I’m so totally not smart enough about booze to understand what in the world this all means but it sounds interesting enough to tell you about: Woodford Reserve is putting out a new limited release product called Woodford Reserve 1838 Sweet Mash.
All bourbon whiskies are traditionally crafted using a sour mash process in which ingredients – grains, yeast and water – from a prior distillation (referred to as spent mash) are introduced into a new mash mixture. The result is a sour mash which is fermented for several days before being distilled. Sour mash ultimately creates a more consistent product with less variation from batch to batch. Sweet mash, however, was the original production practice established to craft bourbon whiskies, and it consists of using entirely fresh ingredients – grains, yeast and water – to create a mixture which will be fermented for several days and then distilled. This process gives the mash a higher pH level and reveals a layer of aromas and flavors which aren’t commonly found in sour mash bourbons.
“We believe that this is the first bourbon of its kind to be bottled in 150 years, or certainly since Prohibition,” said Wayne Rose, brand director for Woodford Reserve. “Bottling sweet mash was the original standard for bourbon production until the sour mash process came along, and Woodford Reserve is honored to release 1838 Sweet Mash as a tribute to the industry’s heritage.”
Somebody more educated and with a more refined palate for bourbon run out and get a bottle of this and tell me what if I need to go buy a bottle. Deal?
And speaking of prohibition. You know next month is the 75th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. We should do some serious bourbon related celebrating I think. What bar/ restaurant is up for hosting us?
November 11th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I’m really excited about this bottling, but I haven’t seen it in stores yet! Saw a bottle of it at the Breaking New Ground benefit last weekend. Has anybody tried it already?