Common Whiskey Wednesday readers most likely already know that I’m a fan of each Barrell Craft Spirits and Chattanooga Whiskey Co., two producers who aren’t afraid to get a bit of bizarre with a few of their product releases as a strategy to stand out from the mega-distilleries and crowded discipline of boutique whiskeys. Just lately, I’ve had the chance to pattern a number of new choices from the businesses, they usually’re undoubtedly value looking for out if you happen to’re on the lookout for one thing a bit of completely different.
When somebody from Barrell reached out to me with a suggestion to attempt their latest expression of Barrell Bourbon Cask Completed Collection: Ice Wine, I admit I scratched my head. Ice wine? The dessert wine the place the sugars of the grapes are concentrated by permitting them to freeze on the vine earlier than harvesting? Wouldn’t that flip whiskey into sweet?
I particularly instructed the consultant that Barrell has had such a superb observe file with what I’ve reviewed earlier than, I used to be frightened this is able to break the streak and muddle the best way I take into consideration the corporate. He mentioned I ought to belief him.
Seems he was proper.
That is undoubtedly a novel product and undertaking, created utilizing 11 completely different particular person whiskeys sourced from distilleries in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Wyoming with ages starting from 5 years to fifteen years. The mad scientists at Barrell blended all these completely different expressions collectively to create a base whiskey that contained all 4 main American whiskey grains: corn, rye, wheat and malted barley.
Then they re-barrelled that juice in casks that had beforehand contained ice wine for additional ending. Barrell deliberately created a mix that they felt would stand as much as the added acidity and sweetness that the wine casks would impart, and ultimately bottled the completed product at a cask power of 106.52 proof.
For the reason that mixed mash invoice of the whiskeys ended up being 71 p.c corn, I anticipated it to be fairly candy, and it’s, however not cloyingly so. Corny whiskeys can find yourself a bit of flabby on the palate, however the acidity added from the casks reduce via that like a squirt of contemporary lemon.
Pale gold within the glass, this whiskey is brightly floral on the nostril with hints of cocoa and gingersnaps. It coats the tongue with candy honey flavors earlier than a protracted and sophisticated end of candy tea and chocolate. The upper proof presents a pleasant little burn, like s’mores over a campfire, and I feel this can be a pleasant after-dinner deal with.
Tennessee is among the fortunate states to have a number of bottles of Barrell Bourbon Cask Completed Collection: Ice Wine on the cabinets, retailing at round $90 a bottle. I can undoubtedly admit I used to be flawed about this one, and if you happen to discover a bottle, don’t be afraid to attempt it!
In different notable information, our associates from Chattanooga Whiskey have just lately launched their second version of Bottled in Bond for 2024, this time a mix of whiskeys distilled within the fall of 2020. You’d suppose different occasions would have distracted them throughout these months, however the distillers soldiered on and created what could also be my favourite version of the whole BiB collection up to now.
This specific version is fascinating as a result of they selected to incorporate considered one of their wheated bourbon recipes together with their flagship mash invoice and an providing from their experimental distillery. The roasted and toasted grains contribute pretty toffee and chocolate notes that elicited some highly effective taste reminiscences for me.
From my pocket book after a late-night tasting session the place I first sampled this yr’s BiB:
The whiskey finishes just like the aroma of a contemporary seashore towel proper after you have dried off from a plunge in a bracing pool on a sizzling summer time day, coconut and cotton and a bit of little bit of salt. (To be truthful, Waze took me via the chlorine cloud of the latest pool chemical hearth outdoors of Atlanta, so my style buds and olfactory receptors could have been completely affected by that…)
I do know, bizarre, however I stand behind what I wrote!
If you wish to make a journey down taste reminiscence lane, Chattanooga Whiskey’s Bottled in Bond Classic Collection: Fall 2020 is pretty available at native spirits shops for round $52.99 a bottle. Let me know what you consider it.
Lastly, the Chattanooga of us are at their greatest when they’re at their weirdest, experimenting with unconventional elements and distilling procedures. Granted, experiments can include dangers. Final yr they launched a limoncello made with their whiskey as a base, and I admit I used to be a bit of upset — it grew on me because it frolicked chilling within the freezer however by no means amounted to rather more than an pleasurable novelty.
So when Chattanooga Whiskey Co. introduced that they had been doing a Citracello this yr I used to be intrigued however not that optimistic. Once more, I used to be flawed.
I really like the brand new Bourbon Barreled Citracello fairly a bit extra. Beginning with their flagship Barrel 91 mash invoice that all the time occupies a distinguished place on my on a regular basis ingesting shelf, the distillers infused greater than 125 kilos of citrus peel within the aged whiskey. Utilizing grapefruit, orange and blood orange together with hibiscus, the infusion had three weeks to impart the tartness, sweetness, bitterness and floral parts of the fruit and flowers into the spirit, like a stunning steeped tea.
The result’s a really small batch of simply 5 barrels that displays actually fascinating parts of candy and citrus together with a little bit of tannic hibiscus tea. Now this one is more durable to return by since it’s only obtainable on the Chattanooga tasting room. They nonetheless appear to have bottles in inventory at $44.99 apiece if you happen to’re feeling like a highway journey. Simply bear in mind to take a cooler crammed with ice if you wish to attempt it chilled while you get residence.
