Release XIII - "Heat"
xSample A
SAMPLE A
Distillery: J.T. Meleck Distillers - Branch, LA
Whiskey: High Proof American Rice Whiskey
Fun Fact: That's right, this whiskey is made using a mashbill of 100% Louisiana Rice, the first time we've ever featured a whiskey that uses any of that grain!
Proof: 118 (59% ABV)
Age Statement: 4+ years old
Mashbill: 100% Louisiana Rice
Color/Appearance: Burnt Amber
Aroma Notes: Spicy yet creamy at the same time, with notes of rich nougat, marzipan, nutmeg, toffee, butterscotch, ripe peaches dusted with cinnamon
Tasting Notes: Phenomenal texture on the palate, with layered complex flavors of fresh baked peach pie straight from the oven, apricot, caramel butter, and toasted oak
Finish: Some floral notes come to the surface, with a nice astringent oak element balancing out the stone fruit notes
Distillery Story: If there ever was gonna be a distillery that so perfectly fit the Blind Barrels goal of stretching people's perspectives and exploding the paradigm of what whiskey can be, it had to be J.T. Meleck.
You're not the first person to be surprised and impressed at the incredible flavors coming from a whiskey made from 100% rice. In fact, they call it the "Meleck lean" down in Louisiana, that sway back and cock of the head after your first sip that is typically accompanied by an "Oh damn!" That's not anything new for the team at J.T. Meleck; they've been broadening horizons for 5 generations of rice and crawfish cultivation, growing their family farm to over 4,000 acres and producing more than 2 million pounds of live crawfish a year (anyone else hungry?). The Frugé family's roots run deep here in the south, and the brand is named after their Uncle John Meleck who first grew rice on the 20 acre plot that began it all.
Rice is foundational to the culture down in Louisiana. As Mike Frugé, the founder of J.T. Meleck, says, "We take our rice and our whiskey with us wherever we go." You get a bit of a two-for-one in this bottle, with their Providence Rice being the sole (aquatic) grain in the mashbill. Rice is one of the oldest cultivated grains on the planet, and has been used in whiskey production in other countries such as Japan and India, but hadn't really crossed over into the American whiskey industry before J.T. Meleck began production. That really sums up their ethos as a company, as they are not a cut-and-paste brand, but a creative, authentic, family-oriented group of whiskey makers that took a leap of faith and jumped in fully to start making their rice whiskey. Mike says, "We're obsessively authentic, we do what we like and we do what we know about."
And we know this High Proof American Rice Whiskey will have our subscribers doing the "Meleck Lean". This pour stands on its own, with a remarkably creamy texture, especially considering its proof. The taste profile is incredibly unique, yet welcoming to many sorts of whiskey drinkers, providing warming, complex, and intriguing notes. They call their grain-to-bottle creation "a whole new Louisiana classic", and we have to agree! J.T. Meleck is everything that's right and exciting about the craft whiskey scene here in the US, with the perfect mix of innovation, history, family, and passion. Straight from their farm to your front porch, we know our members will be keeping a space on their shelves for this whiskey for years to come.
Member price: $74.99 $59.99
SAMPLE A
Distillery: J.T. Meleck Distillers - Branch, LA
Whiskey: High Proof American Rice Whiskey
Fun Fact: That's right, this whiskey is made using a mashbill of 100% Louisiana Rice, the first time we've ever featured a whiskey that uses any of that grain!
Proof: 118 (59% ABV)
Age Statement: 4+ years old
Mashbill: 100% Louisiana Rice
Color/Appearance: Burnt Amber
Aroma Notes: Spicy yet creamy at the same time, with notes of rich nougat, marzipan, nutmeg, toffee, butterscotch, ripe peaches dusted with cinnamon
Tasting Notes: Phenomenal texture on the palate, with layered complex flavors of fresh baked peach pie straight from the oven, apricot, caramel butter, and toasted oak
Finish: Some floral notes come to the surface, with a nice astringent oak element balancing out the stone fruit notes
Distillery Story: If there ever was gonna be a distillery that so perfectly fit the Blind Barrels goal of stretching people's perspectives and exploding the paradigm of what whiskey can be, it had to be J.T. Meleck.
You're not the first person to be surprised and impressed at the incredible flavors coming from a whiskey made from 100% rice. In fact, they call it the "Meleck lean" down in Louisiana, that sway back and cock of the head after your first sip that is typically accompanied by an "Oh damn!" That's not anything new for the team at J.T. Meleck; they've been broadening horizons for 5 generations of rice and crawfish cultivation, growing their family farm to over 4,000 acres and producing more than 2 million pounds of live crawfish a year (anyone else hungry?). The Frugé family's roots run deep here in the south, and the brand is named after their Uncle John Meleck who first grew rice on the 20 acre plot that began it all.
Rice is foundational to the culture down in Louisiana. As Mike Frugé, the founder of J.T. Meleck, says, "We take our rice and our whiskey with us wherever we go." You get a bit of a two-for-one in this bottle, with their Providence Rice being the sole (aquatic) grain in the mashbill. Rice is one of the oldest cultivated grains on the planet, and has been used in whiskey production in other countries such as Japan and India, but hadn't really crossed over into the American whiskey industry before J.T. Meleck began production. That really sums up their ethos as a company, as they are not a cut-and-paste brand, but a creative, authentic, family-oriented group of whiskey makers that took a leap of faith and jumped in fully to start making their rice whiskey. Mike says, "We're obsessively authentic, we do what we like and we do what we know about."
And we know this High Proof American Rice Whiskey will have our subscribers doing the "Meleck Lean". This pour stands on its own, with a remarkably creamy texture, especially considering its proof. The taste profile is incredibly unique, yet welcoming to many sorts of whiskey drinkers, providing warming, complex, and intriguing notes. They call their grain-to-bottle creation "a whole new Louisiana classic", and we have to agree! J.T. Meleck is everything that's right and exciting about the craft whiskey scene here in the US, with the perfect mix of innovation, history, family, and passion. Straight from their farm to your front porch, we know our members will be keeping a space on their shelves for this whiskey for years to come.
x Sample B
SAMPLE B
Distillery: Holladay Distillery - Weston, MO
Whiskey: Holladay Soft Red Wheat Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey - Rickhouse Proof
Fun Fact: Holladay Distillery is taking the American Whiskey scene by storm, and is a resurrected brand that was originally founded in 1856, making it the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi that is still operating on its original site!
Proof: 122.2 (61.1% ABV)
Age Statement: 6 years 4 months old
Mashbill: 73% Missouri Corn, 15% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 12% Malted Barley
Color/Appearance: Reddish Gold
Aroma Notes: A nose that is subtle and inviting, with notes of soft cherries, crushed raspberries, orange studded with cloves, red apples, milk chocolate covered almonds, and mild thyme
Tasting Notes: A pop of flavors from the start, with vibrant notes of fresh plum, Red Vines™, warm raspberry scones, apricot, rich honey, rounding out with Cracker Jack™ and toffee sweetness, with a nice black pepper tingle on the back of the palate
Finish: A long and balanced finish, with lingering notes of Pink Starburst™ and good oak tannins, leaving you with the impression that you just finished some delicious breakfast treats from your local bakery
Distillery Story: Our co-founder Christian says it best about Holladay Distillery: "At Blind Barrels we're all about finding locations and brands that are very authentic. The authenticity, the transparency of a brand is really critical, and I think that really shows through in their whiskey. In a very short period of time, the Holladay Distillery has stood out really, really quickly."
The funny thing about Holladay is that, although they have been around for a short period of time, they have a very LONG history of making whiskey, as well! You see, they are actually the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi that is still operating on their original location, having started making bourbon in 1856 when the "Stagecoach King", Ben Holladay, set up shop in Weston, Missouri. Ben was truly a legend who shaped America, buying the Pony Express and being the largest private employer in the country at the time. Bourbon was a big part of that, and if you put two and two together, what with the whiskey and the built-in distribution network, you can bet that most of the whiskey in those Wild West Saloons was Holladay's product. This legacy carried on over 100 years until production ceased in 1985 (the 80s weren't a great decade for our favorite spirit), but the rickhouses and many of the other buildings remain and are still in use today.
The modern era of Holladay Distillery began anew in 2015, but is still very much rooted in the history of where they came from. Everything from their mashbill (73% corn 15% rye 12% malted barley on their Ben Holladay 1856 Original Bourbon), to their barrel entry proof (118), to their proofs coming off their column and doubler (120 and 130, respectively), to exclusively using 53 gallon barrels for aging, is drawn from the records they've been able to find about their previous distillation procedures. Their whiskey is incredibly mature beyond its years, and it's clear that their distilling tradition hugely contributes to that. Master Distiller Kyle Merklein says, "We're staying true to our history, but our history is very true to traditional bourbon making." That tradition, coupled with amazing patience (they didn't release ANY bourbon until it was at least 6 years old), is what has helped the Holladay brand take the whiskey world by storm in the last several years. They are by FAR the most requested distillery from our members, and with good reason, as you can see!
This Rickhouse Proof Soft Red Wheat Straight Bourbon is a new riff on their classic mashbill, what Kyle calls "a study in grain", swapping out the rye for wheat, leading to an incredibly soft and sweet distillate. This wasn't originally in the plans, but it came at the request of their president, who loves wheated bourbons (we can relate cough cough Bobby). Other than that switcheroo, the bourbon is made exactly the same, also qualifying as a Real Missouri Bourbon under the 2019 law that they worked with the MO legislature to pass! This protects their regionality of spirits, requiring the distillery to use Missouri-grown Corn, be mashed, fermented, and distilled entirely in state, and also be aged in New Charred Oak that was manufactured into a barrel in the state of Missouri using Missouri Oak. This focus on agriculture as well as forestry is unique and speaks to their confidence in what they are doing, presenting a special addition to the colorful tapestry of craft whiskey here in America.
With all the maturity of their bourbon, we know that their character as a distillery will still continue to evolve and improve, as hard as that is to believe with how good the present is! Even this release we provided to our members is a slightly different take on their spirit, coming from their new Rickhouse B that they only recently started pulling barrels from. Kyle tells us he's seeing sweeter and richer sugar notes coming from this rickhouse, and he's thrilled to be playing around with these new casks. Holladay is one of the most transparent distilleries we've ever worked with, which you'll soon understand if you see how much information they include on the side label or check out the Distillers Journal tab on their website (you'll want to nerd out like we did). But this is a people pleaser for new and old whiskey drinkers alike, with such a smooth and warming whiskey that still has a huge depth of flavors. A place like Holladay helps the whole category, and we are so proud to bring you this Real Missouri Bourbon.
Member price: $84.99 $71.99
SAMPLE B
Distillery: Holladay Distillery - Weston, MO
Whiskey: Holladay Soft Red Wheat Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey - Rickhouse Proof
Fun Fact: Holladay Distillery is taking the American Whiskey scene by storm, and is a resurrected brand that was originally founded in 1856, making it the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi that is still operating on its original site!
Proof: 122.2 (61.1% ABV)
Age Statement: 6 years 4 months old
Mashbill: 73% Missouri Corn, 15% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 12% Malted Barley
Color/Appearance: Reddish Gold
Aroma Notes: A nose that is subtle and inviting, with notes of soft cherries, crushed raspberries, orange studded with cloves, red apples, milk chocolate covered almonds, and mild thyme
Tasting Notes: A pop of flavors from the start, with vibrant notes of fresh plum, Red Vines™, warm raspberry scones, apricot, rich honey, rounding out with Cracker Jack™ and toffee sweetness, with a nice black pepper tingle on the back of the palate
Finish: A long and balanced finish, with lingering notes of Pink Starburst™ and good oak tannins, leaving you with the impression that you just finished some delicious breakfast treats from your local bakery
Distillery Story: Our co-founder Christian says it best about Holladay Distillery: "At Blind Barrels we're all about finding locations and brands that are very authentic. The authenticity, the transparency of a brand is really critical, and I think that really shows through in their whiskey. In a very short period of time, the Holladay Distillery has stood out really, really quickly."
