Old Dominick Whiskey is a brand created by the D. Canale Co. of Memphis, Tennessee in the 19th century. The company were wine merchants and not distillers and the 1909 Mida’s Financial Index Directory gives them a “BB” rating with a value of $250,000 to $300,000. They were a fairly large firm of the time and branching out to whiskey was a natural course of action. I have not found any record of where they purchased their barrels, but the decanter I own is for “Old Dominick 15 Years Old” whiskey.
The brand was revived in the 21st century and a distillery was built in downtown Memphis. The people who built the distillery were smart enough to hire a very talented distiller, Alex Castle, from Wild Turkey. Alex is a very knowledgeable distiller that Wild Turkey hated to see leave. She has created a wonderful Bourbon and has sent me a sample to try. It is very good and my notes are included here for comparison with the bottle of the finished product. The finished product states on the label that it was “Distilled in Lawrenceburg Indiana for Old Dominick” so it could be contract distilled to their specifications and with their yeast strain. I find the similarities with the sample Alex sent to me close and suspect that is the case.
The Huling Station brand is named for the railway station in Memphis where D. Canale Co. had a warehouse and sourced barrels would arrive. Old Dominick defines this as a high rye Bourbon with 52% corn, 44% rye and 4% malted barley. I would agree with that definition and I am glad they give the mash bill to back up their claim.
Old Dominick High Rye Bourbon (sample)
Proof: 100
Age: No Age Statement
Nose: Notes of vanilla and citrus with floral notes of honeysuckle and roses. A little sweet oak and maybe a little baking spice round out the nose of this whiskey.
Taste: Vanilla, rose water, Baking spices and oak. Very well balanced in flavor with a creamy mouth-feel. A dried cranberry brings out a lot of citrus notes of tangerine and orange zest. A pecan makes the oak very strong but the rose water and vanilla flavors keep it from being bitter.
Finish: Medium long with oak and vanilla with a hint of baking spices. The cranberry made the finish longer and added that citrus note found in the taste, into the finish as well. The cranberry gave the Bourbon a long, dry oak finish.
Huling Station Small Batch Bourbon (distilled in Indiana)
Proof: 100
Age: No Age Statement
Nose: Vanilla and baking spices with some stone fruit notes of apricot or plum with just a hint of sweet oak.
Taste: Fruit forward with plums, vanilla, and baking spices – cinnamon and nutmeg and a little sweet oak – not bitter tannic oak. When tasted with a dried cranberry the vanilla comes forward but the fruit and spices remain. When tasted with a pecan the whiskey gets an herbal note of thyme or a similar herb and the fruit notes are overpowered by the vanilla.
Finish: Long and spicy with cinnamon and a hint of sweet oak. The cranberry made the finish sweeter and full of vanilla and spice. The pecan made the finish even longer with herbal notes and oak.
I am pairing this whiskey with an A. J. Fernandez “Last Call” cigar. I am hoping the rich tobacco and cedar spice of the smoke will complement the Bourbon. The Bourbon added a rich, vanilla note and decreased the cedar spice of the cigar. The smoke brought out the baking spices in the Bourbon, with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg. Very nice pairing.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller
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