Monk’s Road Bourbon is from the Log Still Distillery in Nelson County, Kentucky. It is part of their “Fifth District Series” where they pay homage to some of the distilleries in Kentucky’s historic 5th tax district for taxing alcohol. This bottle discusses the Cold Spring Distillery, founded by J.W. Dant and named because the spring that fed the distillery was a deep one that remained cold enough to allow distilling all year round.
The Log Still Distillery is on the grounds of J.W. Dant’s original distillery. It was founded when the Dant family decided to get back into the distilling business. They have built a distillery, warehouse and event space in Gethsemane, Kentucky. The name comes from the legend that J.W. Dant’s first still was carved from a log. The whiskey is six year old Bourbon that has been sourced from a Kentucky distillery. They have picked some very good whiskey and if their distillation of their own whiskey is as good as that they sourced, they will do fine in the whiskey business.
Monk’s Road Fifth District Series Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Six Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Sweet – marshmallows, vanilla, peaches and honey with baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Butterfinger candy bar with a little honeysuckle flowers and oak.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla and marshmallows with ripe peaches, cinnamon, nutmeg and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and the peach fruit and cinnamon spice are enhanced. Tasted with a pecan and the flavors are muted as the oak wood becomes dominant.
- Matt: Very sweet with flavors of Butterfinger candy bites and cream of wheat with honey. The dried cranberry adds some pepper spice and some lemon and strawberry fruit notes. The pecan brings out peanut butter, citrus notes and lots of oak wood.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak tannins and baking spices. The dried cranberry made the finish longer and brought out cinnamon spice in the finish. The pecan made the finish longer, drier and dominated by oak tannins with only a hint of baking spices
- Matt: Medium long and full bodied with oak wood and pepper. The dried cranberry gave it a peppery, bright finish with only a hint of oak. The pecan brought out notes of butter and tobacco along with the oak and pepper.
I would pair this Bourbon with a cigar that has some cedar spice and vanilla in the smoke. I would reach for a Rocky Patel Decades or a NUB with a Connecticut wrapper.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller