Author's note: I actually wrote this on Wednesday, while I was still technically on vacation, and left it in drafts. Blame it on vacation brain.
I spent a couple of days in the North Georgia mountains this week, and I stopped at a couple of stores for some bourbon. A theme began to emerge from the bottles I picked: Georgia distilleries. So naturally, I thought that there was nothing else to do but review my picks. Here goes!
Legends of Georgia Limited Release Wheated Bourbon
Mash bill: corn, wheat, and barley, 115 proof.
I paid $79.99 for it in the store.
Full disclosure: This is not Georgia-distilled bourbon, but it is a Georgia distillery’s limited release. It’s distilled in Indiana, but Legends of Georgia, a Cumming, Ga.-based distillery, brings it to market.
Obviously, at this proof point, I expected it to pack a punch. The nose is largely floral — lots of honeysuckle on my first inhale. The potency of the higher proof comes through in the nose as well. The mouthfeel is lush, and I didn’t realize how viscous it was until I got to the last of it in the cup from which I tasted it neat.
When I tasted it neat, I felt every bit of that high proof, but it’s a sweet heat. It definitely carries a sweet caramel flavor with almost a Karo syrup quality. There’s a little hint of spearmint in the finish. On the rocks, it tastes more like a butterscotch or pecan pie flavor.
At $80, it’s a splurge for me, but it earns its keep. It’s one that I’d consider splurging on again.
Rating: 8.5/10
Big Creek Georgia Straight Small Batch Wheated Bourbon
Mash bill: 75% corn, 15% wheat, and 10% malted barley, 97 proof.
Retails for $49.99.
One of my recent favorite finds was Big Creek Small Batch. I first discovered it on a trip to Athens, Ga. Big Creek is based in Dahlonega, Ga. I considered trying to head over there, but it’s not open the first half of the week. Besides, it would’ve been about a two-hour round trip.
I bought a bottle while I was up here in the mountains and decided to try to treat it like a first taste. The nose is a rich, spicy caramel, and I noticed the viscosity straightaway. It’s a gorgeous, striking deep amber color, and it’s like velvet in the mouth.
Tasting it neat gave me a heavy sense of a decadent brown sugar caramel. There’s almost a cookie-dough sweetness to it that’s hard to resist. Ice smooths it out a bit more, but it’s still lusciously sweet and rich.
I knew I liked it from the first bottle I bought, but tasting it with a reviewer’s mindset made me appreciate it even more. Y’all, I’m in love!
Rating: 10/10
Doc Brown Farm & Distillery Day Swigger Southern Ember
Mash bill: Jimmy Red corn, rye, and malted barley, 93 proof.
I paid $39.96 for it in the store.
Doc Brown Farm is down in Senoia, Ga., and it’s a definite grain-to-glass family operation. I have to admit that this one caught my attention in the store. It’s a straight bourbon finished with toasted pecan staves. It’s hard to imagine something more Southern than that.
It’s noticeably viscous, and the nose is sweeter than I expected for a rye-heavy, non-wheated bourbon. The mouthfeel is pretty straightforward — not too rich, and not too heavy.
Drinking it neat, I get that rye spice up front, with brown sugar and toasted pecan notes coming not too far behind. It has a remarkably dry finish, but that’s not necessarily a turnoff. Ice brings out an unmistakable toasted pecan flavor, and it mitigates a little bit of the dry finish.
This one’s a keeper, even with the dry finish. Unfortunately, it’s a limited release, so I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for it locally.
Rating: 9/10
