Tasting Notes: Georgia Moon brand Corn Whiskey

Georgia Moon brand Corn Whiskey
bottled by "The Johnson Distilling Co.", Bardstown, KY
80 Proof

I wanted to like this stuff. I really did. Mostly
because I'm a big believer that under-aged whiskies can
be glorious and enjoyable. You may also have noticed that
Georgia Moon is available EVERYWHERE, so you'd be entirely
justified in thinking that making it your friend might be a
wise investment of your time. But, alas, a word of warning
to those who are tempted: you will be disappointed. But take
this not as a condemnation of the entire category... just a
bad apple which hopefully doesn't spoil the whole bunch.

The Packaging: comes in a "fruit jar"-style 750 mL container
with a wide-mouth screw-on lid. The label conveys a
light-hearted feeling, meant to be somewhat humorous,
declaring "Less than 30 days old." It's a little hard to
pour from the wide-mouth, but this can be forgiven.

The Nose: Ugh! Nasty cardboard with light hints of boiled
cabbage and brussel sprouts. An immediate put-off. Smells
like B.O.! The words "rancid" and "musty" come to mind.
There are some plummy notes struggling to be heard, but
there is nothing light or flowery in there, at least none
that I can sense.

The Sip: This requires a great deal of courage after the
nose. But that's fine... I've had cognac that smells
terrible, but is enjoyable after you get it in your
mouth. On the tongue there are some of the light candy corn
notes that you really wanted when you bought the stuff, but
mostly it's just like what I imagine it's like to lick an armpit.
(I have no experience in armpit licking, and thus cannot
authoritatively state the similarities...) More of the rancid
and musty notes come through, which overwhelm any plummy flavors
that might tempt you to think about enjoying yourself.

The Finish: At this point, you'll be thoroughly disgusted,
and will be pondering how quickly you can throw your glass
into the sink.

A few days later, I actually had the bravery to try a second glass,
this time with ice. Result: the ice kills everything that shows
promise, and accentuates everything that is wrong. I briefly
pondered using it to pollute some Coca-Cola, but decided against
it.

Overall:
What crap! The "Johnson Distilling Co." should be embarrassed
and ashamed of themselves! It is an outrage that this, the
most visible and most widely available corn whiskey should
be so gut-wrenchingly terrible! Is it really that hard to
take a skinnier cut when distilling? The only excuse that I
can possibly think of for this crap is that it is part of
a conspiracy: the idea being that by flooding the market
with really bad corn whiskey, the category will get a bad name
for itself, thereby protecting the low-end bourbon market
from unaged (and thus less expensive) whiskies.

The really sad thing is that there are people who believe in
unaged corn whiskey, who really want to enjoy it, and who buy
it with hope. White lightning lovers of the world, let it
be known that there are better products out there, and although
you might have to work hard to find them, you will be rewarded
in the end.

Tim Dellinger

The following should not be interpreted as a defense of Georgia Moon, but perhaps as an explanation.

The brand is marketed as a novelty. It is meant not to replicate good corn whiskey but to replicate the public image of moonshine. Consequently, it's probably appropriate that the product be bad.

Georgia Moon is unaged and the best corn whiskey has some age on it. Heaven Hill actually makes several corn whiskies (e.g., Mellow Corn), any of which is better than its Georgia Moon, but Georgia Moon gets the distribution because of its novelty positioning, mason jar packaging, etc.

In addition to Heaven Hill's products, McCormick still makes and sells Platte Valley, but of course it is not widely available either.

Hey Chuck! I have to be careful as I poke around on these forums...its a dangerous place for me!

Chuck you are exactly right about Georgia Moon...a novelty brand we at HH inherited some years ago because we were and still are the only national supplier of corn whiskey (even the ubiquitous Platte Valley is now our whiskey!). The lines on it are "Less than 30 days old" and "First Ya Swaller, Then Ya Holler", so it obviously is what it is. You are also right about our aged corn whiskeys...Mellow Corn (esp. the Bond), Dixie Dew, JW Corn, all nice but real hard to find except in pockets in the south and southwest. The whole category is down to us and some guy named Gib in the backwoods of North Carolina!

Like rye, we'll keep making it and I suspect there will be some increased interest in it in the future, taking the whole category up to nothing from less than nothing. But I keep talking about it to people, especially foreign journalists, especially since they never see it. I think there is about a case at La Maison Du Whisky in Paris to supply the rest of the world...

Tell 'em it's "Kentucky Grappa."

Thanks, Larry, for that about Platte Valley. I have been unable to determine if McCormick does any distillation these days or just some blending and bottling. Increasing, it appears they do not.

Hey Larry,

Quote:

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I have to be careful as I poke around on these forums...its a dangerous place for me!

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No Sir, please don't be skeered... http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...emlins/lol.gif We are tickled to have you with us. I love hearing from folks as close to the source as possible. You are most definitely one of those folks. We'll watch-out-ferya... http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...mlins/wink.gif http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...emlins/lol.gif

I have given Georgia Moon as a gag gift in a couple of From Kentucky baskets. (I always included good Bourbon too... http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...mlins/wink.gif) You're exactly right. It is what it is... Sort of The Anti-Bourbon http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...emlins/lol.gif Hell, it doesn't even claim to be from Kentucky. It says 'Georgia' right on the label...

And, I'm not sure I really know anyone who buys unaged corn whiskey with hope of much of anything... http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...mlins/skep.gif I guess it happens, but not in Bourbon country... http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...emlins/lol.gif

I appreciate your candor, welcome to the board.
Bj

Keep making it please, Larry. You turned me on to Mellow Corn and it is a nice little addition to my supply. Good conversation starter and decent drink.



Greg

To echo Greg here, I was sufficiently impressed by Mellow Corn the day you hosted us at Heaven Hill. I don't have my bottle yet as Jim Murray says I should have. All in good time I suppose. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...mlins/grin.gif

I felt bad when I wrote up these tasting notes, but my sense of
disappointment is probably what made me post them. I'm very
enthusiastic about the corn whiskey / underaged whiskey / moonshine
category, and so I had high expectations for the "category leader".

I will generally base tasting notes on at least three separate tasting
sessions, each of which are at least a week apart from each other.
For this tasting, the experience was just so striking that I posted
after only two tasting sessions.

As I mentioned in another thread, Virginia's ABC reports selling
over 50,000 bottles of corn whiskey in FY 2003. Somebody's gotta
be drinkin' this stuff! So the other day I went back and stuck my
finger in it. And then the next day I did the same. Then last
night I got up the courage to pour myself some for drinkin'.

And I sort of kicked myself. Why didn't I think of this? Of
course it's going to benefit from a little oxidation!

It has now transformed from "raw" to "palatable". I think
a second round of tasting notes is called for!

I stand by my original tasting notes, since I consider them
to be an accurate description of my original experience, but
I've come to realize that there's more to Georgia Moon than
my first impressions.


Tim Dellinger

Quote:

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I stand by my original tasting notes, since I consider them
to be an accurate description of my original experience, ...

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Tim,

Remember, if you don't replicate it, it isn't science. http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...mlins/grin.gif Do I see tasting notes on another freshly opened bottle, er... make that "jar", of Georgia Moon somewhere in your future? http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...emlins/lol.gif

Yours truly,
Dave "Never had the nerve to try it" Morefield

So is Mellow Corn simply Georgia Moon that has been aged? Or is it an entirely different mash, distillation proof, etc.?