August 2020

Still Austin Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Still Austin Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey

49.2% ABV
$45
Website
Still Austin Straight Bourbon
We would like to thank Still Austin and and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

Still Austin Whiskey Co., a homegrown distillery situated in the heart of South Austin, released its first high-rye straight bourbon whiskey featuring grains that are 100% grown by Texas farmers. The bourbon is handmade from grain-to-glass at the distillery, aged for at least two years in new charred American Oak barrels, and bottled at 98.4 proof (49.2% ABV). It’s comprised of a high-quality mash bill worthy of its hometown: 70% Non-GMO white corn (the same found in Austin’s tortillas), 25% Elbon rye (which imparts a natural spice) and 5% wildfire malted barley.

“After six years of hard work and perfecting our technique, we’re ready to launch our new flagship straight bourbon whiskey,” said Chris Seals, CEO. “We started Still Austin Whiskey Co. because we saw an opportunity to create our own kind of distillery where we do everything intentionally. This bourbon is an expression of true Texas terroir, but also the distillation of all we are, and of all that has created us. We’ve managed to bottle the inclusive spirit of our home city; a complex bourbon with substance, flair, and finesse.”

According to Still Austin’s “Master Blender” Nancy Fraley, who is famous for her peerless ability to detect flavor notes, “the nose offers delightful aromas of ripe tropical fruits such as pineapple, banana, papaya, mango, toasted coconut shavings, and S’mores with melted milk chocolate and caramelized marshmallow. These notes follow through to the palate, where the rye makes its appearance in the form of cinnamon toast with brown butter, and blanched almonds. The alcohol is soft and creamy like vanilla egg custard and the mouth feel is round, with long waves of tropical fruit, toffee, and rye spice on the finish.”

A Fresh New Look
The straight bourbon whiskey boasts a new custom bottle and label, which serves as the perfect complement to the art inside the bottle. For the label, Still Austin commissioned internationally acclaimed artist and native Texan Marc Burckhardt to paint a series of portraits of “archetypical” Austinites. Each provides a sense of the people who have influenced and inspired the team, while paying homage to the Texas terroir. The figure on the new label dubbed “the Musician,” is the first in the series, which will grace the labels of future spirits. These are visual representations of archetypes, a way of conceiving a “new Austin mythology” by celebrating the innovative people who make the city what it is. The Musician—along with future archetypes like the Naturalist, the Writer, the Visionary, and the Artist—illustrates the fearlessness needed to become truly unique. The Musician in the painting is confident, intelligent, brave and whimsical; essentially, everything Still Austin aspires to be, and everything the distillery loves about its community. The Musician was a natural place to start since Austin is “The Live Music Capital of the World.” Good whiskey is more than just corn, rye and malted barley that’s been fermented, distilled, and aged. Like the various elements of music—chords, rhythms, harmonies—the result is greater than the sum of its parts.

Grain-to-Glass Philosophy
Still Austin is an independent craft whiskey distillery founded in 2015, focusing on a true grain-to-glass concept that produces the highest quality whiskey by perfecting every part of the process and using local resources and sustainable practices. The team is committed to carrying out each part of the process in-house. That means never sourcing whiskey from another distillery, and instead always hand-making everything from scratch, and managing everything in-house – milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, barreling and bottling.