The funny thing about Holladay is that, although they have been around for a short period of time, they have a very LONG history of making whiskey, as well! You see, they are actually the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi that is still operating on their original location, having started making bourbon in 1856 when the "Stagecoach King", Ben Holladay, set up shop in Weston, Missouri. Ben was truly a legend who shaped America, buying the Pony Express and being the largest private employer in the country at the time. Bourbon was a big part of that, and if you put two and two together, what with the whiskey and the built-in distribution network, you can bet that most of the whiskey in those Wild West Saloons was Holladay's product. This legacy carried on over 100 years until production ceased in 1985 (the 80s weren't a great decade for our favorite spirit), but the rickhouses and many of the other buildings remain and are still in use today.
The modern era of Holladay Distillery began anew in 2015, but is still very much rooted in the history of where they came from. Everything from their mashbill (73% corn 15% rye 12% malted barley on their Ben Holladay 1856 Original Bourbon), to their barrel entry proof (118), to their proofs coming off their column and doubler (120 and 130, respectively), to exclusively using 53 gallon barrels for aging, is drawn from the records they've been able to find about their previous distillation procedures. Their whiskey is incredibly mature beyond its years, and it's clear that their distilling tradition hugely contributes to that. Master Distiller Kyle Merklein says, "We're staying true to our history, but our history is very true to traditional bourbon making." That tradition, coupled with amazing patience (they didn't release ANY bourbon until it was at least 6 years old), is what has helped the Holladay brand take the whiskey world by storm in the last several years. They are by FAR the most requested distillery from our members, and with good reason, as you can see!
This Rickhouse Proof Soft Red Wheat Straight Bourbon is a new riff on their classic mashbill, what Kyle calls "a study in grain", swapping out the rye for wheat, leading to an incredibly soft and sweet distillate. This wasn't originally in the plans, but it came at the request of their president, who loves wheated bourbons (we can relate cough cough Bobby). Other than that switcheroo, the bourbon is made exactly the same, also qualifying as a Real Missouri Bourbon under the 2019 law that they worked with the MO legislature to pass! This protects their regionality of spirits, requiring the distillery to use Missouri-grown Corn, be mashed, fermented, and distilled entirely in state, and also be aged in New Charred Oak that was manufactured into a barrel in the state of Missouri using Missouri Oak. This focus on agriculture as well as forestry is unique and speaks to their confidence in what they are doing, presenting a special addition to the colorful tapestry of craft whiskey here in America.
With all the maturity of their bourbon, we know that their character as a distillery will still continue to evolve and improve, as hard as that is to believe with how good the present is! Even this release we provided to our members is a slightly different take on their spirit, coming from their new Rickhouse B that they only recently started pulling barrels from. Kyle tells us he's seeing sweeter and richer sugar notes coming from this rickhouse, and he's thrilled to be playing around with these new casks. Holladay is one of the most transparent distilleries we've ever worked with, which you'll soon understand if you see how much information they include on the side label or check out the Distillers Journal tab on their website (you'll want to nerd out like we did). But this is a people pleaser for new and old whiskey drinkers alike, with such a smooth and warming whiskey that still has a huge depth of flavors. A place like Holladay helps the whole category, and we are so proud to bring you this Real Missouri Bourbon.
x Sample C
SAMPLE C
Distillery: Rock Town Distillery - Little Rock, AR
Whiskey: Column Still Collection Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Fun Fact: Rock Town has the honor of being the first distillery to be included TWICE in our line-ups, with this collaboration with the distilling team at Bardstown Bourbon Company being a very fitting follow-up to the Golden Promise Cask Strength Bourbon from June 2023!
Proof: 116.8 (58.4% ABV)
Age Statement: 45 months in 25 gallon #4 char Kelvin Cooperage casks
Mashbill: 79% Arkansas Corn, 8% Arkansas Wheat, 13% Malted Barley
Color/Appearance: Dark Golden Amber
Aroma Notes: Rich layers of caramel are first present, backed up by notes of toasted walnuts, smoky vanilla extract, orange blossom, coffee cake, cornbread soaked in honey, with fresh herbs popping by to say hello
Tasting Notes: Incredible Black Forest cake, with an excellent wood presence balanced out by black pepper spice, crème brulée crust, clove, and caramel pudding
Finish: The oak tannins and crème brulée remain, with hints of warm honey and cinnamon toast
Distillery Story: Well, it took until our 13th release to have a repeat distillery in our lineup, what a testament to the strength of the American Craft Whiskey scene! But it's so fitting that it's Rock Town Distillery who makes a triumphant return to the Blind Barrels community, with something that is a fun twist on their DNA.
