baker’s grandmother was once employed at that temple of wheated bourbon, the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. So, the pair had their sights squarely set on making a low corn wheated bourbon.
Yet that wasn’t the only whiskey they wanted to make. The pair flipped their 64% corn, 24% wheat, 12% malted barley mash bill and simply substituted rye for wheat. The result was a low corn, but otherwise traditional bourbon mash bill, distilled to 134 proof and aged in extra seasoned, #4 alligator char barrels. Wilderness Trail’s releases are centered on bonding, so they are 100 proof and four to five years old.
A tricky thing is distinguishing between the wheated and rye versions of the bourbons, since they don’t state that on the label in the clearest fashion. Looking at this picture, you can see the black stripe across the bottom half, where it says bourbon whiskey. The black indicates it is the rye bourbon. The wheated version has a, well, wheat/gold-colored strip.
The Bourbon This pour turns middle-amber/bronze in the glass, while the scent leads with notes of spearmint and wet grass. Further nosings brings out dual currents of candy corn and caramel with cinnamon, that backdrop being as spicy as it is sweet. On the palate, all those elements bar the grass come together, with the spearmint and cinnamon joining into a predominately spicy flavor. The funny thing about that is I found this bourbon actually spicier than the Wilderness Trail Rye, with the finish turning peppery, so go figure.
This whiskey is often labeled as a high rye, a designation I disagree with, since some bourbons have over 30% rye content in the mash. It’s a designation that needs better definition, but all the same this is a spicy bourbon, and spicy without being dry at that. It’s another example of Wilderness Trail showing off their expertise.
The Price The official price on a bottle of this bourbon is $60, while a survey of online retailers places market pricing between $55 and $65.
By Richard Thomas Rating: B Up in St. Paul, Minnesota, three guys teamed up to open a gastropub style micro-distillery, King Coil Spirits. The collective story of Matthew Lange, Matthew Zanetti and Jeremy Maynor is a pretty familiar one to those who know the craft spirits scene. Zanetti is a businessman, and after two decades …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B
King Coil Spirits Peaty Poitin-Style Whiskey (Credit: Richard Thomas)
Up in St. Paul, Minnesota, three guys teamed up to open a gastropub style micro-distillery, King Coil Spirits. The collective story of Matthew Lange, Matthew Zanetti and Jeremy Maynor is a pretty familiar one to those who know the craft spirits scene. Zanetti is a businessman, and after two decades in real estate and construction started a craft brewery in 2013. Maynor also comes from a white collar, business background. Zanetti brought in Lange, who was his brewmaster. Seeing white collar, ex-corporate and business types start a craft distillery is a familiar story, as is drawing on brewing know-how to make whiskey.
King Coil, with its mid-century modern sense of style, has a rye and bourbon whiskey in its inventory, but more interesting is their Poitin-style peaty whiskey. Poitin is basically Irish moonshine, and as a malt whiskey double distilled on a hybrid still using just the pot, this stuff is quite similar to the original. The white whiskey/legal moonshine thing became moribund several years ago, so it’s nice to see King Coil pick it back up and put an interesting twist on it. It’s bottled at 90 proof.
The Whiskey The pour is almost clear. There is just a hint of yellow-green in the liquid; shifting the angle on the glass tends to bring it out a little more distinctly. The nose comes across strongly as malt whiskey new make, and a grassy, oily malt new make at that. What is absent is any hint of the peaty part.
A sip changes all that. A plume of herbal smoke comes up first, followed by a little honey and a little all-spice. The taste concludes with a moderate, smoky finish.
This whiskey is surprisingly good. It is very simple stuff, but not as rough around the edges as most barely matured whiskeys, and in being simple it’s elements are clear. If you like a smoky whisky, it’s worth checking out for its plainer virtues. The thing about simplicity is that its hard to argue you’ve ruined the thing by putting it on the rocks or mixing it up into a highball.
The Price No pricing information was offered, but the Peaty Poitin is available at the distillery and some area retailers.
