You take a sip of bourbon and notice it’s expressing notes of cornbread, oatmeal, and toasted rye bread with a dab of butter. These are all notes of a grain-forward flavor profile, which tends to originate from younger bourbons.
When the whiskey comes off the still, the grain is prominent. As the whiskey sits in the new charred oak barrel, the wood filters out some of the grain properties, slowly lightening the corn notes. It typically takes about four years for a barrel to completely replace the prominent corn note with a caramel or vanilla. With that said, raw grains are quite appealing, and certain consumers prefer younger, grain-forward bourbons to those that are four years old and older.
In fact, at a wedding where I was leading a tasting, I conducted an experiment with fifty non–bourbon consumers and fifty diehard bourbon fans. My tasting lineup included Hudson Baby Bourbon, Angel’s Envy Port Barrel Finished Bourbon, Four Roses Small Batch, and Blanton’s. About 75 percent of the non–bourbon consumers heavily preferred the much younger bourbon from New York in Hudson Baby Bourbon, while the traditional bourbon drinkers overwhelmingly selected Four Roses and Blanton’s as their favorites.
Bourbons that express grain-forward notes tend to be from smaller distilleries or younger than the traditional Kentucky bourbons. With the exception of Redemption, which is delicious sourced whiskey from MGP Ingredients in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, these products come from craft distilleries. All are between two and four years old. Despite their youth, these bourbons can be quite costly and hard to find.
Intrigued by the notion that novice bourbon drinkers liked a younger product, I put another younger bourbon up against Four Roses Small Batch and Maker’s Mark. This time, it was an MB Roland Single Barrel Bourbon from Western Kentucky. In this tasting, I educated five hundred convention goers—the majority of whom knew zero about bourbon—and couldn’t really gauge the consumers as I had at the wedding. But I had three stations with bartenders pouring. At the end of the night, MB Roland was the only brand with every bottle emptied.
While my theory requires more testing to reach a full conclusion, I believe grain-forward bourbons strongly appeal to palates not familiar with bourbon. At some point in our lives, we’ve all sunk our teeth in a grilled corncob or spooned up a steamy cream corn. Caramel and vanilla offer familiarity to drinkers, but the grain-forward bourbon’s grainy notes offer a gritty, almost raw character that appeals to some consumers over older products.
1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 egg white
1 1/2 ounces grain-forward bourbon
Dry-shake the first three ingredients to create a frothy texture. Add ice into shaker, add 1.5 ounces of grain-forward bourbon, and shake vigorously. Strain and pour over ice.
Of course, the grains pronounce themselves in different ways in different bourbons. Sometimes it will be corncob, cream corn, cornbread, rye bread, sugary wheat flakes, or perhaps a raw kernel of barley (if you’ve ever had such a thing). The sweeter the grain note is, the closer the grain note is to becoming a full-blown caramel, vanilla, or nutmeg note.
Batch no. 4 / Bottle no. 441 (bottled in 2014)
DISTILLERY: Tuthilltown Spirits, Gardiner, New York
CHIEF DISTILLER: Joel Elder was the former master distiller.
PROOF AND PRODUCT AGE: 92 proof. Hudson Baby Bourbon has no age statement but contains barrels between 1 and 2.5 years old.
MASHBILL: 90 percent corn, 10 percent barley (former productions were 100 percent corn)
GRAIN ORIGINS: The corn comes from Tantillo’s Farm and Wapsie Valley Corn as well as the distillery’s local field corn. Tuthilltown uses Canadian malted barley.
DISTILLATION: Copper pots with fractioning columns (Christian Carl). Double distilled.
BARREL ENTRY PROOF: 114
AGING: The wood used is mostly Missouri American white oak with a few Pennsylvania American white oaks. Barrels range from 10 to 53 gallons with a no. 3 and no. 4 char. Hudson Baby Bourbon uses bass speakers to allow sound waves to drive whiskey deeper into the wood. Its age can be measured by the barrels used: the 10-gallon barrels average around a year old, while the traditional 53-gallon barrels skew 2.5 years and older. When all barrels are mingled, Baby Bourbon ranges between 20 and 48 months.
BARRELS PER BOTTLING: With Hudson products, the number of barrels per dump is constantly changing because they blend 4 different barrel sizes, ranging from 10 gallons to 53 gallons. However, each bottling contains about 800 gallons of whiskey.
FILTERING METHOD: Cotton micron filtration to remove char from barrels. No chilling or charcoal methods used for the Hudson line.
COLOR: For such a young bourbon that is only 46 percent alcohol by volume, Hudson Baby Bourbon offers an extraordinarily rich color that rivals bourbons three times its age.
NOSE: The aging method certainly appears on the nose with resounding wood fibers appearing on first whiff. After the wood dissipates, a lush, sweet grain follows with just a hint of cardamom, caramel, and vanilla.
