I first met Heather Greene in Louisville when she was researching her book Whisk(e)y Distilled. Since then, I did a Bourbon class with her at the Flatiron Room in New York and attended several events at Michter’s where we both did presentations. She is a very talented writer and has a great palate, so when she announced a few years ago that she was leaving New York and moving to Texas to become part of a Bourbon distillery, I was excited for her. They have not been distilling long enough to have aged whiskey ready for the bottle, but they have sourced whiskey for their brand.
This particular single barrel was sourced from Tennessee. It is a single barrel Bourbon, non-chill filtered and bottled at 86 proof. The label states that there are not more than 280 bottles of this whiskey in the world. Of course, that is true of any single barrel product. It is unlikely that any single barrel will have more than 280 bottles of whiskey in the barrel.
I found this bottle at Westport Whiskey & Wine. It was moderately priced and I wanted to review one of Heather’s products, so I purchased it. Marsha Milam and Heather Greene have selected the barrels that make up this brand. They have done a good job of selecting as Matt and I really enjoyed this Bourbon.
Milam & Greene Single Barrel Bourbon
Proof: 86
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Apples and vanilla with a little baking spices and oak.
- Matt: Very floral with rose petals and vanilla.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla and apples with some cardamom spice and oak. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the vanilla becomes more caramel, notes of citrus come out and the spice becomes black pepper. Tasted with a pecan and the oak wood comes forward, with pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg spices.
- Matt: Very floral with notes of rye, vanilla and allspice. The dried cranberry brought out some orange zest notes. The pecan made the fruit wild cherries and French vanilla.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with sweet oak wood and a hint of spice that becomes black pepper as the finish continues on. The dried cranberry made black pepper dominate the finish at the expense of the oak. The pecan brought out the first really strong oak tannins with lots of pepper and baking spice notes.
- Matt: Medium long with notes of cherry wood and allspice. The dried cranberry made the finish sweet oak and allspice. The pecan made the finish longer and drier with oak and spice.
I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar with some rich, earthy notes in the smoke. The Caldwell “The King is Dead” is a cigar that has nice, earthy tobacco balanced by notes of vanilla and cedar spiciness in the smoke. I think this might add a little more complexity to the Bourbon by bringing out notes of leather and tobacco. I am sure those flavors are in there hiding behind the spices.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller