Burnt Church Distillery is located on Bluffton Road in Bluffton, South Carolina. South Carolina has always been a state that grew rice. Thus it is natural that Burnt Church Distillery would use South Carolina rice in somel of their whiskeys. They contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I would like to taste some of their whiskeys. I agreed and they sent me four sample bottles. Matt and I tasted them and found them all to be good, solid whiskeys. They are:
Johnny Fever Bourbon is made with corn, rye, wheat and malted barley. Anita’s Choice Six Grain Bourbon is made with corn, wheat, South Carolina golden rice, rye, oats and malted barley. Palmer Stretch Rye is made with rye, wheat and malted barley. Bluffton American Whiskey is made with South Carolina golden rice, wheat and malted barley. These products do not have an age statement, so they should be four years old. They certainly had a nice, dark straw and amber colors, indicating fairly well-aged whiskeys. Matt and I tasted them and here are our tasting notes.
Johnny Fever Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Corn, vanilla, dates and sweet oak wood.
- Matt: Strawberries and shredded wheat cereal with some sweet oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Corn, vanilla, tart blackberries, cinnamon and sweet oak wood, Tasted with a dried pecan and caramel apple flavors come out with even more oak wood. Tasted with a pecan and there is less spice, but there is a note of dark chocolate.
- Matt: Vanilla and tart berries and oak. It has a creamy mouth-feel. The dried cranberry gave it notes of buttery caramel and apples. The pecan gave it a chewy mouth-feel with caramel, berries and a hint of chocolate.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and cinnamon. The cranberry made the finish longer and more oak forward. The pecan added some lingering chocolate with oak and cinnamon.
- Matt: The finish was oak and toffee with notes of a stout beer. The cranberry reduced the caramel, but left more oak and that stout beer flavor. The pecan brought out notes of chocolate.
Anita’s Choice Six Grain Bourbon
Proof: 97
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla with an elusive fruit note, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Vanilla, oak and hay stack.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, lemon zest, cinnamon and nutmeg with sweet oak wood. The dried cranberry enhances the vanilla and brings out a little sweet orange zest to join the lemon zest. The pecan made the vanilla more of a buttery caramel.
- Matt: Vanilla and marshmallow with notes of butter pecans and oak. The dried cranberry added a butter rum candy note to the taste. The pecan brought out flavors of ripe apple, chocolate and peanuts.
Finish:
- Mike: Long and dry with oak wood. The dried cranberry added some lingering lemon zest notes. The pecan made it a very long finish with oak wood, citrus and chocolate.
- Matt: Oak, brown sugar and tobacco. The dried cranberry added some nutmeg spice. The pecan ,made the finish very long and dry with oak, tobacco and baking spices.
Palmer Stretch Rye
Proof: 97
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, plums or prunes and sweet oak wood.
- Matt: Pine resin, vanilla, raisins, black cherries and oak.
Taste:
- Mike: Rye grass, vanilla, plums and apricots with cinnamon spice and sweet oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out more of the apricot and added some lemon zest. The pecan made the vanilla a buttery caramel and the spice a black pepper.
- Matt: Brown sugar, vanilla, raisins and oak. The dried cranberry brought out notes of lemon, cherries, pine and nutmeg spice. The pecan gave it a chewy mouth-feel with cocoa and oak wood.
Finish:
- Mike: Medium long with oak and spice. The dried cranberry made the finish sweeter and spicier. The pecan made the finish very long and spicy with oak and black pepper.
- Matt: Long with notes of oak and pine nuts with lingering brown sugar sweetness. The dried cranberry brought out tobacco notes. The pecan brought out nutmeg spice.
Bluffton American Whiskey
Proof: 95
Age: No Age Statement
Nose:
- Mike: Vanilla, citrus and only a hint of oak wood. A very simple nose.
- Matt: Vanilla, citrus and melon with some oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Vanilla, lemon zest, baking spices and sweet oak wood. The dried cranberry made the whiskey very vanilla forward. The pecan brought out notes of caramel and cardamom spice.
- Matt: Vanilla and lemonhead candy with a little oak wood. The dried cranberry brought out notes of orange sherbert and dreamsicles. The pecan gave it flavors of vanilla and chocolate with nuts and pumpkin pie spices.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak and spice with lingering lemon zest. The dried cranberry shortened the finish and made it sweeter with less spice. The pecan added a note of chocolate.
- Matt: Long with oak, cardamom and lingering citrus notes. The dried cranberry shortened the finish. The pecan made the spice pumpkin pie spices.
I would pair these whiskeys with a RoMa Craft CroMagnon cigar with its earthy tobacco, leather and cedar spice notes.
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller