A couple of years ago I listened to a Garrison Brothers interview on WhiskCast. What intrigued me about the interview was the physical location of their distillery in Hye Texas had a climate of extreme temperature swings and also some elevation that greatly accelerates their aging process. Additionally, after the interview Mark rated it very highly so I figured it was worth seeking out. It wasn't available in my market at the time but I was able to work out a trade that didn't cost me very much. A couple of things I have learned since then though is that Mark rates everything very highly and in general rapid aging products taste pretty rough. When I finally got around to opening this my expectations were really low.
Aged 2 years; 47% ABV; $80?
Nose: Vanilla, corn, and lots of earthy funk. It smells like dirt and cornmeal.
Taste: The underpinnings of bourbon are all there with oak and sweet vanilla but the corn notes are super forward as is some kind of strange earthy funk note. I don't know what that note is but almost tastes like potting soil. It certainly has more wood flavor than other whiskeys at this age but it also has some of those raw, chemical/ethanol notes that go along with young craft whiskeys. I'll give it this, I've never tasted any bourbon like this so it's certainly distinct.
Thoughts: I don't know if it's their corn, yeast, small barrels, or the accelerated aging but something is giving this some wicked funk. I can barely drink this neat and found it even worse at cocktail duty.
Rating: D-
Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.
Dry wall or new home construction, I think that's the mystery earthy funk you're talking about. Unfinished wet basement is another flavor that may be sneaking in there.
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