PALATE: In addition to notes found in the nose, Hudson has a unique smoke that’s almost like the burnt top layer of a crème brûlée; you might find it to be a burnt vanilla or a charred marshmallow. This quality makes the New York bourbon a fun change of pace from Kentucky bourbons. A slightly soft mouthfeel.
FINISH: After the whiskey goes down, a subtle spice gives a lovely finish.
Did you pick up the grain note?
Batch no. 14 / Bottle no. 73 of 120
DISTILLERY: MB Roland Distillery, Pembroke Kentucky
MASTER DISTILLER: Paul Tomaszewski
PROOF AND PRODUCT AGE: 104.21 proof. No age statement, but the bourbon is around 2 years old.
MASHBILL: 75 percent white corn, 15 percent rye, 10 percent malted barley
GRAIN ORIGINS: Bagged local white corn comes from Christian County Grain, which is 5 miles from the distillery. Rye and malted barley originate from the Midwest.
DISTILLATION: The double-distilled whiskey comes off the 600-gallon pot still at 110 proof and goes straight into the barrel.
BARREL ENTRY PROOF: 110
AGING: MB Roland purchases wine-grade barrels from the Independent Stave Company, which procures white oak throughout North America.
BARRELS PER BOTTLING: 1
FILTERING METHOD: Non–chill filtration
COLOR: This whiskey is above 100 proof, but it’s around 2 years old. It’s lighter in color than Wild Turkey 101, an older bourbon in the same approximate proof range. Nonetheless, it’s a solid light brown color, which indicates the whiskey maximized its time in the wood.
NOSE: This is one of the most beautiful bouquets in a young bourbon you’ll ever find. Screaming of vanilla cake batter, toasted almonds, praline, caramel, and a hint of citrus, MB Roland brings pure joy to a whiskey lover looking for something different in bourbon.
PALATE: While the nose offers a cake-batter smell, the palate is like dipping your finger in the bowl and just taking a lick. Following caramel, vanilla, leather and tobacco, the bourbon gives a tickle of cinnamon.
FINISH: Soft. I am left wondering what this whiskey will taste like if left in the barrel for another couple of years. It shows so much promise.
Compare this bourbon’s color to that of an older bourbon. Do you find MB Roland is exceptional in color for its age?
DISTILLERY: MGP Ingredients Distillery, Lawrenceburg, Indiana
MASTER DISTILLER: Greg Metze, who is not affiliated with this brand. Redemption owners purchase whiskey stocks from MGP and bottle the whiskey in Bardstown, Kentucky.
PROOF AND PRODUCT AGE: 92 proof. 2 to 3 years old.
MASHBILL: 60 percent corn, 38.2 percent rye, 1.8 percent malted barley
GRAIN ORIGINS: Indiana for the corn. Rye originates from Europe, while the malted barley is purchased from MaltEurop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
DISTILLATION: MGP Ingredients double distills whiskey using a 48- or 72-inch-diameter Vendome column still and one of 2 doublers that are 15,000 and 40,000 gallons in capacity.
BARREL ENTRY PROOF: 120
AGING: These are standard Independent Stave Barrels purchased by MGP Ingredients—American white oak with a char no. 3 or 4.
BARRELS PER BOTTLING: 7 to 10
FILTERING METHOD: Chill filtration
COLOR: Barn straw
NOSE: This younger whiskey with a boatload of rye sure smells of perfume scents. It’s also packing hints of spice and a little caramel.
PALATE: A much different sensory experience than the nose, offering a crisp mouthfeel and notes of herbs, burnt corn, and spice.
FINISH: A short, cinnamon finish.
The grain note expresses itself differently in this bourbon because the grain is burnt, almost spicy. Can you detect a raw grain?
DISTILLERY: FEW Spirits, Evanston, Illinois
MASTER DISTILLER: Paul Hletko
PROOF AND PRODUCT AGE: 93 proof. No age statement, but the bourbon is under 4 years old.
MASHBILL: High rye with a spicy yeast. The distiller does not disclose its mashbill, and it is not publicly available.
GRAIN ORIGINS: Non-GMO corn and rye grown within 100 miles of the distillery and malted barley purchased from the Briess Malt & Ingredients Company.
DISTILLATION: The low wine is produced with a 12-inch-diameter Vendome column still. The second distillation runs off a 1,500-liter hybrid still.
BARREL ENTRY PROOF: 118
AGING: FEW purchases barrels from 2 cooperages that source American white oak from Missouri and northern states. They use 15-, 30-, and 53-gallon barrels. Barrels are char no. 3.
BARRELS PER BOTTLING: Since there are so many barrel sizes, this is a difficult question to answer, but FEW shoots for target dumps of 75 to 100 gallons and 200 to 300 gallons.
