418. Roadies Southern Whiskey Night

Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the Bourbon Road podcast. I'm your host, Jim Shannon. And I'm your host, Todd Ritter.

We've got a great show for you today. So grab your favorite pour and join us.

Todd and I are proud to have Smokey's Lifestyle Cigars as a sponsor of this episode and as the official cigar of the Bourbon Road podcast. Our hosts and listeners alike enjoy the ultimate experience of premium cigars. Smokey's Lifestyle Cigars are where flavor and craftsmanship meet. Find out more during the halftime break and at Smokey's Lifestyle Cigar dot com. The Surgeon General warns that cigar smoking can cause lung cancer and heart disease and is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. We've got a number of good friends and roadies who are joining us here tonight. We're either from Georgia or Tennessee, and have made their way up to the Louisville area to enjoy some barrel picks and otherwise. And we're going to sit down and drink some Tennessee whiskey tonight. So why don't we take a few minutes and introduce who's with us?

We'll start with Rob. So I'm Rob. I'm from Augusta, Georgia. I work in the nuclear industry. And actually, this This discussion ties greatly to my inauguration into whiskey drinking. Okay. We're going to talk about Chattanooga whiskey. And, uh, really my, my road started with a group that went on a tour and a tasting at Chattanooga whiskey in August of 2018 at their location, just downtown Chattanooga.

2018. You're OG almost, I mean, six years. That's a long time.

And next we have Ray. Right, Ray. I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So I have been a fan of Chattanooga whiskey since I moved down to Tennessee back in 2020. And so, yeah, I've brought a couple special barrels or a couple special bottles to me, some of their wine finished products, and then a special surprise for the end. Yeah, I got into whiskey back probably, I guess, not too much time before I moved to Tennessee. 2017 is really when I started drinking whiskey neat with a small craft distillery up in Illinois, DeKalb, Illinois, called Whiskey Acres. Their rye whiskey was my introduction to neat whiskey. Before that I was a bourbon and coke or rum and coke or even soco and lime every now and then.

All right. Well, glad to have you. And thank you for bringing the whiskey. Absolutely. My pleasure. And next, Raheem.

Hey, y'all. Raheem here. Also from Augusta, Georgia. I'm one of the managers over at the White Horse shop down there. Been there for about two and a half years now. And just recently started my bourbon journey about in that timeline. Had a good sip before I started working there a couple of years back. Knew that this would be something I might enjoy. And then as I got to the shop, people there, the my boss was big into whiskey. So he taught me a lot of things. Let me try a good couple of things and got into it pretty well with I used to love cologne and kind of the breakdown of the notes. When I started getting into the logistics of whiskey, I was like, okay, you can pick up on the vanilla, the caramel started having a lot of fun with it. So about about two and a half to three years in the game for the whiskey for me.

Oh, fantastic.

Well, guys, I'm so glad to have you here. This is a fun night and I've said it many times on the show. If you're a roadie, if you're a listener and you're in town, please let me know. This is not your first time hooking up and I think Ray, you came in to town a month or so ago and you and I went over to the cigar bar and hung out for a little while. Um, it's a lot of fun roadies, um, listeners of the show guys get together, have a good time. And if you're ever in our area, make sure you let us know if we can make it work. We will. And you know, sometimes we even get to record a podcast. We had a large crew come in from Ohio once, a lot of our listeners, and we've had them on the show and then we've been up to Ohio actually and done a show up there as well. It's a great time. It's a lot of fun and it's always fun to share whiskey, especially with new friends. Ray, you and I have met before, as I said. Rob and Raheem, you guys are our new friends, but glad to have you in the house.

A pleasure to be here.

I appreciate you having us. Thank you so much, Jim, for having us. All right, Ray, we're going to get to this first pour. We all have a couple of glasses poured, but what's in our first glass?

Yeah, so the first pour here, starting out with a recent production by Chattanooga Whiskey, it is their straight bourbon whiskey finished in Pinot Noir casks. And I believe specifically this is Russian River Pinot Noir casks. So these are various mash bills. They're standard SB91, a couple of flavoring mash bills, SB55 and B5. Standard price for this product is about $60. It is distributed, I know in Tennessee, I assume a few other states other than that, 95 proof. The age is greater than four years with six months in the finishing cask. And yeah, I'd say you nailed that. Yeah. Yeah.

Very good. I think they're well distributed. I think they're out there pretty good. And you know, one of the things that Chattanooga is known for is putting out fairly priced bottles, right? Their stuff is very affordable and super high quality. Right. All right. Let's check it out guys. You don't get a lot of Pinot Noir finished bourbons. So this is kind of a treat for us, I'd say.

I like that. I've never been too much of a red wine finish guy, but Pinot Noir is typically being lighter body. The influence on this whiskey, it's subtle, but it's there. It lets you know that it's rounding out the body a little bit more. Good sweetness on it. The first thing I noticed from this was the good legs on that. I mean, it's got quite an oily mouth feel coming with that. I'm fairly pleased with it. I've had maybe one or two of the Chattanooga expressions before. I think one being the port finish, which I feel like is a little bit too heavy for me. But this one, this one's quite a treat. I'm actually really enjoying this on the first sip.

Yeah, I think, you know, with a red wine finished, uh, bourbons, a lot of times you'll get that sort of the jammy kind of notes to it. Um, sort of the PB and J without the peanut butter kind of deal, but, uh, more so with like a port also with a cab finished, but the Pino's just a light touch, nice little light touch.

Now with Ray, with this one, Russian River, Russian Creek, was this where the Pinot's from? Yeah, Russian River, Pinot Noir. Russian River. Is that, do you know if that's from California or is that a, it's an interesting one, yeah. I've started dabbling in wines here and there. I found myself gravitating towards Oregon Pinot Noirs, which are pretty fun, add a little bit more earthiness to it. So I've always been curious about a company out there would go for Oregon Cass. I know California Juan Cass are pretty popular out there to grab at and to use, but I'm curious if people might branch out. So I'm wondering how this one might be. I'm not getting too much of those big jammy fruits on it, which is interesting.

Yeah, so it does look like this is a California vineyard.

You know, Russian river did sound familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint where it's from, but I've heard the name before.

Yeah. I can't say that I've had any other wines directly. So, you know, kind of a new introduction for me on that as well.

And a lot of people are playing with the wine finishes and have been for some time. What immediately comes to mind is Bartstown Bourbon Company. They've released a couple recently and they do a really good job at it. I think Chattanooga Whiskey does a really good job at their wine finish. I like it.

I've had the pleasure to try the the Bardstown Silver Rope Finish release not too long ago and 17 months in the barrel I thought it's gonna be just big red fruits up forward but got a little bit more depth to it which I really enjoyed. I feel like a little bit more of that barrel aging came along with it. I forgot the exact age it's a blends that popped in with there but Overall, it's quite a great experience. I did enjoy that. So that started raising my expectations more for trying more of these red wand finishes out there.

I do really enjoy this one. There is that jamminess there, but it's not overdone. Again, being a fan of chat whiskey, I can still taste the 91, the original recipe there. It's still there. I still get the maltiness that I expect from the Tennessee High Malt, and it's very well done.

