Leiper’s Fork Distillery near Franklin, Tennessee, is a distillery to watch. Their distiller, Lee Kennedy, is making very good whiskey. It is a small distillery by modern standards but they are distributing their whiskey outside Tennessee. Rosemary ordered this wheated Bourbon online. It is a very impressive Bourbon.
Leiper’s Fork is very open about the age and mash bills of their whiskeys. They print information on the label about what is in their whiskey. This was true of their Tennessee whiskey Matt and I reviewed earlier this month and it is true for this Bourbon as well. The mash bill is 70% corn, 15% wheat and 15% malted barley. I like the higher malt content as it adds some sweet flavors of fruits and nuts. They also have a barrel entry proof of 110 proof. This low entry proof brings more of the sweet flavors of the barrel out at this younger age. It tastes older than the four years old stated on the label. It is a small batch, Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon and well worth purchasing. Matt and I tasted this whiskey and were impressed enough to make it our whiskey of the month for March.
Leiper’s Fork Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla and chocolate with some pitted fruit – prunes and dates, with some sweet oak wood.
- Matt: Lots of sweet oak with some floral notes of lilac, hazelnuts and a little grassiness for the grain.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla and plums with cinnamon and nutmeg spices, chocolate and sweet oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the fruits come forward – a chocolate covered dried date with some sweet oak wood. Tasted with a pecan and the vanilla and chocolate move to center stage as the fruit becomes a background player.
- Matt: Peanut butter, cinnamon and a honeydew melon note with some sweet oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out notes of cherry and cinnamon – a cherry pie ala mode. The pecan brought out notes of a peanut butter cup candy with lots of chocolate and peanut butter with some dark fruit sweetness in the background.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak, chocolate and baking spices. The dried cranberry made the finish sweeter with chocolate and fruit and only a hint of oak. The pecan made the finish very chocolate forward with oak and spice in the background.
- Matt: Lots of oak and fine leather and lingering cinnamon spice. The dried cranberry brought out some notes of cayenne pepper, cinnamon and oak. The pecan made the finish more wood forward with sweet oak, leather, peanuts and a little cayenne pepper.
I would pair this fine Bourbon with a cigar that is chocolate forward in the smoke. I would reach for a My Father The Judge cigar to pair with this Bourbon.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller