Mellow Corn
“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.”
Heaven Hill refers to corn whiskey as the forerunner and kissing cousin of bourbon. This particular whiskey has been around since the mid 1940’s which is much longer than we would have ever had a punt at. Corn whiskey must be made from a mash bill of at least 80% corn, along with rye and malted barley. It does not have to be aged in new charred oak barrels and there is also no minimum maturation period of time. However the Mellow Corn we are reviewing is bottled in bond so alongside the fact that the whiskey must be from one distillation season, one distiller at a single distillery, 100% proof and aged in a federally bonded warehouse it must also be a minimum of 4 years old!
So let’s dive in, sugar and sweetness popcorn with honey and raisins on the nose. Buttery popcorn continues through to the palate and here you do start picking up oak and delicately sweet spices. Finish is pretty short with pepper on the back end. Overall it is quite mellow (obviously) but it is an enjoyable and playful whiskey
Our aim from the beginning has been to share our whiskey tasting experiences, step out of our comfort zones and occasionally seek out those whiskies away from our preferred bourbon profile. Well you certainly can’t get much further away from our usual tipple than American Corn Whiskey.
It will not be to everyone’s liking and some folks may of course find it unpalatable. Our opinions on this whiskey are not aligned as many BG’s would have probably already guessed. The lack of traditional woody notes are a disappointment and Mav calls it out to be a ‘little meh’, but we’ve got to remember it is not a bourbon, it is a corn whiskey and is an awesome price in most oversea markets for a bottled in bond whiskey. In the US the price is an absolute steal at less than $20 in many places.
We both do feel it has a place in your whiskey cabinet (you can squeeze it in that little gap there) if only to educate and remind yourself and your friends about the wonderfully diverse world of American whiskey.