Rock Town is one of the earliest members of the craft whiskey movement, founded by Phil Brandon in 2009 after an uncertain economy led to a difficult choice: leave his home state of Arkansas or change careers. As you'll soon tell, Phil has an unwavering commitment to AR and the Little Rock community, and soon the goal of establishing the first distillery in the state since Prohibition kept recurring in his mind. He says, "When I started this, I wanted it to be as purely Arkansas as I could possibly make it. Even the name, Rock Town, is named after our home city, Little Rock." And this was no mere pipe dream, but a well thought out plan drawn from the idea of flavor as a sense of place, looking at other global distilleries who choose their grains and distilling set up with great intention. Phil acquired a Vendome pot still and started sourcing grains from local farms, and was actually one of the first places to work with legend Dave Pickerell, widely considered the "Johnny Appleseed" of craft distilling. The community rallied around the distillery, drawn by their incredible variety of American whiskeys (a couple of our favorites are their Golden Promise Cask Strength Bourbon, Sample B in our June 2023 lineup, and the La Harpe Low Rye Cask Strength Bourbon).
Rock Town got so popular that Phil had to deal with one of those "Good Problems": they weren't able to keep up with the demand for their spirit without building a whole new distillery (expensive!). But he heard about a program that Bardstown Bourbon Company in Kentucky was pioneering, a Collaborative Distilling Program where a distillery could rent out their space but still use their own grains and control every aspect of the process, basically becoming "gypsy distillers". This was especially attractive to them because of the difference in the still set-ups, as the Rock Town pot still was only 250 gallons, but the BBC column still was able to do over 80 gallons a MINUTE, speeding up the distillation runs exponentially. This was a match made in heaven, so they loaded up 90 tons of Arkansas grain and shipped their team out to KY to create this sample, now known as their Column Still Collection Cask Strength Bourbon. Except for the still used, every element of this whiskey is exactly the same as their standard Arkansas bourbon, even down to the grind size of their grain and the temps at every stage of the cook and distilling runs. This makes it a true story of aging and terroir, as it is aged 100% in AR, being trucked back and filled into their casks in Little Rock.
The consistency in paying attention to every little detail is truly what sets Rock Town apart and makes them the real deal. This whiskey, while bringing something new to the table, is still completely recognizable as a Rock Town product, due to those little things that the consumer sometimes doesn't consider. When we mentioned this to Phil, he said, "I think that's probably the highest compliment I could get, to have something that's recognizable from mash bill to mash bill, from production method to production method. I don't know that it's something that you could sit down at a drafting table and design."
They truly deserve every compliment they get for this uncut, unfiltered, delicious bourbon. Randy Sullivan from Bourbon Real Talk was insistent that it be included in this collaborative release between our two communities (very fitting!), after some of his subscribers drove all the way down to visit him in Texas and brought some Rock Town bottles for him to try blind. He fell in love with the Column Still Collection, an incredible testament to the beauty of blind tasting and the generosity of the whiskey community, willing to spread the gospel of a hometown brand. While it's typically a single barrel product, Phil blended a few casks together in a special release just for our members. And with what we know about their commitment to consistency and the ethos to tell the story of Arkansas and their grain, it won't be a surprise that they're going to stick on their current path, with future releases already planned for this collection. After all, their motto is "Our Passion is Our Spirit", which shines through in everything they do.
Member price: $74.99 $64.99
SAMPLE C
Distillery: Rock Town Distillery - Little Rock, AR
Whiskey: Column Still Collection Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Fun Fact: Rock Town has the honor of being the first distillery to be included TWICE in our line-ups, with this collaboration with the distilling team at Bardstown Bourbon Company being a very fitting follow-up to the Golden Promise Cask Strength Bourbon from June 2023!