You do get that nutty oaky kind of finish on it, which is, uh, which I like. It's not like, um, super strong, uh, super tannic, but it is very kind of nutty. And I like that. Now I did, I did just have some almonds, so there might be some almond playing in there too.

One interesting note that I get with this one, and maybe it's not a note, but maybe it's more of a flavor memory, but sweet tea, like a good sweet tea. I can see that. I can see that.

So on the front of the palette on this one, it reminds me of the Willett family estate bottles, that grape flavor. It's not quite as intense, but it's the Willett grape. It makes me think of the purple Mr. Sketch markers. Oh, wow. Now I will say it transforms more into a green grape on the finish. And I think it mutes the maltiness a little bit from most of the Chattanooga whiskeys. And it's a very drastic transition between those two different grape notes.

I've always liked a good high malt. What was the malt percentage on this one? Let's see.

I don't believe they give the breakdown. I'm looking at the bottle.

A 91 corn, was it?

No, well, it's the, the SB 91 is just their, their, when they were doing the different barrels, it was the single barrel number 91. And that's, that's the mash bill they settled with for their core product line. But this one, they do say every, every one of these bottles contains at least 25% of specialty malted grains. So they like to see, yeah, this one doesn't get into exactly what percentage of each malt though. But they do typically like to use, you know, honey roasted barley and stuff like that as flavoring grains to really add unique flavors to what is otherwise a younger whiskey, but still good.

I've always liked malt in it. I've always found that one company in particular, Old Elk, I know they kind of gravitate towards some of those high malts and I've tried some of their cast finishes. The sherry they did a port and man those those just kind of give me heartburn after a while so those are tough for me but man they they took all those and put them in their first cigar blend the cigar cut that they did the first batch and I was highly pleased with that you got the the Armin yak. Cognac and I believe it was poured and the sherry with that and I mean you take all four of those whiskeys separately They're a little hit or miss for me. But man that that cigar cut was Was was quite a treat for me I think last year that that became one of my least top five if not, maybe top ten I definitely would probably put it close to top five for my whiskeys there been a hard one for me to find But I've seen a couple out here since I've been here Um, it's been a pleasure being out here so far of, um, my first time out in Kentucky, um, popped in last night and we got started early, uh, about eight 30, seven 30, we started hitting the road and checking things out. No, six 30 rather. You were John O's first thing. First thing.

Both locations.

Yeah. Yeah. popped in at the first one. We thought it would be open at seven. We popped in at seven on the dot. They weren't open till eight. So I was like, all right, we'll just travel down the road to the next one. And man, I did not expect just the magnitude of all the good stuff that they had there. I mean, I've never seen a stack of bookers. I never knew they came in six packs rather. I mean, down in Augusta, I get lucky to see maybe one bookers a year if I get that. So it's just quite a... I like wow I mean this this really is this really is Kentucky's like wow you'd see all this good stuff. 107 just sitting there. I mean we see we see well or 12 down there but I mean 107 just hasn't hit the area in years. Everybody's asking about it but man best thing I can offer here and there is just good old well or 12 which is a solid bottle.

Well, I'd take a Weller 12 of the 107, I think. I mean, I like them both, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of a regional thing. If you're in Ohio, you can get Weller Special Reserve all day long. If you're in Texas, you can get the 107. I guess George's where the Weller 12 is.

How about that? That's right. Yeah. For me, the, the weeded product lines, I just, it's not something I enjoy too much. Um, so like the 107 and the full proofs are typically not go-tos for me, but the Weller 12, you start getting those double digit age ages on a, on a weeded bourbon. That's, that's where I really start to enjoy them. And it's the same way with makers. You know, I don't typically enjoy a makers of, of the younger stuff, but then I recently had the, uh, the, the cask or what, what was it called? The cellar age. I had the cellar age last week and I was, I was like, yep, that, that does it. That hit the spot. Was that the, uh, 2023 or 24? It was the 23. Oh, fun.

Well, you know, the interesting thing, you know, George has actually got a pretty good bourbon scene. Oh yeah. You know, I'm originally from a beverage control state and just the difference in between those two is certainly has been eye opening for me. As Raheem said though, you know, you come up to this area and it's just elevated that much more. As far as availability, you know, the, some of the special expressions that you just don't routinely see. And, uh, you know, I'm a big fan of John O's, uh, for that reason.

Right. Now you guys are from the Augusta area. Do you, do you get around to distilleries in your own state?

I haven't yet. I mean, I know there's ASW nearby. Numerous stores around have done a lot of ASW picks. I've tried a couple and they're really good whiskies. I've just, I haven't found myself gravitated down there yet. We have a second city, which is very local to us. I mean, uh, probably about 10 minutes down the road, 15 minutes down the road from my shop. Um, and I, I haven't visited the shop. I need to, I've always been invited, but I've tried a couple of their expressions. I mean, I, in the shop, we carry, uh, their corn bourbon and then their weeded bourbon, the noble Jones. And. That's quite a fantastic one. I think it's about a four-year, five-year age statement right now. But it's exceptional. I think they did really good for about, I think about a sub $40 to $45 bottle. And they're getting into a good spot. I mean, they get a lot of good talk, especially we get the masters coming in. A lot of people like to grab their souvenirs and that's one of those top bottles. We do have a lot of locals that kind of gravitate towards it. No, there's 13th colony in the area. I think that's about three hours from us in Augusta. I've been meaning to go pop in and give them a visit, but haven't gravitated down there towards them just yet. I've tried working with their product, but we're in a smaller bottle shop. And my whiskey wall can only take so much bottles there. Those 13th colony bottles are just too wide. Man, I've wanted to work them in, but. But you'd make room for a birthday bourbon.

Oh yeah.

Yeah. It's the same bottle, right? Well, that might not go on the whiskey wall. It might not. Absolutely. Yeah. What about legends? Legends.

Yeah. They're in coming Georgia.

Okay, I can't say I've had those guys yet or really kind of paid more attention to them, but I know there's, I can't think of the name. Rob, you mentioned it earlier today when we were talking about some of the Bardstown releases that had some of those higher age Georgia blends in there.

Yeah, so Moonrise is actually in Clayton, Georgia, which is up in the, you know, there's a couple of cuts of the mountains that come into Northern Georgia. This is on the Eastern most. ridge and they do a four grain. So of course, some of the discovery series of the Bardstown, they've got a four grain George in it. Don't know if that's it or not, but it made me think of their distillery. Could be, could be.

I do enjoy ASW. I enjoy going down there. It's about a two hour drive for me to get to ASW, but it's definitely worth it. I need to plan a trip to, I'm a big Braves fan. I need to plan a trip to go visit the ASW on the battery next baseball season. That'd be, that'd be a neat, neat opportunity to go see that. But yeah.

Three locations, ASW has three locations in Atlanta.

