New WR "Sweet Mash" bourbon

[Jono]

http://blog.maltadvocate.com/2008/10/20/new-woodford-reserve-masters-collection-bourbon-is-a-sweet-mash/

Very interesting article in Malt Advocate...great looking bottle...with the promise of some new flavor and aroma elements....nice blurb contrasting sour mash and sweet mash.

[Gillman]

I believe the circa 1990 Bready article on Maryland rye whiskey states that all Maryland rye was distilled using a sweet mash process. I will check this.

Gary

[kickert]

it sure is a good looking bottle.

[pepcycle]

There's a reason they don't use Sweet Mash, cause the product is generally hard to balance.

Not having had a chance to taste it, I predict it will have a bad finish.

This could be strike 4 for this collection.

[chilidawg7]

Got this email yesterday regarding this product. Figured I would share it...

A "Sweet" Return! - Introducing

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Sweet Mash!

When the Woodford Reserve Distillery opened more than a decade ago, it had one vision: to bring back the art of authentic whiskey making and celebrate unique small batch bourbons through the use of copper pot distillation.

Ten years later, our bourbon innovators still commit themselves to that vision and continue to evolve the creative techniques used to create refined bourbons with the newest bottling under the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection - Sweet Mash!

Following a pre-1838 practice, Master Distiller Chris Morris and the Woodford Reserve distillery team cooked mash without the use of "sour" or "set back." Instead, the historic sweet mash process used completely fresh water and grain along with yeast to begin fermentation, as opposed to a sour mash, which includes previously cooked, fermented and distilled grain and water residue "set back" from a previous distillation as part of its composition. This different process creates darker fruit notes than its sour mash cousin, yet maintains a light finish with rich, robust character.

Following the success of its two predecessors in the Master's Collection - Four Grain and Sonoma-Cutrer Finish - the one-time release of Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Sweet Mash is bottled at 86.4 proof and limited to 12,540 individually hand-numbered bottles. It will be available in 25 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin. Also, for the first time, the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection will be available in Canada.

So don't miss out on your chance to experience the "sweet" return of a long-lost expression of the distiller's art - Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Sweet Mash!

Chris Morris,

Master Distiller

Tasting Notes:

COLOR - rich, orange brown.

AROMA - maple syrup sweetness covers a fruity, spicy character rich in nutmeg, cinnamon and hints of clove.

TASTE - rich with loads of fruit - apple, blueberry and blackberry - all layered with a hint of maple syrup. Rye and mint rounds out the palate.

FINISH - clean and warm with a very soft apple finish.

[birdman1099]

I, for one, would like to hear what our resident professionals say about it before I buy one.

so, who has had this stuff?:grin:

[jburlowski]

Picked up a bottle this weekend. Quick, first impressions: light, fruity, not very complex. Good news: no noticeable copper taste that was evident in earlier WRMC releases.

More detailed notes when I get the time...

[OscarV]

Good news: no noticeable copper taste that was evident in earlier WRMC releases.

Hey maybe WR has finally gotten those copper stills broken in.

[cowdery]

There is an earlier, fairly extensive thread about this here.

Or you can just page down to the first entry under "Smiliar Threads" below.

I agree with John B's tasting notes above.