Chattanooga Whiskey Cask 111

Very good. Cola and apples on the finish.

Chattanooga 111 Tennessee High Malt Straight Bourbon Whiskey *APPEARANCE: Love the bottle and labelling. The liquid it contains is a rich Mahogany color. *NOSE: A lot of Heat, but let it sit for a few minutes and come back. You are then met with Corn Dust, Barn Wood, the Leathery Note I get from most Malt Heavy Whiskey, Orange Peel, and Brown Sugar. The longer it sits, the better it gets. *NEAT: Non-Chill filtering results in a Thick and Coating Mouthfeel. Starts off Dark with Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans, Dark Chocolate Toffee, and Malted Milk Balls. These are joined by Freshly Made Sweet Tea, a Hint of Orange Peel, Honeysuckle, Black Pepper, and slightly bitter Oak Tannins. A nice building heat in the chest reminds you that it's 111 Proof. The Espresso Bean is the dominant flavor on the coating aftertaste. *SPLASH: Amps up the Brown Sugar on the nose. Sweetens the Palate as well with some more traditional notes of Caramel or Vanilla. Helps tame the Tannins a bit as well. *VERDICT: If a Malt Forward Bourbon like Woodford fathered a child with Westland Single Malt the result would probably be something like this. Those Dark, Leathery, Burnt Coffee/Cocoa notes paired with some Corn Sweetness is a sum that is really greater than its parts. I had to venture across state lines into SC to procure this and wish now I'd picked up their regular 91 Proof offering as well. I love seeing these "Mid-Major" (to use a College Basketball analogy) Distilleries like Chattanooga, Westland, Great Wagon Road, Etc. find their footing and thrive. I hope they are able to branch out into NC soon, as I'm looking forward to trying more of their line.

Rating: 14/23 N: After a solid 20 minutes in the glass, this is fairly rich and sweet. I get vanilla, dry oak, light caramel, a little orange zest, and a fairly small waft of alcohol. It seems young, but full and rich for its age. P: Sweet with light caramel, vanilla, orange zest, tannic wood, black licorice, and faint herbal notes. A touch of dark chocolate and a hint of green banana. There's peppery spice, but the burn goes past peppery and becomes a bit harsh. The mouthfeel is moderately full, but perhaps a bit thin considering the proof. A touch of maple syrup here and there. That little bit of malted rye in this is a nice addition, but the core corn and barley really deliver a nice hedonistic core. When I tried Batch 206's Old Log Cabin bourbon (51% corn, 49% barley) recently, I found it to be a bit flat. This is much more interesting. F: A bit of watery chocolate with green banana. A hint of maple syrup. The peppery burn continues. - Conclusion - I would love to try a more mature version of this. How I wish the store I'd got this at had the bottled in bond version in stock and this one was sold out instead. This at full proof with 6-8 years of age would be decadent, I'm sure. Despite the youthful rough edges here, I can't see this being below a 14. An 18 seems high though. OK, switching to side-by-siding, I'm finding that my 15s are beating this. Elijah Craig Small Batch is almost as decadent, while being much more mature and balanced. Old Grand-Dad 114 likewise strikes me as better. This seems more along the lines of a 14, comparing well against Wild Turkey 101.