New Southern Revival Jimmy Red Corn Bourbon

Let’s face it: The best nights are the ones you and your buddies relive for years and years, as the story of the night evolves from mostly true to mostly made up, yet all the more epic in its retelling. No man ever simply caught a fish. You fought the fish and won, in a struggle of the ages that would have made gods give up and go home, but not you. No, you found inner strength only found in places like the Rocky IV training montage and reeled your way to an impossible victory over nature itself. I like to share bottles with friends that allow me to relive similarly epic tales, either in the story of the bottle itself or in my hunt to procure it. A great story is just another layer to uncover in the complexity of a superb spirit. Rarely do bottles come prepackaged with such parables as High Wire Distillery’s Revival 100% Jimmy Red Corn Straight Bourbon Whiskey. And it truly is a parable of sorts. Read it here: http://highwiredistilling.squarespace.com/jimmy-red-revival-project/# This bourbon’s story is bigger than David and Goliath; whereas David faced death, Jimmy Red corn faced extinction! And what’s the lesson learned from High Wire’s labor of love? Answer: Passion + Persistence = Paydirt. (Which wouldn’t be a bad name for a bourbon either.) This bourbon was recently included on Robb Report’s “15 Best Bourbons of the Past 20 Years” and named Garden and Gun’s 2018 “Made in the South” Drink Category winner and Overall winner. (Note: This is the first time ever that an entry in the Drinks category has won the Overall top spot.) Nose: The color does not deceive; the rustic corn shines through true and sweet from the start. You can almost see the palate of this pour in the legs - long, thick and slow. If it weren’t such a lovely nose of corn, it might almost be too much. As the corn closes up, you get soft butter and nuts, blending in creamy caramel and even fruit notes of apple. The trailing traces are spicy with hints of cinnamon, like a warm apple cider. In a second sniff, I pick up more muted oak odors, which is somewhat surprising given how little time this bottle was in the barrel. One of the byproducts of this particular corn varietal is its ability to craft older bourbon character in a shorter aging process. Taste: More complex than I expected, though much as expected, there’s a lot of corn there. Cobs and cobs of it, but also a lot of oaky and nutty expressions. Very tasty. Given the background reading I had done on this bourbon, and the 3” oil cap High Wire mentioned this corn producing in the fermented mash, I expected a thorough coating of the whole mouth, but I did not find this to be the case. Certainly, the mouthfeel is dense and creamy, but not necessarily a thick coating. Again, it’s a really nice flourish for a young bourbon. The finish here is medium length and mild. The spices from the nose return on the rear, but they just sort of sit upon the corn, like sunlight brightening the clouds without fully breaking through. Overall: This is a really nice experience to sip. Is it worth the money? Maybe. I can assure you that with all the accolades this bottle is attracting, its next release may quickly find itself in the secondary market. All things considered, if you see one, grab it. Won’t change your life, but just might change your idea of the value your corn brings to your bourbon.