The distilling team is led by Head Distiller John Schrepel, Master Blender Nancy Fraley and veteran Master Distiller Mike Delevante, one of the most experienced and respected distillers in North America who designed the Still Austin distillery to make the highest quality of bourbon. That includes a 42-foot custom-made column, “Nancy,” (and her sister copper-pot still, “The Queen”) which give the distillers serious creative license to create unique new flavors and spirits. The team also uses Texas weather to its advantage. The region’s high heat, humidity and rapidly shifting temperatures encourage spirits to move rapidly in and out of the oak barrels and mature relatively quickly—but, if this process is left unchecked, it can also cause the bourbon to have heavy oak flavor or harsh tannic qualities. To prevent this, Still Austin uses a meticulous six-month slow water reduction technique focused on flavor and balance, which gives the alcohol a softness on the palate and brings more “mature” notes, like vanilla and caramel, to the forefront. The result is a bourbon that highlights the natural flavor of the local grain, with no faults whatsoever.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla cream, buttered popcorn, subtle fruit notes of banana with cinnamon, bit of cocoa with toasted caramel and musty oak.
Palate:  Spicy with cinnamon, nutmeg, cracked pepper over caramel, vanilla wafers, bit of bitter dark chocolate.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with oak and pepper spice.
Comments:  For a 2 year old bourbon, this is pretty dark – no doubt influenced by the hot Texas summers. The sample sent was actually at 100.4 proof before they settled on 98.4 as the bottling proof (I made notes at both, and the 2 points proof difference was an improvement – but only a slight departure). I actually prefer this one a few points lower yet, although appreciate them not lowering the proof further (all of our tastes vary, and I’m a big believer in letting folks dial in their own dram; can’t go the other way!) Readers know I’m not a huge fan of 2 year old bourbon, although I will say this is definitely among the better 2 yr bourbons I’ve tried. On the spicy side, which I don’t mind at all as a fan of rye whiskey. A bit of water brings it into better balance for those who prefer a sweeter dram. With the spice notes, this would make a really nice Old Fashioned.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Hancock’s President’s Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

Hancock’s President’s Reserve
Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey

44.45% ABV
$50-??
Website
Hancock's President's Reserve Bourbon

What the Distillery Says

In 1775, the Leestown settlement was established along the banks of the Kentucky River by Willis and Hancock Lee. Soon this became a well-known shipping port for tobacco, hemp and whiskey. The Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey pays tribute to the pioneering spirit of Hancock Lee.

Tasting Notes
This Single Barrel bourbon whiskey is deep amber in color. The nose is light and sweet with traces of mango and papaya. The body is full and the palate shows a nice balance of honey, clover, fruit and a dash of spice. The finish is long and warm.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Vanilla custard, salted caramel, hint of butterscotch, maple candies, pecan pie, leather, rickhouse musty oak; bit of water brings out some cherry notes.
Palate:  Soft, sweet caramel sauce with nutmeg, toffee, vanilla, touch of cinnamon and black cherry ice cream with a hint of pepper at the end.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with a nutty vanilla note.
Comments:  This is one of those rare whiskies that I find my self preferring the nosing experience over the drinking one. Very much reminds me of standing in Warehouse C at the Buffalo Trace Distillery and taking a nice deep breath (which if you haven’t had the opportunity – I highly recommend it!). A fairly nuanced bourbon.

Rating: Stands Out

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1792 High Rye Bourbon

1792 High Rye
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

47.15% ABV
$38 – $45
Website

What the Distillery Says

By law, bourbon must be made using a mash bill of at least 51% corn. Traditionally, bourbons use rye as the secondary grain in the mash bill. This signature recipe for 1792 High Rye Bourbon uses a much higher percentage of rye as the secondary grain than most bourbons do, creating a robust and full flavor.

TASTING NOTES
The spicy rye notes are complemented by years of aging in charred white oak barrels, whose caramelized sugars delicately balance with the peppery rye flavor. Enjoy a perfect marriage of sweet vanilla, caramel, butterscotch and rye in 1792 High Rye Bourbon.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Herbal spice notes with caramel, thyme, subtle dill, dried mint, oak, nutmeg, clove, rice pudding, hint of anise with evergreen.
Palate:  Soft with caramel, allspice, subtle vanilla, herbal spices with a bit of pepper.
Finish:  Short with herbal notes and oak.
Comments:  Definitely get a lot of rye, but honestly I expected much more of an edge. I love rye whiskey and bourbon, but this one just never hit me right for some reason. It was very herbaceous and soft. Usually with rye there are more citrus spice notes, with a sharper cut; and usually with bourbon you get a fair amount of sweetness. This seemed to be missing the key characteristics of both and honestly was disappointing. Maybe the sample was off (always a possibility) but I prefer the standard 1792 over this by a wide margin.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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