Corti Brothers is a well known and loved Sacramento gourmet store. Owner Darrell Corti is a legend in the California food and wine world, known as one of the pioneers of the modern gourmet food movement. Corti knows his way around spirits as well; they even did a private bottling of 20 year old Van Winkle bourbon back in the '90s.
Corti Brothers recently sent me a sample of their newest whiskey which is set for release in November. For this whiskey, Amador Distillery, a Central California craft distillery, acquired 13 casks of a seven year old, 2006 Kentucky bourbon (70% corn, 25% rye, 5% barley) and finished it for about eight months in casks which had held Harbor Winery Mission del Sol for the previous 40 years. An Amador County, high alcohol dessert wine that is no longer being produced, Mission del Sol is made from late harvest Mission grapes.
This whiskey will be available in regular 750 ml bottles for $50 and in 375 ml bottles for $30; they will be selling it at their store, but it's possible that it will find its way to some other retailers as well (EDIT: David Driscoll notes in the comments that K&L will be carrying it - and see his blog write up as well).
Corti Brothers Exquisite Whiskey, 7 yo, 42.25% ($50)
The nose on this is pure port with some brown sugar. The palate is similarly big on wine with fruity port or sherry. Digging deep, there is a caramel bourbon note underneath, but I can't say I would pick it out if I didn't know this was actually a bourbon. The port notes increase as it trails off into the finish where it's joined by some oak.
It's not often that I taste something that's totally unique. Tasting blind, there is no way I would guess this was bourbon. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it tastes most similar to the Navazos Palazzi sherried brandy than anything else I've tasted.
Usually when I taste finished bourbons, I'm left with the feeling that the finishing was just a method to add some sweetness to an inferior product. This one is more akin to a sherried Scotch where the wine notes become an integral part of the whiskey.
This is great whiskey and likely one you won't see again. I'm not sure hard core bourbon fans will like it since it has so little traditional bourbon flavor. Fans of port, sherried Scotch and brandy, on the other hand, will love it.
19 comments:
Wow, I don't know if we've ever posted about the same whiskey on the same day before. You're a bit ahead of me. We'll have it for sale later today.
Hmm. Love the blog Sku, and I'm sure the timing of this post was a huge, huge coincidence. If I didn't know any better I'd be afraid you were working for K&L.
Matt L, it was indeed a total coincidence, although understandable since the whiskey is releasing next week. I actually didn't know K&L was carrying it until I saw David's comment above.
I'm blanking here on which distillery recipes use 25% rye. The only thing I can think of is the Old Grand Dad recipe, which is rumored to be around 30% but as far as I know has not been confirmed.
Perfect perfect perfect timing on this one. Needed a unique gift for a friend...and I'll be picking up a few for myself as well.
Cheers!
Nice job selling it out, Sku! David definitely owes you a couple bottles of something!
Hi sku, what kind of rating would you give this?
Hi sku, what kind of rating would you give this?
PG-13
Well played. I just didn't see your notes on the LAWS site and wondered what score it would have gotten. I guess that this bottle is fun for the whole family, except, perhaps, small children.
I'll get it up there eventually. Ratings for something like this can be misleading because while I liked it a lot, someone who is mostly a bourbon fan might not as it has so little bourbon character.
"...as it has so little bourbon character."
I understand this remark but given that the character of Bourbon in recent years has been so abraded by insider's nostalgia for tradition--the bloggers/forum insiders who've spent 2014 ceaselessly nitpicking and groaning--maybe just screw all that and score this on its own merits.
RN
RN, anything I taste (or score on the LAWS website) is always on its own merits and just based on how much I like it, but I also try to give a sense of what it's like so readers can get a sense of whether they might like it.
Understood. Actually meant that as encouragement. Didn't mean to imply that you'd ever contribute anything but your reasoned best.
Neither the label nor the K&L post mention Kentucky at all. I would assume that (since the mash bills match) this is from the same source as Barrell Bourbon (Prichard's?).
Chris, the back label states that it's a Kentucky bourbon.
Its fantastic.I thought it had lots of great bourbon notes. The finish is wonderful, never had anything like it. I got a bottle for christmas. Ended up buying a case a couple weeks later. On friday they had 4- cases left on the floor. You cant go wrong at $49 bottle. I would grab some before it becomes myth and legend.
Most nights I'm drinking this whiskey. Although a direct comparison is really not fair as these are so different, my Angels Envy cask strength or my 1970 Pappy tend to get less attention these days. I'm at three cases and considering a fourth! It is nearly gone.
Sku, with apologies for resurrecting an older thread, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new Corti release of Mission del Sol finished bourbon, the four-year "Good Honest Whiskey", and especially how you think it compares to this now-legendary "Exquisite." Cheers!
I'll see what I can do.
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