Yeah. I go to the main, I've only been to the main campus. I've been there two or three times, uh, where they, there still is and all that, their bottle shop. I've done a couple. I did the, Jim, you and I were talking earlier. I did the Ambarana release on batch one of the Ambarana, uh, which again was, was good for about the first two or three pours then, then I was done. That was enough Ambarana for me. Yeah. That's about two pours more than I would have made it. Their rye, their malted rye with the resurgence ryes is amazing. I'm a big malted rye fan and then they have a really good barrel aged gin that I'm a fan of.

All right. Let's turn our attention north just a little bit back to this Tennessee whiskey here. And anybody have thoughts on the finish?

I think

The finish had a great linger behind it. It didn't stay for more than maybe two minutes. I did kind of find myself keep going back to it. I love that beginning to it, getting that mouth feel. But the finish, I kept wanting more out of it, so I kept finding myself sipping it, but it's quite a nice sipper though. What's this coming in on, proof-wise? 95. 95, that's a good spot for this. I think that's pretty good. I think that kind of helps complement that malt in there, making it subtle, kind of rounding it out. Overall, a solid whiskey. I was really impressed with this one. I was a little scared at first having that poor finish. And I was like, ah, man. And just having just a couple of other red wine finishes that I wasn't too big of a fan of. So this was quite a treat jumping into, I think a great pour, honestly, for the price point.

All right. I am ready to move on. How about you guys? Likewise.

Alright, next up we've got Chattanooga Whiskey's straight bourbon whiskey finished in white port casks. For this one, I got a little more detail on some of the mash bills. The B05 is a yellow corn malted wheat, oak malted wheat, or oak smoked malted wheat, and a caramel malted wheat. So heavy on the malted wheat on this one, on the B05. They blend that with their standard SB91, which is yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barley, and honey malted barley. And then they have a flavoring mash bill here, yellow corn, green malted barley. I might have to look that up later. And then malted red wheat. Same price, 60 bucks, same proof, 95. They age stated at greater than five years with two years finishing in the white pork casks.

These guys are mad scientists.

There's something else, aren't they?

I remember having, I think it was Tim I had on the show and trying to nail him down on exactly, it's tough. It's tough. But I mean, just, just to get to the 91st recipe before you decide what you want to make that tells a story right there. Right.

Yeah. So specifically the, the white pork cask here, it says a Duro Valley white port barrels.

On the nose, I'm getting this, kind of like this raisin bread, which I'm kind of enjoying with that weed kind of complimenting that. It's nice, that white port being two years on there, I expected a lot more kind of just hitting you, but it's still nice and subtle. I'm enjoying this nose so far and seeing the legs on this gives me a lot of expectations for this, about being a good one. What was this clocking in at, proof point? 95. 95, all right.

I'm seeing a trend here. Yeah, this is, I think raisin was a good call out on this. I think it does have kind of a raisin dried plum raisin nose to it. And you, the kind of the cereal bready note to it is kind of in the back a little bit, but yeah, you did pull that out. That's, that's pretty good. You've got quite a palette.

I've been having a lot of fun with it. Um, like I mentioned, I had a little. fun with my brother dabbling in cologne and just kind of picking out all those notes. When I got to whiskey, I was like, oh, okay. And it's been pretty fun with me. I know wheat, depending on the percentage of it, I mean, that breadiness always hits me instantly. And I think with this white port, that kind of just, that raisin bread, which just would immediately hit my nose, kind of like, Forget the company, but I had man for breakfast almost every morning. I used to have this cinnamon raisin bread. I used to toast it. Man, that should just be a solid treat for me.

A little butter on it?

A little butter on it. Yeah, absolutely, man. Absolutely.

Now, Ray, how old are these two releases? The first one, it's age stated just greater than four with six months finishing. And this one, the port is five years with two years finishing. Now, I don't know if the two years finishing is included in the five years or if it's technically seven or they're not, the wording's not clear.

Well, the port has definitely got a bigger impact on this particular port than the Pinot Noir did on the last one.

And Ray, do you know what years those were released?

So the Russian River Pino was recent. So the batch is 24H09R, but the 24 is 2024. And it was a recent release. I think it's still on the shelf, at least in liquor stores in my area, in Chattanooga. And then the port finish I think was earlier this year. Let's see. Yeah, it's another batch 24. So yeah, it was earlier in the year though. And it's the, that's the second port finish they've done. I didn't, I didn't get my hands on the first one. So white port, white port. Two white port finishes.

Well, the first one's a Pinot Noir and this one's a white port. Right. No, as far as the releases, this is the second release of the white port finish?

Second port.

I don't know if the first one was a white port or not. I think the first one was just like a ruby red port, if I'm not mistaken.

I believe you're correct.

I remember that color being just dark, and I was like, oh, that looks amazing. But I may have to revisit it. I mean, I think that was about a year ago. I got the opportunity to go to a trade show, and I saw those guys there. Always heard good about them, so I popped in. They were like, oh, man, port finishes. Everybody's go-to right now. You got to try it. And I was like, ugh, ugh, eh. But this white port's fun. I mean, you really don't see a lot of white port finishes out there, so this is quite a treat. I know that there's... The only one I can think of at the top of my head, which is super limited release, the mid winter's night Dram. They do that distillery only release for that white port finish. I haven't heard a lot about it, but. Yeah.

I, if you're ever in Chattanooga, come stop by the house. Cause I have it. Yeah. Yeah. I was, I got, so one of, one of my customers is, is in, in Idaho. And so I make it a point of about this time of year to schedule a trip to go see those guys up there. And I make a point to fly into Salt Lake. Good call. So yeah. And it's just, it's just a quick 20 minute drive over the mountain to go see high west. So, but yeah, I do agree. It does remind me a little bit of the, they called it, it was a batch 10. They did that midwinter's rhyme or act 10, act 10. And they called it the encore. That's right. And it was white. Cause normally they blend the Ruby and the white together. to make the Midwinter's Night Dram. But this one, they said, OK, the white port is special all on its own. We're going to barrel that separate.

What are your guys' thoughts on the Midwinter's Night Dram, just the red port finish? I've always found that to be a little too sweet. I know a lot of people are like, ah, it's my favorite ride of all time.

It's a Christmas port.

It is a Christmas port. I agree.

I think I have a bottle over there, I think. I don't know what act it is, but probably six or something. It's been a while since I bought a bottle of it.

I do enjoy them. The price points getting a little up there definitely prevents buying more than a couple. But I do enjoy them. But I am glad it's limited. Yeah. Because, yeah, the price is getting up there.

Generally, I'm not straight away from the finished stuff, generally. I'll say they do a pretty good job. Like I said, it's a Christmas pour. I don't need a whole bottle. Just give me a pour on a special occasion when it's cold outside.

I tend to be able to appreciate the oddball stuff, the one-offs, the unusual things. I just like the exploration of it. I like to try this stuff. You know, when bottles are priced north of a hundred dollars, way north of a hundred dollars, in some cases, you have to be very careful about getting too excited about all the things that get released. So be a little bit more picky and choose what you like. And I do enjoy taking a pour of something that's off the wall. But a lot of times you'll find that those are the bottles that sit on your bar and go down very, very slow. Exactly. They don't get, they don't get consumed really quickly. That's right. And it's for that reason. You're talking about the Ambarana. We kind of had a laugh earlier about the Ambarana. I think there's, or I think I said there's probably a thousand bottles of that Ambarana out there that's just got the neck gone. Yeah. The next four gone out of it because you have a couple and you're like, okay, I'm done. Yeah.

Yeah, I think coming into late 2022, 2023 was a big peak for experimental finishes for a lot of companies. I mean, you saw guys like Doc Swinson out there just releasing multiple finishes at a time. Redline, which I'm a huge fan of and I really did enjoy their finishes. A lot of people just gravitating over towards them and a couple of other guys out there too. Since being at a bottle shop, I've noticed that that trend has died a lot. A lot of people are more so going towards just traditional juice. Double Oaks if anything. Double Oaks on a huge trend right now. So I've been trying to keep up with that. And I mean, that's where my next barrel picks are kind of heading. Just more traditional juice. I mean, we've done some fun stuff in the past, like a honey cast finish with red line that was fantastic and a beautiful one at that. And their other finishes are quite amazing. I see you have the vanilla brandy up there and man, that's quite a treat. And I've always appreciated Doc Swinson's finishes. I mean, they're subtle. They're there, but they've always been subtle. So those were some of the guys that kind of got me into try more premium whiskeys. Doc Swinson, Smoke Wagon. I was really just big on MGP when I got into the whisky game about two and a half, three years ago. And gravitating into those high-ride mash bills. I know that was that was a thing as a big twist in the in the bourbon world because a lot of people are so used to. Buffalo trace products being a lower corn i know they have a higher i mash out there that doesn't drink like it. I'm but that does more sweeter approaches in my area at least a much out which we just don't sell rise at all so high rise were always a big it for a lot of people. I think Redline helped kind of pave the way for that smoke wagon as well. Doc Swinson as well. Also, I mean, they actually take smoke wagons and Redline's Mash Bill and just blend those two together. You get a 21 and a 36 together. And they do a really good job with that. The blender's cut was what I got hooked to at first, ran through multiple bottles of that. And I was like, OK, I could see the fun with this. and at first wasn't a huge rye person at all, but now I'm dabbling a lot more in ryes, and I'm really enjoying them. I think there's some great ryes out there, and we're slowly seeing that trend kinda happen, but still in our area, at least my shop at least, just a lot of people just still kinda turn their noses to it. They're like, yeah.

Yeah, well, ryes take a sharp turn in between six and eight years. They really take a sharp turn, and they start moving away from, You know, what most of us regard as rise because we're drinking two to five year old rise, right? That's mostly what's on the shelves today. But you got a ride that passes six and eight years and it starts turning that candied orange, you know, and the, the deep rich flavors and it sort of loses the. you know, the clove and the, the, the dill and, you know, those, those more youthful rye notes start to go away and you get more of a, you know, a rye muffin with orange marmalade on it.

It's like, oh my goodness, they just, they get really good.

They're just, they're few and far between, but people, like you said, some of these, some of these distilleries out there have really mastered

know, the production of the rice. Absolutely. I mean, I know Kentucky rice are always such a big thing. They, I mean, typically a lot of those being lower rye mashes, I believe Nectar's being one of them. Nectar is actually one of the companies that got me into rice. I really enjoyed that kind of citrus orange peel on top of that. Oh man, beautiful whiskeys. With their 10 year, I mean, still probably in my top five, the top three. Beautiful, beautiful whiskey there and all their other releases. I mean, still kind of hard to find on their toasted barrel strength, but opened me up for sure to try a lot more ryes. One company I've been really impressed about, Green River. Green River's rye out there is just amazing. I mean, all their expressions, honestly. So I love seeing a good Green River out there and I'm happy that that company's doing well.

And what about Hard Truth?

Hard Truth. I've heard really good.

Oh my gosh. Those guys are just out of this world with their eyes.

Yeah. So a buddy of mine in Chattanooga, it works for a local distributor and they're the local distributor for Hard Truth. And it's lovely to see the things that he comes with.

Well, we got to have, we tried three excellent rise earlier today, Raheem and I, with the old Carter batch eight and batch 12 rise. And then we had the rare character, Helen Seller.

Wow. Yeah. Old Carter has always put out just phenomenal rise. Well, phenomenal bourbons too. Their whiskey is just across the board.

American whiskey is really good too. I agree. That's my go-to brand.

Yeah. You cannot go wrong with that brand. We've had them on the show a number of times. There's been some changes in old Carter over the years. Unfortunately, we've seen some, some, some changes there, but their whiskey still continues to be phenomenal and good high priced. But if that kind of bottle is in your affordability range, uh, it's a good, it's a good buy.

I think they do a great job with keeping their niche. I mean, with this kind of, I guess you could say drought right now that they're having, I mean, the whiskeys that are out there, they get a little bit more lost in the sauce. Not a lot of people are going to be finding them anymore. And those that do, I mean, they all appreciate them. And I think that's just, I think they're still in a good spot regardless. And a lot of people are kind of wanting more out of them right now, but when they do get back up on their feet and start pushing more out there, I mean, they're holding that high ground right there. I mean we've noticed a trend where not a lot of people grabbing over eighty two hundred bottles anymore people looking for what's solid around that. What is six range maybe seventy tops but. Man, you get these guys out here that have really kind of made a great name for themselves and just kind of stick to, you know, grandma's recipe. Like they know it's good. They know what they got. They're true to it. I can't wait to see what they have coming up next. I mean, they're exceptional products, exceptional. And I think when they do come back around, I mean, it's just going to be It's just going to be just bigger for them. I think.

Absolutely. All right. Well back to the, uh, white port finished Chattanooga whiskey. Any final notes on this guys?

I'm getting a lot of that good weed on it, which I really enjoy. Sometimes, you know, on that nose and I get that breadiness. I'm like, okay, this might get to a little bit more of a dry weed on the palate. But I think that white port really does kind of sweeten that load a little bit. And I really am enjoying this. So yet again, another big thumbs up for Chattanooga for me.

Yeah, for me, I think, uh, I prefer this one over the Pinot Noir finish. I agree. Um, it just, um, it just, it's a little bit more in my wheelhouse, I think. Not that it's, I mean, I could see where there would be people that would prefer the Pinot Noir finished. I think it has its market, but for me, I think this one is.

To me, all of the things I liked about the Pinot Noir, it's just a little more stronger presence in this one.

Yeah, I think so too.

Yeah. I can see why more companies are using port finishes than they are Pinot Noir finishes. Sure. Sure. Absolutely.

There's a nice cola note to it. We really haven't mentioned almost like a Dr. Pepper. I could see that.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

It's nice. It's subtle. It's, it's almost like, I wouldn't say a flat Dr. Pepper, but kind of, you know, you're like halfway through the bottle, halfway through the can and you get that little bit of that nice sweetness that kind of comes through on the back end. Oh, just wait till the next one.