By Richard Thomas Rating: C Port and bourbon are one of those pairings that, when right, can be an absolute home run. Something that elevates the sweetness while controlling that sweetness through tannin and oak, being an easy drinker without veering into dessert whiskey. More often than not, however, the two are used somewhat haphazardly …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: C
Ezra Brooks 99 Port Cask Bourbon (Credit: Lux Row)
Port and bourbon are one of those pairings that, when right, can be an absolute home run. Something that elevates the sweetness while controlling that sweetness through tannin and oak, being an easy drinker without veering into dessert whiskey. More often than not, however, the two are used somewhat haphazardly – maybe the finishing is too short or too long, or the bourbon isn’t strong enough to punch through what can be a heavy fask influence.
In the Ezra Brooks 99 Port Cask Finished Bourbon, I see intent to balance the two flavors and have them be more than two ships in the glass. Having had numerous Ezra Brooks releases in the past, I would never characterize the brand as low on flavor. Whether I like that flavor is a different measure, but it’s never lacking.
This pour, though, feels…restrained? Perhaps too restrained. The flavors are good. They are so tenuous, from nose to finish, that I struggle to identify them. When they do come through, the delicacy is evident. Lux Row took Ezra Brooks bourbon and finished it in port casks for 18 months. 18 months is hardly a flash finish: it’s meant to either impart lots of port character, or they’re dealing with exhausted port casks that need 18 months to do what fresh ones would do in 3-6. The whiskey does have a gentle garnet hue, demonstrating enough port presence to still give color, so I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they wanted lots of port character.
Upon first sniff and sip, all that came to me were light fruity notes – we’re talking grape flesh, where the fruit is so high in water content that the flavor itself is barely noticeable. You know it’s a fruit from the sweetness and tartness, but it’s the difference between fresh grapes and grape juice. Same source, but you wouldn’t confuse one for the other.
After 18 months of port influence and despite the moderate coloring, this falls far short of the flavor explosion I’m expecting. Nothing about it tastes bad – it tastes like the flavor has been leached out, leaving the expected oak and heat at 99 proof and several years old without the flavors that ostensibly Lux Row worked so hard to build.
On a side note, I think it unavoidable to compare this to Angel’s Envy. Another port-finished bourbon (the first, arguably), that to me tastes hotter and less port-y than I’d like it to. At similar proofs and prices, the Ezra Brooks is a fair alternative. It doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself or wrest the crown, though, meaning people who enjoy Angel’s Envy likely won’t consider switching (and those who don’t like Angel’s Envy may not take the chance on the Ezra).
As there’s nothing obviously wrong with this whiskey, I can’t fault it; neither can I say I’ll be buying a bottle. Whatever happened in the process where an 18-month port finish leads to less flavor in a bourbon…well, something went off.
The Bourbon In a Glencairn, golden blossom honey with medium rims sloughing into drops with no legs. Nose is red grapes, light but fresh. Tight nose, hard to pull a lot out. Light baking spices, stronger clove notes with air (but not by much). Darker fruits like plums seem to want to come out but lack the strength.
The palate is surprisingly light on flavor, especially with 18 months of port. Baking spice from the bourbon still hits the tip and front third of my tongue. Dark-skinned but light-fleshed fruits continue to define this. Mouthfeel is – you guessed it – light, piquant, grape and watermelon candies add late sweetness on top of the peppery attack on my tongue. Finish is fleeting, sweet and just a bit fruity, like how your mouth would feel five minutes after finishing your sangria. Light to the end, baking spices slowly dying down.
The Price Ezra Brooks 99 Port Finished Bourbon is priced at $35, but it is listed with some online retailers for as little as $25.
Negociant Lost Lantern Went All Mid-Western Whiskey For Its Spring 2024 Collection. We’ve Round The Entire Batch Up. By Randall H. Borkus Lost Lantern, the independent bottler of sourced whiskeys founded by a former Sales Manager at Astor Wine & Spirits (Nora Ganley-Roper) and a former whisky writer (Adam Polonski) usually presents its single cask …
Negociant Lost Lantern Went All Mid-Western Whiskey For Its Spring 2024 Collection. We’ve Round The Entire Batch Up.