Proof: 116.8 (58.4% ABV)
Age Statement: 45 months in 25 gallon #4 char Kelvin Cooperage casks
Mashbill: 79% Arkansas Corn, 8% Arkansas Wheat, 13% Malted Barley
Color/Appearance: Dark Golden Amber
Aroma Notes: Rich layers of caramel are first present, backed up by notes of toasted walnuts, smoky vanilla extract, orange blossom, coffee cake, cornbread soaked in honey, with fresh herbs popping by to say hello
Tasting Notes: Incredible Black Forest cake, with an excellent wood presence balanced out by black pepper spice, crème brulée crust, clove, and caramel pudding
Finish: The oak tannins and crème brulée remain, with hints of warm honey and cinnamon toast
Distillery Story: Well, it took until our 13th release to have a repeat distillery in our lineup, what a testament to the strength of the American Craft Whiskey scene! But it's so fitting that it's Rock Town Distillery who makes a triumphant return to the Blind Barrels community, with something that is a fun twist on their DNA.
Rock Town is one of the earliest members of the craft whiskey movement, founded by Phil Brandon in 2009 after an uncertain economy led to a difficult choice: leave his home state of Arkansas or change careers. As you'll soon tell, Phil has an unwavering commitment to AR and the Little Rock community, and soon the goal of establishing the first distillery in the state since Prohibition kept recurring in his mind. He says, "When I started this, I wanted it to be as purely Arkansas as I could possibly make it. Even the name, Rock Town, is named after our home city, Little Rock." And this was no mere pipe dream, but a well thought out plan drawn from the idea of flavor as a sense of place, looking at other global distilleries who choose their grains and distilling set up with great intention. Phil acquired a Vendome pot still and started sourcing grains from local farms, and was actually one of the first places to work with legend Dave Pickerell, widely considered the "Johnny Appleseed" of craft distilling. The community rallied around the distillery, drawn by their incredible variety of American whiskeys (a couple of our favorites are their Golden Promise Cask Strength Bourbon, Sample B in our June 2023 lineup, and the La Harpe Low Rye Cask Strength Bourbon).
Rock Town got so popular that Phil had to deal with one of those "Good Problems": they weren't able to keep up with the demand for their spirit without building a whole new distillery (expensive!). But he heard about a program that Bardstown Bourbon Company in Kentucky was pioneering, a Collaborative Distilling Program where a distillery could rent out their space but still use their own grains and control every aspect of the process, basically becoming "gypsy distillers". This was especially attractive to them because of the difference in the still set-ups, as the Rock Town pot still was only 250 gallons, but the BBC column still was able to do over 80 gallons a MINUTE, speeding up the distillation runs exponentially. This was a match made in heaven, so they loaded up 90 tons of Arkansas grain and shipped their team out to KY to create this sample, now known as their Column Still Collection Cask Strength Bourbon. Except for the still used, every element of this whiskey is exactly the same as their standard Arkansas bourbon, even down to the grind size of their grain and the temps at every stage of the cook and distilling runs. This makes it a true story of aging and terroir, as it is aged 100% in AR, being trucked back and filled into their casks in Little Rock.
The consistency in paying attention to every little detail is truly what sets Rock Town apart and makes them the real deal. This whiskey, while bringing something new to the table, is still completely recognizable as a Rock Town product, due to those little things that the consumer sometimes doesn't consider. When we mentioned this to Phil, he said, "I think that's probably the highest compliment I could get, to have something that's recognizable from mash bill to mash bill, from production method to production method. I don't know that it's something that you could sit down at a drafting table and design."
They truly deserve every compliment they get for this uncut, unfiltered, delicious bourbon. Randy Sullivan from Bourbon Real Talk was insistent that it be included in this collaborative release between our two communities (very fitting!), after some of his subscribers drove all the way down to visit him in Texas and brought some Rock Town bottles for him to try blind. He fell in love with the Column Still Collection, an incredible testament to the beauty of blind tasting and the generosity of the whiskey community, willing to spread the gospel of a hometown brand. While it's typically a single barrel product, Phil blended a few casks together in a special release just for our members. And with what we know about their commitment to consistency and the ethos to tell the story of Arkansas and their grain, it won't be a surprise that they're going to stick on their current path, with future releases already planned for this collection. After all, their motto is "Our Passion is Our Spirit", which shines through in everything they do.
x Sample D
SAMPLE D
Producer: 13th Century Whiskey Company - Colorado Springs, CO
Whiskey: Toasted Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey - Barrel Proof
Fun Fact: This hazmat proof whiskey is aged at the base of Pikes Peak in a blend of toasted and charred casks, including Char levels 1, 2, 3, 4, AND the rare 5.