Well, with that said, why don't we take a short break, guys? Get up, stretch our legs, have a little bit of water we need to hydrate, and then we'll come back in the second half and we've got two more expressions to taste. Well, one's dessert, right? One's dessert. All right. Well, stick around, folks. We'll be right back. Few things pair better together than a fine whiskey and a premium cigar. and Smokey's Lifestyle Cigars are where flavor and craftsmanship meet. Their exclusive collection is meticulously hand-rolled from aged tobacco sourced from the Dominican Republic. Revel in the artistry that only decades of experience can bring. The owner, with over 10 years of cigar mastery, curates blends that capture the essence of family tradition and innovation. Embrace the journey and indulge in a harmonious symphony of Smokey's Lifestyle Cigars, an experience truly beyond compare. Find out more at SmokeysLifestyleCigar.com. All right, listeners, welcome back. We are in the second half of the Southern roadie, Chattanooga whiskey, having a good time in the Bourbon Road Bar episode. And just to remind everybody, we have Rob, Ray and Raheem, the three Rs in the house here. And we're hanging out in the Bourbon Road Bar. We had two great pours in the first half from Chattanooga whiskey. Both of them were finished whiskies. We had a Pinot Noir finished, which I think everybody appreciated. And then we had a white port finished. which for me was a little bit more in my wheelhouse. And Ray, why don't you tell us what we got in our class here for the second half.

Absolutely. So yeah, we're going to change gears just a little bit. So this is a straight malt whiskey from Chattanooga whiskey, and it's finished in Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon casks. The mash bills are the R's. They're all the R mash bills, 18077, 18087, 18088, 96, and 97. Anybody want to guess what the price is? $60. $60. And 95 proof. And 95 proof.

There we go. My hat's off to the Chattanooga whiskey family for just making their whiskeys affordable to the everyday guy.

Yes. Thank you, Tim, if you're listening. Age on this one is greater than four years, 18 months time finishing in the Cabernet Sauvignon casks. And so I had the privilege of seeing these just before they, they bottled them during the tour with, I was with Ryan Cecil with Pursuit. And we got a little private tour there with Tim at Chattanooga whiskey. And that was a, that was a great time. Got to see these and then the, the, they, they make a peated single malt. And they take their straight malt whiskey and then finish it in peat barrels, old Scotch peat barrels. So peated Scotch barrels. There we go.

All right. So, uh, we did mention in the first half that, uh, Silver Oak is also being used to finish Mars Town Bourbons, one of their recent releases as well. So is it Silver Oak that's out there trying to get a hold of distilleries to use their barrels? Or is it just that it's really fantastic?

Or is it vice versa? Or is it vice versa? There was a third silver oak barrel that we've saw recently, right?

That's right. I can't pinpoint which one it was exactly, but I mean, you are definitely seeing this trend where people are like, all right, what's next? I mean, go bigger. And I think these big Napa, which I think Silver Rope does a Alexander Valley and a Napa. I think their Napa is their sub $90 to $100 bottle. The Alexander, if I'm not mistaken, is the $200 offering. I could be wrong. This is the Alexander Valley. Alexander Valley. So I feel like I'd imagine this would be the $100 range one and Napa being, you know, a huge name out there, probably being the $200 bottle. Um, but the Bardstown I tried before, um, actually exceptional. I was expecting just big red bright fruits, but a lot more depth behind that, which is great. Um, coming into this on the nose, I mean, Being a single malt doesn't really smell like it. I mean, you don't get too much of that. I've never been too much of a big fan of single malt yet, but on the nose, this is quite pleasing so far. I mean, still not too big bright red fruits, a little bit more depth coming behind it. Um, so then this is, um, this is, this is smell like a good one.

A little bit more of a pair note to it. And, uh, you know, the, it's got a little bit of a bite to it on the nose. I mean, it's got a little, no, I'm not going to say a sense factor. It has nothing to do with ethanol. It just has to do with, there's a, it's like a cinnamon candy, almost like a, yeah, like a. A spice note that's a little bit of bite on the nose.

It almost makes me think of like the, the baked apples at a Cracker Barrel. Yeah. Is that pear with the cinnamon? Yep. Now the malt definitely comes through though on the palate. Oh yeah.

I was just going to mention, I mean, that malt comes through, I think a little bit more of this, It's a spice. I can't pinpoint what it is exactly, but I think that might be kinda coming with a malt as well.

I get just a hint of, on the nose, I get just a hint of chocolate. Like a chocolate, like I'm thinking chocolate covered cherry, like dark chocolate covered cherry, but not cherry, but it's more like a, like a strawberry rhubarb, like a dark chocolate, if that makes sense.

That's what I've loved about malt in general. And you know, that chocolatiness that comes from it, that's always been, that's always been my kind of my, my ball name right there.

Are you guys still on the nose? I've hit the pallet.

No, I jumped ahead to the pallet.

I mean, I tasted it too and I got the chocolate on the, but I got the chocolate on the pallet, but I didn't get it on the nose. I didn't get the chocolate on the nose too much.

I can say that I am getting a little bit of this chocolate there, but overall my first impression, I got to get into a second sip, but. I'm searching for this rhubarb right now.

Cause I mean, I don't know that I've ever used the rhubarb note.

Yeah. When I taste this, it reminds me of actually of a beer that I had. If you've ever been to Wisconsin, they're very proud of the Spotted Cow. Oh yeah. New Glarus. I don't know if it's a distillery. I don't know if it's a brewery only release or not, but they had like a strawberry rhubarb sour that they made. And this has a note that reminds me of that.

Yeah, my wife has spotted cow brought back from there.

Oh, I believe I, every time I went to, when I lived in Illinois, every time I'd go to Wisconsin, they're like, you got to stop at the Walmart right there in Beloit and bring back, because they had a whole case in their refrigerator section dedicated for Illinois folks to get their spotted cow.

Fantastic.

This is really interesting because now that you mentioned the rhubarb, I mean, I'm getting a lot of that fresh cut rhubarb is on the palette. I mean, and it's, It's interesting for whiskey, but it's enjoyable. It really is. I mean, you're still getting a lot of those nice subtle whiskey notes that kind of coat it on the way down. And single malt's not being too well versed into it. I mean, this... This is still exceptional for me. I think a great job from Chattanooga doing a single malt like this because I mean, I've had some that kind of burned me. I think peated single malts more or less are just what I just don't gravitate towards. I don't know what it is, but it's just not my palette yet. But this, it feels a little bit more of a traditional American whiskey Ford rather than being just pure what people think about a good single malt in general. This is a setting of good tone for me.

It's like on the palette now, it's like a fruity chocolate malt ball, like the... Yeah.

But there's also a hay note in there kind of for me. I mean, it's got kind of a... I don't know how to say grassy. It's definitely a hay note, but... chocolatey, but man, the chocolate is not dark chocolate.

It's like a very, it's almost like a milk chocolate, a light chocolate.

Yeah. There you go. It's coded. It's not right.

It's like a thin layer of that just wrapped around something. And it could be wrapped around that rhubarb. I mean, that's just, that's just what I'm getting now that you mentioned it. I mean, that's just all there, but it's not, it's not unpleasant. It's actually really enjoyable.

What else is different about this one compared to the previous two is it's got a little bit of dryness on it. A lot of times people talk about it being dry in a negative way, but I just say it's a more tactile feeling and I actually enjoy it on this one.

I like to think that this one's a little balanced. Like even on the port finished when we had in the first half, I felt like there was a little bit of absence on the front of the pallet. It kind of, they landed more on the mid and back of the pallet, where in this one, even after not having had a sip for a minute or a minute and a half, I'm still feeling the impression on the front of my pallet and on the mid and on the rear. And it's like, wow, this is really balanced across my pallet. I'm getting a nice,

the, the, the, it dries out the side of your mouth and your tongue, but it's got the sweetness that satisfies that dryness.

It's mouth water in there. It's like just right in the middle of that palette. It's like, okay, I want more. Yes. And I mean, being that I've already finished my glass. I mean, it makes you want to go back for more. And I think that's a great treat, especially at that price point. Again, I mean, a great job from Chattanooga, a great job.

Yeah. And fortunately this, so this was an earlier release. This was a 2023 release. Uh, there, there, there are no more on the shelf. Uh, unfortunately, cause I would, I would buy, I would, this is definitely a go buy it.

Yeah.

There could still be some out there. I mean, it might be. Yeah. Yeah. I can't imagine you get too much, too much kind of lingering out there with that silver Oak, especially being in there for about 18 months. So only so far, but a fun one though.

So you guys are in town to do a couple of barrel picks, right? That's right. So tell me about these barrel picks you're doing.

Yeah. So, uh, tomorrow we're going to be going to pursuit to do a barrel pick there. Uh, so all three of us are participating in that. And then on Friday, we're going to go to Lux Row for a Penelope pick.

Fantastic. Three R's. That's what we should name our barrel pick.

The three R's. There you go. Yeah, I'm excited about the Pursuit pick. I may be a little biased. I probably didn't mention before, but for the Chattanooga area, I am an ambassador for Pursuit Spirits. got hooked up with these guys and we're able to get this lined up to hang out with Ryan and Kenny tomorrow. So we're excited.

So you kind of kicked off talking about the community aspect of bourbon and whiskey. And, you know, that really Ray and I are a perfect example of that where You know, I met him in Chattanooga where he was doing a tasting for pursuit and just happened to walk into the store and then come to find out we've got some professional ties as well. And so, you know, here we are sitting in your basement and going to go do a pick each of the next two days together.

Fantastic. I mean, whiskey brings people together. Whiskey brings people together. And how did you fit into that whole equation?

So I being being at a bottle shop I was able to I mean me and Rob have been doing quite a few barrel picks recently so we've been partnering on a lot and then with Rob coming in, he was like, hey, I've met this guy, Ray. Ray actually is a brand ambassador. We met through work and he said he's a brand ambassador of Pursuit and we've always heard about these guys. I listen to the podcast all the time and hearing a lot of people talk good about the Double Oak and he was like, hey, I've got one I'll bring down and man. We sat down together in the shop, cracked open that bottle and just expectations blown. I mean, when you say butterscotch on the palate, I mean, it's just beautiful butterscotch that lingers and we were just like that. That's what we need.

So you're picking the Double Oak bourbon?

Yeah, so we got pretty fortunate with that. I know it's not out there a lot, so I know some people have got the chance to do a barrel pick for that and it's just not something they release in general. I mean, before Ray came into town, Double Oak wasn't even, their core offering was not distributed in our area yet, so it wasn't until a few weeks after where we talked about it and he got us in contact with someone that kind of gets behind the barrel program there and they were like, hey, Double Oak should be coming into the area soon. You just got to tell your distributor to ask for it. So we're like, okay. And I talked to my distributor, I was like, hey, on my sales rep, I was like, hey, Pursuit United, I know it's been in the area for about a year now. And I actually did not know that. I did not know that their core offerings were in the area until Ray came in. He was like, yeah, they've been around. So that's when I was like, oh yeah, okay, we got to try these guys. I mean, they've built a great community behind them, great following. And I've heard their whiskies are exceptional. So it's like, yeah, we've got to bring it in. I have to try on the double oak. I was like, oh man, these guys are doing it right. You've had a lot of these guys out there that, and not throwing any kind of disrespect towards them, because I love them all, but you know, like just the MGP-based contract source guys. But these guys, you know, kind of branching out around and grabbing a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I thought that was awesome. And seeing all those kind of come together and being able to influence the whiskey in such a way where the palate is just tremendous. I mean, it really opened me up. I was like, oh, man, we've got to try to get in line with that to do a barrel pick. And, you know, we asked for a double oak and they're like, you know what? We think we can make that happen for you. So we've got we got quite fortunate with that. So right after Ray popped in, we tried that double oak. I got in contact with one of their barrel managers there and they kind of set it up for us. So here we are about I think about six weeks later now, and it's tomorrow.

So pretty fortunate. How do I get a bottle of this three R's pick?

I know a guy.

You know, one of the things that's really cool about this is, you know, If you go back in time, and we were talking about this in the last half, how things are changing, right? Things are definitely changing. But if you go back in time to 2018, 2019, 2020, Maybe even 2021, you know, if you wanted to source some barrels as a non-distilling producer and put together an expression of your own as a distillery, you went to MGP. I mean, that's pretty much what you did. I mean, there wasn't a lot of options out there. Now you can go to any number of 100 distilleries. uh, spread throughout the Midwest or even further. Um, take Sagamore for instance, you know, you can, you can go to Sagamore and you can acquire barrels from Sagamore or you can go to, uh, uh, middle west in Columbus and you can acquire barrels from them. There's just so many more options now and Kenny and Ryan are taking advantage of that and they're sourcing barrels from some amazing distilleries. that and a lot of people are still just going to MGP, right? And MGP stuff is great. Don't get me wrong. Oh yeah. It's good stuff. They make great whiskey, but you don't get a tremendous variation in profile unless you get out there and start experiencing other terroir and finding out what else is available.

There's only so much of that 75, 21% rye, high rye that you can just kind of get out there before you're like, all right, I know what we got out here, but I mean, I think a lot of the good takeaways from that, that they've done a great job. Smoke Wagon, Redline and Doc Swenson. I mean, those are just one that's just outliers for me that stand out. But one thing I loved about Pursuit that they did was branch out to Sagamore. I loved Sagamore's rise. I mean, beautiful expressions. The fact that they grab a little bit from there too. And if I'm not mistaken, they do a little bit of Bartstown in there. Yeah, so I mean, beautiful. So the fact that they have these connections and they're able to kind of piece these puzzles together and you hear, oh yeah, they're blending things. And a lot of people like, ah, blended whiskey. I mean, where are you going with this? But man, I mean, even for their core offerings, beautiful whiskeys that linger with you at great price points. And that's just where the game's at right now. I mean, and they're staying ahead of it. So I was like, man, we got to keep up with these guys.

Yeah, there's a lot more out there now. There's a lot more available and there's some even some smaller distilleries. I mean, distilleries that are doing 3000 barrels a year that have excess inventory. And you can pick some of that stuff up and just make some phenomenal, phenomenal whiskeys. So.