By Randall H. Borkus
Lost Lantern’s 2024 Mid-West Collection (Credit: Lost Lantern)
Lost Lantern, the independent bottler of sourced whiskeys founded by a former Sales Manager at Astor Wine & Spirits (Nora Ganley-Roper) and a former whisky writer (Adam Polonski) usually presents its single cask collections as diverse representations of America’s small distillery sector. For Spring 2024, they took a different turn, and for the first time released a regionally focused collection. This first use of the regional theme is centered on the Mid-West.
“The Midwest is one of the most exciting and dynamic whiskey regions in the United States, yet it’s one that whiskey drinkers often overlook,” says Lost Lantern Co-Founder Nora Ganley-Roper. “Other regions like the Pacific Northwest and Texas may have a higher profile, but distilleries across the Midwest are making truly wonderful, world-class whiskies. This is especially true for bourbon and rye, and we’ve found that many of the best whiskies of the Midwest exhibit a complex yet soft and creamy character. Lost Lantern’s Midwest Collection is designed to showcase some of these whiskies and help whiskey lovers explore a region that has truly come into its own.”
Lost Lantern’s new Spring Collection celebrates seven distinct bottlings, each highlighting what makes whiskey from the Midwest so fascinating: Far-Flung Rye (a multi-distillery blend of rye whiskies from across the Midwest) and six single casks from distilleries across the region. The Collection features the return of three previous Lost Lantern partners—Starlight Distillery (IN), Cedar Ridge (IA), and Tom’s Foolery (OH), as well as three new distillery partners: Wollersheim Distillery (WI), FEW Spirits (IL), and Middle West Spirits (OH).
The Midwest collection is available for purchase at the new Lost Lantern Tasting Room in Vergennes, VT, and online at LostLanternWhiskey.com and Seelbachs.com beginning March 27, 2024. It will also be available at select retailers in New York and California. This collection is presented at cask strength, non-chill-filtered, and with no color added.
These are my notes on the entire collection, starting with Lost Lantern’s own regional blend.
Far-Flung Rye: 4 years old, 121.6 Proof (486 bottles) $100
Rating: B+
This special Midwest release brings together a blend of straight rye whiskeys from four to nine years old, from five distilleries in the region: Cedar Ridge (IA), Middle West Spirits (OH), Starlight Distillery (IN), Tom’s Foolery Distillery (OH), and Wollersheim Distillery (WI).
The color is medium dark copper brown. The nose is spicy, sweet and grassy. The palate has a spicy and rich chocolate covered berry. The finish is complex with sweet berry mush pie, rich cinnamon glaze that last a long time. The whiskey is a rye full and complex, and it would make a great addition to any bar top.
Cedar Ridge Iowa Straight Wheat Single Cask: 6 years old, 123.1 Proof, (203 bottles) $90
Rating: C+
Cedar Ridge in Swisher, Iowa has been owned by the Quint family as a farm for decades, and in recent years they’ve been making wine and then distilling spirits. This wheat whiskey is made from 100% malted white winter wheat that was aged for 6 years in a 53-gallon barrel.
The whiskey color is similar to a medium dark scotch. The nose is sweet and spicy with notes of a dull vanilla and a touch of fruit. The front and mid-palate are warm with hints of cinnamon ginger and Cardamom. The finish is somewhat flat with a hint of spice and vanilla essence. It’s a nice whiskey, but drinks young, wanting for more time in the barrel.
Starlight Distillery Indiana Straight Bourbon Single Cask: 6 years old, 118.7 Proof, (132 bottles) $90
Rating: B+
Starlight Distillery is part of Huber’s Orchard & Winery, which has been an Indiana institution since 1843. This straight bourbon whiskey was aged in a 53-gallon barrel for 6 years, including two years in Vermont. The mash bill is 60% corn, 20% malted barley, 10% rye, and 10% wheat.
The whiskey color is a dark reddish amber. The nose jumps right out at me with sewed farm fruits and caramel cream. The front and mid-palate are juicy with notes of mocha, more caramel, nutmeg and hints of juicy fruit gum. The finish is bold, complex, and spicy with a long juicy fruit finish. This is a solid, enjoyable bourbon that I would like to add to my bar.