Proof: 140.5 (70.25% ABV)
Age Statement: 6 years old (5 years in 30 gallon Char 2, 3, 4, and 5 casks; 1 year finishing in 53 gallon heavily toasted Char 1 cask)
Mashbill: 88% Corn, 7% Rye, 5% Malted Barley (derived mashbill based on blending)
Color/Appearance: Deep Copper
Aroma Notes: This dram opens with wine-soaked oak staves, roasted cinnamon almonds, warm pecan pie with vanilla ice cream, and toasted herbs - a very approachable and nuanced nose (especially considering the proof!)
Tasting Notes: Excellent wood presence, with notes of rich mahogany, cigar box, leather, walnut skins, sarsaparilla, candied ginger, and S'Mores with strawberry marshmallows(!), this whiskey is spicy and warming
Finish: The story of the wood continues here, with nice drying tannins, dark roast coffee beans, and buckwheat honey - reminiscent of the finish on a cask strength cognac
Distillery Story: "A study in wood." That's what our Chief Tasting Officer, Seabass, kept going back to when he was tasting this whiskey during our original blinds, and then when we learned more about how they do things over at 13th Century Whiskey Company, it all made sense.
Paul Dunning, the founder of 13th Century and sole proprietor of Private Label Distillery, is incredibly intentional about every element of the whiskey he produces, from the size of the casks to the char levels to the mashbill. Paul is our kinda guy, not just merely accepting the status quo, but digging deep to determine the smallest factors that make his whiskey taste the absolute best. He told us he frequently used blind tasting as a part of his journey to see how to best age 13th Century's spirit in that high altitude at the base of Pikes Peak (seriously great views if you get a chance to visit), settling on high corn mashbills, 30 gallon casks for maturation (to get at more wood sugars), and full size 53 gallon heavily toasted casks for finishing this first blend of their Toasted Bourbon. As you might expect from such a wood-focused blend, there is a ton of purpose behind deciding to include component barrels of so many various types of char, with each char level contributing a different flavor profile. Couple that with their partnership with Barrel Mill to source their casks from older 70-80 year-old trees, and you can see where all the depth on your palate comes from!
There were a couple things that didn't require a lot of trial and error for Paul: the choice to age their whiskey in Colorado and the decision to source their new make spirit from Midwest Grain Products in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Dunning says, "You can take the greatest barrel in the world, but it won't work out if you don't put a really high quality distillate in there." This isn't the same-old MGP, but a combination of unique inventory, a focused blender, and an ideal climate to create something special. Between the elevation, dryness, and temperature swings, it's clear why Paul believes that CO is one of the best environments in the world to age whiskey. That does come with some downsides, as at this altitude the angels-share is heavy, sometimes leaving as little as 10 gallons in each cask (seriously, be careful, you can get drunk in their barrel house), however their process was never about ROI and cutting corners, but rather is all about flavor and the best-tasting results (purposefully inefficient, as our friends at Leiper's Fork say).
In case you were wondering about their name, no, they haven't been producing whiskey since the 13th Century, but, as Dunning says, "That's when fractional distillation revolutionized the market, I'm very into manufacturing and kind of geeky and nerdy about technology." Like we said, our kind of people! This version is their first of their toasted barrel release, and with the beautiful bottle we know will fit right in with their goal to deliver whiskeys that can be both drunk AND collected. Just like this release, all 13th Century bottles are barrel-proof and non-chill-filtered. Don't expect that to change - as Paul says, "I can't stand it when brands get confused on who they are." When drinking, definitely don't shoot this whiskey, as it just tips over into hazmat territory at 70+% ABV, but be sure to take some time with it, add some water, and truly let the story of the wood unfold.
