J. Henry & Sons Wisconsin Straight Bourbon

[chasking]

On a recent trip to Wisconsin, I came across something new in a store: J. Henry & Sons Wisconsin Straight Bourbon Whiskey:

It's an enigmatic bottle: it has a five-year-old age statement. On the back it says "Produced and bottled" which I would generally take to mean sourced whiskey from somewhere else, but, it appears that this stuff is actually a unique recipe which Henry Farms has contract distilled for them somewhere and then ages in an old barn on their farm. One of their main selling points is that they grow all the grain used in the whiskey on their farm, and the corn they use is a rare heirloom hybrid red corn. It also appears that they use a four-grain mashbill, since they talk about both wheat and rye from their farm going into it. This picture supposedly shows the mix of grains going into the mash, which is apparently 60% corn:

Although they don't distill the stuff themselves, it's apparently distilled in Wisconsin somewhere, so it's not just MGP or some other bulk whiskey that they've bottled under their own label.

The J. Henry & Sons web site doesn't have a lot of information; other details come from this interview with Joe Henry and this Yelp review, which (if not a shill) was done by a whiskey enthusiast after visiting the farm.

A bottle was $42 at a supermarket in Dodgeville. It does taste different from most other bourbons, which could be the effect of a different variety of corn. It tastes younger than five years---they make much of the effect of seasonal change on whiskey aged in their former dairy barn, but I guess Wisconsin ain't Kentucky, and I think this stuff would benefit from some more time in the barrel, although kudos to them for giving it at least five years, especially since they're not making vodka and gin to sell in the meantime. And, it doesn't have an overpowering feinty character like many too-young craft bourbons I've tried.

When I first opened this bottle a few weeks ago, I found it a bit off-putting, but I think it's growing on me. Naturally I poured a bit to sip on while writing this, and today I'm enjoying it. If you want to try something that's recognizably bourbon but outside the flavor profile of usual suspects, you could do worse than this stuff. I suspect it's not very widely available, but if you're up in central Wisconsin, it's something to keep in mind.

[gohrmund]

I have a bottle from a recent trip back home. I think 45th Parallel could be the distiller, I fell pretty safe in saying that. I prefer all of 45th stuff compared to J Henrys.

Gary

[squire]

Yeah, 45th is the distiller, according to some of the sources. Need to alert my friend up in Madison about this one. He's a beer guy and doesn't read boards but might be interested in the local appeal.

[smokinjoe]

How bizarre! This is really weird. A micro having their recipe contract distilled by another micro, then released at an age that has rarely been touched by other micros...

5 year bourbon is a place that should show something.

I have to have a bottle...

[Tony Santana]

I heard its distilled by Yahara Bay in Madison, not 45th Parallel. Which is closer to where J. Henry is located, so that would make sense. They've aged it on site in 55 gallon barrels. It has a unique taste, sort of a cereal/grain thing going on, not a lot of the traditional caramel/vanilla, but its there n the background. I think it could benefit from some more aging, but give them credit for waiting this long. An interesting bottle.

[BigBoldBully]

Thanks to everyone for posting info about this. When I saw it at a grocery store I hardly gave it a second glance and assumed it was run of the mill NDP stuff. Now considering picking up a bottle (even though I may end up enjoying it less than run of the mill NDP stuff, the unusual attributes are intriguing). Hope they will be able to release an ~8 year for around the same price.

[T Comp]

How bizarre! This is really weird. A micro having their recipe contract distilled by another micro, then released at an age that has rarely been touched by other micros...

5 year bourbon is a place that should show something.

I have to have a bottle...

IIRC there was a bottle at the Gazebo table on Saturday night. Further, IIRC I even had a taste and maybe you too :cool:. Still thought it tasted youngish, craftish and below the standards of the majors bib's. Or maybe the 3rd night in Bardstown means the IIRC is incorrect .

[Vosgar]

I have a bottle of batch 1 and pretty much agree with everything Chuck said about this whiskey. When J Henry says their bourbon has a "unique flavor profile", they're definitely telling the truth. I'm not saying it's bad, just very different.

Having another pour tonight and while I can't figure out the nose, the taste is reminding me of an Armagnac I bought a couple of months ago. How that can be is beyond me, but it's what I'm getting and I don't remember that profile from the first couple of times I had it.

They're supposed to be coming out with a cask strength version soon, which could be very interesting or just overly "unique". If the price isn't completely insane I'll probably buy a bottle to find out. Someone's got to be the guinea pig ~

[squire]

"Unique", "Craft", and "Local" only get you so far, quality earns repeat customers. I wish some of these guys would work on a first rate blend which is where they could outshine the majors.

[smokinjoe]

IIRC there was a bottle at the Gazebo table on Saturday night. Further, IIRC I even had a taste and maybe you too :cool:. Still thought it tasted youngish, craftish and below the standards of the majors bib's. Or maybe the 3rd night in Bardstown means the IIRC is incorrect .

Ha!! It's coming back to me now! 3rd night haze...

[dSculptor]

We popped a bottle of this stuff last Fri. night, I think he said he paid around $45 for it. First impression was unique, sort of reminded me of something along the lines of J collab but a bit more subtle. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't buy one. It was nice to taste it though.

[tanstaafl2]

I wonder if a more temperate climate can effect how much the barrel impacts the whiskey despite presumably being a new charred barrel which might explain the youngish taste despite 5 years of aging. But I have not tried it and that is just a SWAG on my part.

[chasking]

I had heard that barrels on the lower floors of warehouses tend to not age as dramatically as barrels higher up, and it looks like the J. Henry barn is only one floor, so I would not be too surprised if whiskey aged there didn't show its age as much compared to the usual suspects from Kentucky, plus Wisconsin not being as hot in the summer as Kentucky---I would expect hot summers to have a bigger impact on how quickly something ages than cold winters.

[squire]

Certainly agree, the hot summers of Kentucky make a dramatic difference in barrel aging as opposed to the cold climate of Scotland, as comparative experiments have shown.

Cold climates age very consistency though.

[tylermke]

As someone mentioned, Yahara Bay is the distiller for this one.

It's not bad, but it's also something I'm glad I don't own a bottle of.

[Mickbourbon]

I heard its distilled by Yahara Bay in Madison, not 45th Parallel. Which is closer to where J. Henry is located, so that would make sense. They've aged it on site in 55 gallon barrels. It has a unique taste, sort of a cereal/grain thing going on, not a lot of the traditional caramel/vanilla, but its there n the background. I think it could benefit from some more aging, but give them credit for waiting this long. An interesting bottle.

i can understand it having a unique taste after spending 5 years in a dairy barn. All you really need is 5 minutes and the "nose" will be with you til you shower and change clothes.

[shoshani]

"Unique", "Craft", and "Local" only get you so far, quality earns repeat customers. I wish some of these guys would work on a first rate blend which is where they could outshine the majors.

Or indeed outshine the (legal, commercial) "shiners."

I'm curious about the "tradition" that red corn represents. I believe that bourbon was predominantly made from white corn before Prohibition. Yellow dent corn is the standard now.

[fishnbowljoe]

Well, I finally got around to opening the sample that Vosgar so graciously gave me. Like others here, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Initial taste is okay, but not much more after that. I kept waiting for something more on the mid-palate and finish, and there just wasn't anything there. Tastes a bit youngish for something 5 years old. It's not bad, but it's almost like something's missing. And I can't quite put my finger on what that something is. :skep: Different to say the least.

Cheers! Joe