FEW Spirits Illinois Straight Bourbon Single Cask: 5 years old, 124.6 Proof, (200 bottles) $90
Rating: C-
In February 2022, Heaven Hill Brands acquired FEW Spirits as part of its buy-out of Samson & Surrey. FEW has been creating grain-to-glass whiskies since 2011 from its urban setting in Evanston, Illinois, just outside Chicago. The mash bill is 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley and aged for 5 years in a 53-gallon new American oak barrel.
The color is a beautiful dark copper amber. The nose is hot and astringent, with a slight sweet hint of baking spice. The front and mid-palate is hot and spicy, with slight notes of mocha dusted with powdered sugar. The finish is mouth numbing, long, dry and settling in with more dry numbness. This bourbon drinks young and dry, so it is not my jam, as it lacks flavor complexity and depth I expected.
Wollersheim Distillery Wisconsin Straight Bourbon Single Cask: 5 years old, 131.2 Proof, (200 bottles) $90
Rating: C-
Established in the 19th century, the Wollersheim Winery, Distillery and Bitsro is a family-owned winery and distillery. This straight bourbon whiskey mash bill is all locally grown grains, with 66% corn, 22% rye, and 12% malted barley.
The color is a traditional dark brown. The nose is strong and comes across young and grainy. The palate is loaded with a dry leather, young withering tobacco leaf with hints of dry dark chocolate. The finish is very dry and grainy like walking through corn bin dust with a spiced earthy overtone that last a long time. I tried a few drops of water and all I get a glass full of sweet corn dust and spice. The dryness is overwhelming here, so I am struggling to find much flavor or complexity.
Middle West Spirits Ohio Straight Rye Single Cask: 4 years old, 126 Proof (197 bottles) $90
Rating: B
Middle West Spirits is one of the region’s largest distilleries and located in Columbus, Ohio. This is a four-grain straight rye whiskey, aged for 4 years in a 53-gallon new oak barrel from Speyside Cooperage.
The color is a desirable dark red amber. The nose is interesting with hints of spearmint and a sweet green tea extract. The front and mid palate are malty, grainy, sweet green tea essence, with a juicy presence in my mouth. The finish is warm, spicy and spearmint sweetness. This rye whiskey caught me by surprise. It’s a very interesting pour with delicious flavor profile that I would like to have on my bar.
Tom’s Foolery Ohio Straight Rye Single Cask: 9 years old, 116.5 Proof (170 bottles) $120
Rating: A-
This family-owned distillery uses traditional wooden fermenters and pot still distillation. The whiskey was aged 9 years in a 53-gallon barrel, making this the oldest whiskey in this collection. This straight rye whiskey mash bill is 70% winter rye and 30% malted rye.
This is very close to the traditional 80/20 Monongahela rye mash bill, and it shows. The color is a dark reddish amber. The nose is freshly scented with hints of fresh-cut lemon grass and full of rye spice. The palate is complex, mouthwatering with hints of fresh cut oak, new leather with a lemon zest sugar splash. The finish is long, warm, and full of oak honey essence. This is a fun and complex rye whiskey that needs to find its way onto my bar.
By Richard Thomas Rating: B- For good or for ill, Templeton is one of the most storied names to come out of the American whiskey boom of the 21st Century. Getting their start as a sourced brand in the 2000s, they spun a story of being inspired by Iowa bootleggers who supplied rye whiskey to… Continue reading Templeton Fortitude Bourbon Review
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B-
Templeton Fortitude Bourbon (Credit: Richard Thomas)
For good or for ill, Templeton is one of the most storied names to come out of the American whiskey boom of the 21st Century. Getting their start as a sourced brand in the 2000s, they spun a story of being inspired by Iowa bootleggers who supplied rye whiskey to Chicago gangsters. The gaps between Templeton’s marketing tales and its reality as a sourced-and-bottled whiskey originating from MGP in Indiana were hardly unique, but by the early 2010s a chunk of the American whiskey blogosphere had become fanatical about the very issue of sourcing, viewing all non-distiller producers (NDPs) with disdain and being hypercritical of all that were not fully transparent.