FILTERING METHOD: Pad filter to remove char
COLOR: Dark straw
NOSE: Oh boy, this bouquet has a life of its own. We’re talking cornbread fresh out of the oven, vanilla, red pepper flakes, clove, and a hint of cardamom.
PALATE: The cornbread note is subtle here and immediately warms up to woodiness and saddle leather. It’s herbal with hints of vanilla and caramel.
FINISH: For such a young bourbon, FEW Spirits has a finish that keeps tickling long after it’s down the hatch. I find subtle hints of oak and vanilla on this lovely, long finish.
In the nose, did you pick up the incredible spice?
DISTILLERY: Finger Lakes Distilling, Burdett, New York
MASTER DISTILLER: Thomas McKenzie
PROOF AND PRODUCT AGE: 102.4 proof. 44 months.
MASHBILL: 70 percent corn, 20 percent white wheat, and 10 percent malted barley
GRAIN ORIGINS: Corn and wheat come from a farm 5 miles from the distillery. Malt is a Canadian distiller’s malt.
DISTILLATION: This whiskey is single-pot distilled through the rectifying column and when done is about 115 proof.
BARREL ENTRY PROOF: 100
AGING: Made by McGinnis wood products, the 53-gallon American white oak barrel is air-seasoned for 36 months and given a char no. 4. Aged in barrel racks similar to what you see in wineries. McKenzie cycles heat during the winter.
BARRELS PER BOTTLING: 1
FILTERING METHOD: None
COLOR: Light brown
NOSE: Fresh grain with herbs. This is the kind of nose that makes me want to become a vegetarian—it’s ripe with vegetable notes and herbal essence in a good way.
PALATE: The mouthfeel is chewy, and the grains establish themselves as lovely corn on the cob with a pat of butter, salt, and pepper. The herbs remain heavy, yielding oregano and basil notes, but it’s a myriad of herbs, and they come quickly.
FINISH: Medium
Did you pick up the herbal notes?
Small Batch / Premium Cut / Batch no. 15 / Bottled on July 10, 2014, by Sarah
DISTILLERY: Smooth Ambler, Maxwelton, West Virginia
MASTER DISTILLER: John Flora
PROOF AND PRODUCT AGE: 92 proof. 2 years, 11 months old.
MASHBILL: 73 percent corn, 15 percent wheat, 12 percent malted barley
GRAIN ORIGINS: Wheat and corn are West Virginia, while malt is Cargill distiller’s malt.
DISTILLATION: Double distilled on a 12-inch-diameter column and a 50-gallon doubler.
BARREL ENTRY PROOF: Varies from 100 to 120, but the most frequent is 117.2 proof into the barrel.
AGING: 53-gallon barrels include American white oak seasoned for 1 year and then charred with no. 3 and no. 4 chars. Barrels age in concrete warehouses.
BARRELS PER BOTTLING: 1 or 2
FILTERING METHOD: A stainless-steel mesh removes barrel bits. Whiskey is run through a small filter to remove any char and filtered again moments before bottling.
COLOR: Gold bullion with caramel hues
NOSE: This bourbon’s nose could easily get lost in flight, because it’s bringing forth aromas that are not as bold as older bourbon. I pick up floral notes, fresh milled corn, caramel, vanilla, and just a hint of toasted marshmallow.
PALATE: Brings out a chewy roasted corn note that’s quite lovely and reminds me of campfire corn. Caramel, vanilla, and a spicy tea with hints of cinnamon and lavender follow. The mouthfeel is a combination of soft and dry.
FINISH: Short and spicy
Was this palate smoky and corny all at the same time for you?
DISTILLERY: Town Branch Distillery, Lexington, Kentucky
MASTER DISTILLER: Mark Coffman
PROOF AND PRODUCT AGE: 80 proof. At least 2 years old.
MASHBILL: 72 percent corn, 15 percent malted rye, and 13 percent malted barley.
GRAIN ORIGINS: Town Branch purchases gelatinized corn, malted barley, and malted rye from Cargill.
DISTILLATION: Forsyth Pot still double distillation with 5,000-liter wash still and 3,200-liter spirit still.
BARREL ENTRY PROOF: 120
AGING: Town Branch uses char no. 5 Independent Stave barrels and contract ages at Kentucky Bourbon Distillers.
FILTERING METHOD: Chill filtering in a pall filtration system.
COLOR: Straw
NOSE: Freshly peeled corn grilling under a charcoal flame. After this, oak and banana fill the nose.
PALATE: Loaded with pear and banana, with caramel and vanilla making a nice rush to the finish over a rough mouthfeel.
FINISH: Short, with cinnamon
This seemed to have loads of banana. Did you get this?