Yeah, one of the partners Pursuit has up in Finger Lakes distillery in New York. I mean, they have a column still, but it's yay big around. I know the listeners can't see what I'm doing with my hands, but it's a very small column still. So they're not a huge distillery, but they make an X. And with a low barrel entry proof, which I love. Because a lot of folks get caught up on proof. Like, I want the hazmats. I want the Elijah Craig barrel picks that are 130 plus. No, I want the one that's a barrel entry proof of 105. That's what I want.

Yeah, absolutely. And we saw what Michter's has done with that 108.

I think that's what drew me towards them. We had the opportunity to host a Michter's tasting down in Augusta. And we were supposed to have one of the representatives come down and help that tasting. She had a family emergency the day before. So we scrambled together. I was like, all right, I'm jumping into this tasting and I'll kind of help teach that class and getting to learn more about that. It's just like, wow, I mean, they take those extra steps. a little bit more costly for them, but I mean, they make sure their whiskey is where it needs to be to really deliver. And I think that's why Michter's really stood out for me. I mean, for me, in the realms of a more premium category, at least for about that $50 range, Michter's holds that weight. I think they're great for that. I've gravitated towards all their products and enjoyed it and being able to do that tasting and kind of just express that to everybody and seeing Um, their expressions on it. I mean, everybody was, you know, they hear sour mash and they kind of just, ah, they're like, eh, what is this? And they get to try it finally. And they're like, wow, I mean, good stuff there. So I could definitely appreciate, you know, these companies out here willing to take these extra steps. Um, kind of just do the thing right and do their own thing at least.

Absolutely. Well guys, I mean, I I'm ready for dessert. What about you? Oh yeah. Yeah.

We had the bowl dinner, right? I would say the one we just finished was, was very bold, very good. Uh, a meaty, if you will. And so now we're going to, we're going to work into dessert. So Chattanooga Whiskey, the way they do things, they kind of use their experimental distillery over on Market Street as, well, experiments. And so a lot of what we just finished tasting started in the experimental distillery, and they've evolved into small batches for their main still that's over on the riverfront property. So what we've got next is a batch, it's batch 38 from their experimental distillery. So this batch was only three barrels. So it's 84 proof and this is a peach infused gin liqueur. So not only did we change gears, we've changed cars. We're not even driving on the road. So this is a gin liqueur infused with peaches, juniper, angelica, oris, and coriander, and a variety of other aromatic botanicals. So the gin is finished in single-use bourbon barrels, and like I said, it's a three-barrel batch.

So Ray, that bottle looks very different. So why don't you describe that for the folks on the other end of the radio?

Yeah, so Chat Whiskey, typically their bottles are a clear glass. They've got kind of the wider base, not 13th colony wide, but just kind of a medium base that holds the bulk of the whiskey with a neck that reminds me of like the weller neck, right? It's got that little bit of a bulb there where the neck starts. The standard bottle is clear. For their liqueurs, they put it in a frosted bottle. So it almost looks like it just came out of the freezer. Maybe it should have. Maybe it should have, yes. But they've made a few other liqueurs. They've got one that came out earlier in the year that was like a pecan-infused liqueur. Not gin. This one's specifically gin. Yeah, there was a pecan infused one earlier. So yeah, that one was good. It was pretty good. You said this was 84 proof? 84 proof. That's a little high for a Lekua.

It is.

Absolutely. Yeah.

All right. Well, you know, you and I were talking before the show, Ray, and you know, you've heard me say many times on the show that Jen is my other bourbon. And you said, Jim, Jen is my other bourbon too. Yes. So I think we both are excited to, well, you've had this. I'm excited to try it. Cheers. Cheers. It's such a craft. Jen is such a craft.

It is. It really is. And it's such a great spot right now. I mean, seeing everybody take their spin on it, adding so many botanicals here and there. I mean, there's a lot of great names out there. One that sticks out in particular for me, Castle & Key. I mean, their whiskeys in the first round, when they were kind of coming around, didn't stick with me too much. Their rye is, however, amazing, but their gin's, oh man. I mean, I became obsessed with gin's with that. And this, I mean, coming into the nose, and I mean, the color on this is amazing. This being a barrel-aged gin, and this has this light caramel kind of tint to it. It's just, I mean, the consistency doesn't feel like a liqueur. It feels like a good gin.

Looks like a hazy IPA. Absolutely. Oh yeah.

That's exactly what I was thinking. That's right. But man, like on the nose, you get those good just herbal gin notes. Like you said, it's finished with peach, but you don't get it really too much on the nose until you get into that palette. Subtle touch of that peach just kind of lingers through the middle, and that's a lot of fun. That's a lot of fun. I mean, this being barrel age, you expect a little bit more kind of tannin, a little more roughness around the edges, but this feels like it's not a lot of juniper hug towards the back end, which a lot of people are, that's what scares a lot of people about gin. This is exceptional this being 84 proof put you in gin territory. I guess with the extra steps included has to be classified as lacquer but if you told me this is just straight gin with the extra steps with the peach kind of finish on top. I wouldn't think this is a liqueur.

It's like on the nose, it's like a peach lemon herbal tea. It's just, it's like lemon verbena. It's like an herbal lemon, right? It's not like a lemon rind or a, it's like a lemon verbena.

It's a good tea brand out there that you just got and you just got a little peach kind of infused with that. And man, they got the job done. That's, that's amazing. I bet you can make a nice hot toddy with this.

Oh, oh yeah.

It's a, it's a little sweet. Yeah. But I think if it were warmed up, like you said, I think it would be, be something else.

It does almost have that like. That apple cider consistency. Now I think about it. Yep.

It is a liqueur. It is very, it's very thick, very, very viscous, very sweet. It's a dessert. It's a great dessert at that.

And it's got a little, it's got a little tartness to it. Yes. Well, almost like, um, um, like a tart cherry finish. Kind of weird.

I like that though. Yeah.

I mean, it's, it's, it, it definitely does like get you by surprise.

I think that's what would gravitate a lot of people into it. They hear peach infused, they're like, ah, it's just gonna be sweet, throw in, throw out, but good peach tea has that just kind of herbaceous, that kind of follows through at the back end. That's what you get. I mean, the peach is there, but it's thin, but it's great, though. It's job well done.

I love that it's all pallet forward. It's all up front.

It is almost like there's, it's got that Montmorency cherry finish on it. It's like a dry tart, cherry peach on the back. Interesting.

Very interesting. It is that it is. Wow. I tried experimenting a little bit just now. I've been sipping as my palate cleanser, my water. I'm a fan of liquid death and I've got the black can, the sparkling water. So I poured a little bit of that in there to see what the sparkling water would do with it. Yeah, it's interesting. Is it? Yeah.