Member price: $149.99 $124.99
Limited to 1 bottle per customer
SAMPLE D
Producer: 13th Century Whiskey Company - Colorado Springs, CO
Whiskey: Toasted Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey - Barrel Proof
Fun Fact: This hazmat proof whiskey is aged at the base of Pikes Peak in a blend of toasted and charred casks, including Char levels 1, 2, 3, 4, AND the rare 5.
Proof: 140.5 (70.25% ABV)
Age Statement: 6 years old (5 years in 30 gallon Char 2, 3, 4, and 5 casks; 1 year finishing in 53 gallon heavily toasted Char 1 cask)
Mashbill: 88% Corn, 7% Rye, 5% Malted Barley (derived mashbill based on blending)
Color/Appearance: Deep Copper
Aroma Notes: This dram opens with wine-soaked oak staves, roasted cinnamon almonds, warm pecan pie with vanilla ice cream, and toasted herbs - a very approachable and nuanced nose (especially considering the proof!)
Tasting Notes: Excellent wood presence, with notes of rich mahogany, cigar box, leather, walnut skins, sarsaparilla, candied ginger, and S'Mores with strawberry marshmallows(!), this whiskey is spicy and warming
Finish: The story of the wood continues here, with nice drying tannins, dark roast coffee beans, and buckwheat honey - reminiscent of the finish on a cask strength cognac
Distillery Story: "A study in wood." That's what our Chief Tasting Officer, Seabass, kept going back to when he was tasting this whiskey during our original blinds, and then when we learned more about how they do things over at 13th Century Whiskey Company, it all made sense.
Paul Dunning, the founder of 13th Century and sole proprietor of Private Label Distillery, is incredibly intentional about every element of the whiskey he produces, from the size of the casks to the char levels to the mashbill. Paul is our kinda guy, not just merely accepting the status quo, but digging deep to determine the smallest factors that make his whiskey taste the absolute best. He told us he frequently used blind tasting as a part of his journey to see how to best age 13th Century's spirit in that high altitude at the base of Pikes Peak (seriously great views if you get a chance to visit), settling on high corn mashbills, 30 gallon casks for maturation (to get at more wood sugars), and full size 53 gallon heavily toasted casks for finishing this first blend of their Toasted Bourbon. As you might expect from such a wood-focused blend, there is a ton of purpose behind deciding to include component barrels of so many various types of char, with each char level contributing a different flavor profile. Couple that with their partnership with Barrel Mill to source their casks from older 70-80 year-old trees, and you can see where all the depth on your palate comes from!
There were a couple things that didn't require a lot of trial and error for Paul: the choice to age their whiskey in Colorado and the decision to source their new make spirit from Midwest Grain Products in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Dunning says, "You can take the greatest barrel in the world, but it won't work out if you don't put a really high quality distillate in there." This isn't the same-old MGP, but a combination of unique inventory, a focused blender, and an ideal climate to create something special. Between the elevation, dryness, and temperature swings, it's clear why Paul believes that CO is one of the best environments in the world to age whiskey. That does come with some downsides, as at this altitude the angels-share is heavy, sometimes leaving as little as 10 gallons in each cask (seriously, be careful, you can get drunk in their barrel house), however their process was never about ROI and cutting corners, but rather is all about flavor and the best-tasting results (purposefully inefficient, as our friends at Leiper's Fork say).
In case you were wondering about their name, no, they haven't been producing whiskey since the 13th Century, but, as Dunning says, "That's when fractional distillation revolutionized the market, I'm very into manufacturing and kind of geeky and nerdy about technology." Like we said, our kind of people! This version is their first of their toasted barrel release, and with the beautiful bottle we know will fit right in with their goal to deliver whiskeys that can be both drunk AND collected. Just like this release, all 13th Century bottles are barrel-proof and non-chill-filtered. Don't expect that to change - as Paul says, "I can't stand it when brands get confused on who they are." When drinking, definitely don't shoot this whiskey, as it just tips over into hazmat territory at 70+% ABV, but be sure to take some time with it, add some water, and truly let the story of the wood unfold.