They croaked loudest against Templeton, which is why the company was actually sued. We reviewed the case against Templeton Rye (the company is now Templeton Distillery) in 2014, and despite being the strongest of case of its type, it turns out the blogosphere made as many misleading claims as the company they were attacking. That prejudice continues, albeit weakly, to this day: there are some out there claiming that in making Templeton Fortitude a no age statement whiskey, the company is obviously trying to hide something.
The writers who fostered that animostiy have since either left the scene or faded into obscurity. Templeton went from having a hobby scale distillery to a large production facility in 2018. This year, the distillery unveiled its first in house whiskey, which was curiously not replacement for their foundational rye whiskeys. Instead, it was a bourbon.
I suppose that makes sense, because despite Prohibition-era Templeton, Iowa rye moonshine being a real thing, Iowa is famed as the best place to grow corn on earth. The state is known for corn first, pig farming as a close second, and collegiate wrestling third. That doesn’t mean they left the rye behind in their bourbon, however: it is a very high rye bourbon, with 55% corn and 45% rye, plus 5% malted barley. It’s bottled at a respectable 92 proof.
The Bourbon Despite being bottled at 92 proof, the key descriptor for Templeton Fortitude is its lightness. On the nose, it’s so light as to be thin. The aroma mixes the scent of a fresh-cut hay field with a caramel candy pear. Add in a dash of pepper, and you’ve got it.
The palate has a little more heft, but is still very on the light side. The flavor takes that caramel pear and gives it a light dusting of cookie spices. It’s only on the finish that the very high rye nature of the bourbon comes out and makes itself felt, with pumpernickel, pepper and hot cinnamon stepping up and taking over. The finish is light, but lingering, and is really the best part of the experience.
By Richard Thomas Rating: B+ The Whiskey Reviewer could be said to have a love affair with Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye. Deputy Editor Kurt Maitland was pointing at it when he coined his rule that “stronger whiskey is usually better whiskey.” Senior contributor and all-around rye guy Scott Peters is enamored, and I’m more than …
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B+
Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye (Credit: Richard Thomas)
The Whiskey Reviewer could be said to have a love affair with Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye. Deputy Editor Kurt Maitland was pointing at it when he coined his rule that “stronger whiskey is usually better whiskey.” Senior contributor and all-around rye guy Scott Peters is enamored, and I’m more than fond of the expression myself. It’s been two years since Michter’s last released this much-adored whiskey, so of course it demands covering.
This Michter’s expression typically clocks in at a comparatively low alcohol content for a cask strength whiskey. This installment is 55.1% ABV (110.2 proof), and the line as a whole tends to sit in the middle-to-lower 50s. Most of the big names in cask strength whiskeys are north of 60% as a matter of routine. This distinction stems from Micther’s low entry proof (the strength at which the new make whiskey enters the barrel) of 103. That choice is not economical, but it known to improve the maturation chemistry and produce a better whiskey.
The exact mash bill is unknown, but this is known to be a Kentucky style rye: the rye content, while in the legal majority of 51%+, is not much higher than than legal minimum. That makes it a “high corn” rye, usually making such ryes sweeter. Also, there isn’t an age statement.
The Whiskey The nose leads with its spice blend: clove, ginger, allspice. Sitting in the background is the candy corn sweetness, served on a small platter of green oak. The palate turns away from the ginger cookie spice blend and towards more herbal territory. Sometimes these things are have quite a strong dill note, but this rye presents you with a bundle of spearmint and sage. The sweet side turns into bourbon territory now, with brown sugar and caramel, but this is still clearly in the back seat with the continuing green oak and a new earthy cocoa note. The finish runs light, balancing earthy chocolate against that marginally astringent green oak that has been omni-present throughout.
Master Distiller Dan McKee and Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson have done it again. Sometimes this expression is great (A-) and sometimes very good (B+), and this one is very good. I don’t always agree with Maitland’s aforementioned maxim, but it is certainly the case here: even at just “very good,” the barrel strength version is a mile beyond Michter’s standard rye, as well as most ryes in regular or irregular release.
In baseball terms, it hits a triple. A bottle should be a must-have for rye diehards.
The Price
This bottle is officially pegged at $110. However, it is in irregular release, making it harder to get on those years when nothing new is shipped. Expect mark-ups, peaking at around double the recommended price.