It warrants future further exploration. I had some RDTs out there, some ready to drink cocktails. You should apply for a patent before this goes out. That's right. Tim, you didn't hear that. No. I think that's a great way to do it, too, to kind of open up the market a little bit towards these type of items. I mean, you see a lot of people going for RDTs now. I mean, you got Jack Daniels out there, Crown. I wonder if anybody else is going to take that route. I mean, there's only so many that people gravitate toward, especially in the whiskey realm, the kind of things, or just gin included. I don't know about around here, but down in Augusta, around the Georgia area, Long Drink, their gin sodas are exceptional. And I could see this kind of taking that route, that bubbliness, adding a little bit of that peach and that barrel-aged gin. I mean, ah, that'd be quite a treat.

Well, you never know. It might find its way on the Chattanooga bar as a cocktail with this liquid death. That's right.

Good collaboration right there, man. Yeah, Ray should patent that.

It's really good. It's nice to take these little trips down the side road every now and then and try something that's not a bourbon, not a rye, not American whiskey, not American single malt, but something altogether different. Literally an experiment. Beautiful experiment. The Chattanooga to still the gin.

As far as I know, yes.

That's a great question.

So Chattanooga Whiskey, they distill all of their own product with the exception of what they got started with. Chattanooga Whiskey is a company that followed, like Raheem said, the MGP playbook. They got started. So Hamilton County. where Chattanooga is, had a ban, was it 12 years ago, had a ban on distillers. My county where I live was a dry county up until like four years ago. I mean, that shows you. And so Chattanooga Whiskey fought to change the Tennessee laws and change the Hamilton County laws and won. And they were able, but while they're building their distillery, they sourced MGP and they had a product they called 1816. And so that's what they released to kind of pay the bills while their product and while their experiments really were aging until they could figure out what their core product was going to be. And so now they do keep some of that MGP. And I don't know if they still source it or if they just have a lot left over, but they do keep a lot of that MGP that they originally used in an infinity barrel that they keep at their riverfront distillery. And so it's interesting that I do go every year to the founders' celebration at their anniversary. They do what they call a founders' blend, where they have their past, their present, and their future. And so their past would be MGP, that's in the infinity, or a large Solara barrel. I should say Solara barrel. Their infinity barrel is where they put their 91 recipe. So every bottle of 91, Chattanooga whiskey 91 that you buy, I believe, comes out of that infinity barrel. And then they have their future. And so that's where a lot of their experimental batches go. Contains a lot of malt whiskies, again, which I'm partial to. And then, so every year at their founder's celebration, Tim works with those three big barrels that they have at the Riverfront Distillery and blends those to be his yearly founders blend. So it's a very, very interesting whiskey, very malt for it, as you would expect from Chattanooga whiskey. And it's funny, at those celebrations, you get to taste through those three distinct inputs separately. And so you get to taste the MGP, you get to taste the Infinity Barrel, and you get to taste the 91 Solera. It's a nice experience.

I go every year.

I bet that's Solera.

Did they start out with the riverfront location or just the one on Market Street?

As far as I know, I don't know the answer 4.0, but I think they started with just the experimental. And then they used that as they're building their riverfront.

And that, that matches my memory from my tour there in 2018.

All right. I'm really enjoying this. This is a nice way to finish, sort of finish a tasting. Cause if you started with this and we'd have a problem, but if you finish with it, I think it's perfectly okay.

Yeah, I went through all these about a week ago in preparation and kind of had my tasting notes set out. And I was like, OK. And so I rearranged them in the specific order, because I felt like the pinot finish, the pinot flavor was muted. It was good. But it was the more delicate of the bunch, right? They're all the same proof, so I'm not going to sort based on proof. Uh, so I kind of put the Pino flavored or the Pino finished one first. I was like, all right, well, if I'm going to do that, then let's do the port finished after so we can compare the two bourbons together. Uh, the Cabernet finished malt whiskey is, is kind of very, it's very bold, uh, on its own. So like, all right, that one's kind of got to be separate. And then of course a gin, you know, gin's like an IPA. It's a pallet wrecker. It's a good pallet wrecker.

But this one in a way just, it doesn't feel like it's going to wreck the next whiskey. I mean, if there is an ex whiskey, but I feel like this is a great one just to kind of have.

Yeah.

I mean, you don't have to be too scared about if you're at a bar or something trying this like, Hey, maybe I could try something else after that.

I mean, we're going to have to test your theory, right?

I mean, that's, yeah.

Yeah. You might, you might try that because sometimes you could be surprised what can ruin your palate for the night. That's true. You never know.

But yeah, I felt, I felt, I felt it was best to finish with the, with the, with the gin. I like that.

I like that. That was a great treat. I appreciate you bringing those. That was exceptional.

Well, this has been a lot of fun. I've had a great time, guys.

Amazing time. Yeah, Jim, I can't thank you enough for inviting us down and putting us on the air, but also just opening your space to us.

Well, it's always good to have new friends around and drink some great whiskeys. And we've had such a good time today. And Ray, you just brought a little bit of your hometown here. I did.

And, uh, you know, you and I have gotten together at least one, well, at once in the past, now this time.

And I think we talked about maybe trying to do a, maybe a golf adding sometime in the future.

Yeah, I gotta, I gotta check the schedule. I know I'll be back up for the, the pursuit, uh, event in November, but yeah, just gotta, we'll, we'll get in touch and we'll make sure our live schedules are, are, are in line as well.

Yeah, absolutely. Because yeah. They are important too. Yes, they are.

I like to consider their agendas as well. And Jim, if you ever take the show on the road, I'm certain that the White Horse and Augusta would love to host you there. Oh, absolutely.

Oh, that would be fun. I would enjoy it. I actually work for a contract out to Intuit, which is one of their facilities is based in Atlanta. I get down there every now and then. That's why I know a little bit about ASW, a little bit about Legends, and a little bit about 13th Colony, because I get down there and I try to visit some of those distilleries, but I'd love to get back down and meet up with some new friends. That would be fun.

Yeah, absolutely. Come over.

Yeah, sure.

All right, guys. Well, all right. Let's one last cheers. Cheers, guys.

Cheers with a little bit of gin. I am a little empty here, but I'll still cheers to roadies and southern whiskey and all kind of all the good things that go along with it. Absolutely. Cheers.

Cheers. Cheers. I appreciate you having us. All right.

Well, folks, you can find the bourbon road on all social media outlets. You can find us on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok threads, all that stuff. You also hear an episode from us every single week on Wednesday. We'll have some good friends on like, uh, you know, Rob and Ray and Raheem, uh, other roadies from our Ohio roadies get in every now and then. If you're a roadie and you get into our area, make sure you reach out to me and let me know. We'd love to sit down and have a pour with you.

Who knows we might even record an episode.

It's always fun to hang out in the bourbon road bar. We're, uh, we're drinking all kinds of Chattanooga whiskey this time. Next time, who knows what it'll be, but, uh, we hope you'll join us for the ride in order to make sure you don't miss an episode, scroll up to the top of that app you're on, hit that subscribe button. That way every single week, you'll get a notification saying, uh, Jim and Todd have dropped another episode. We'll get you down the road. We'll, uh, we'll help you cut the grass or shovel the snow or whatever it is you do with your headphones on. We'd like to be a part of your day, but until the next time we'll see you down the bourbon road.

Thank you.