My first whiskey review: Corner Creek and Collier & McKeel

Before moving south, I lived in NYC for about 5 years. I worked for a couple of publishing companies, getting paid next to nothing and living in small apartments with multiple roommates. However, the thing about living in NYC, it was never about what you did at home, but what you did when you were away. It wasn’t about how much money you made, but how much people thought you made.

So, I started drinking scotch. It all started when a friend of mine invited me to a Johnnie Walker Scotch tasting at some private downtown club. The club had those big leather armchairs with the brass nail trim, a walk-in humidor, and those old pool tables with leather netting for pockets.

The tasting was hosted by Scotsman in a kilt. He showed us a slide show explaining how the scotches differ depending on their Scottish region of origin. We tried different single-malt scotches from each of the regions, ranging from Oban on the west coast of Scotland, which has a light body and is smooth to drink, to Lagavulin from Scotland’s rocky southern shore, which has a strong, smoky and peaty flavor. After trying the single-malts, we were given a tasting of Johnnie Walker’s blended Red Label, Black Label, and Gold Label. These blends are supposed to be made up of different single-malts from the different regions of Scotland.

 

This was the perfect pretentious drink for the pretentious person I was trying to be. I would order it at work parties, on dates, at sports bars. I thought I was so cool. Then at a going away party before moving south, an ad salesman who worked with me basically called me a “poser” and told me that I didn’t really like scotch as much as I thought I did and that I would really like bourbon better. This was before bourbon had its resurgence and you could only really find Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, and Jack Daniels (not really a bourbon) at most bars in the Northeast. 

Of course, I denied this and started touting some scotch knowledge from the Johnnie Walker tasting. So, he challenged me to a tasting. He picked three bourbons and I picked three scotches. He believed that after drinking all six, I would like bourbon better. He was right.

The beauty was that I moved to Nashville a couple of weeks later, where the bars had a lot more than just Wild Turkey and Jim Beam to try. Almost everywhere you could at least find Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, Buffalo Trace, and some even had Woodford Reserve. I was in heaven. Bourbon has been my liquor of choice ever since.

Contrary to popular belief, bourbon doesn’t have to made in Kentucky. However, almost all of them are. Bourbon does have a lot of rules though. For example, the mash must be a minimum of 51 percent corn, it must be aged in freshly charred oak barrels that have never had anything else in them, and it cannot have any flavoring added. Jack Daniel’s goes through a charcoal-filtered process, which is why it can’t be called a bourbon.

I am going to start reviewing bourbons on my blog every so often. I won’t go overboard and basically just give it one of three ratings: Okay, Good, or Damn Good.

Some people like to drink bourbon neat with nothing added and some like to mix it with water or soda. I like to have it with just 1 or 2 ice cubes. The ice cubes cut the bite and allow the true flavors to come out without diluting the taste too much. In my reviews, I will first try the whiskey neat (no ice cubes) and then I will add an ice cube to smooth out the flavor. I will probably try some popular ones and some lesser-known brands when I find them.

The Kentucky Distillers Association gives the following instructions on how to taste bourbon:

       You’ll evaluate each bourbon on four attributes – appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste/finish.

• Appearance: The appearance of bourbon can be used to evaluate its level of maturation. Color is visible proof that it is matured in new, charred barrels that rest in open-rick warehouses.

• Aroma: Swirl the glass 2 or 3 times and then take 3 short sniffs. (Avoid taking long sniffs since this can be overwhelming.) You should be able to identify a number of different aromas in your glass of bourbon.

• Taste and Aftertaste: You’ll next judge taste and aftertaste (the finish) in a two-step process. First take a small sip, swish it around the mouth for a few seconds and then swallow. How does it affect the palate? Does it explode in a cascade of flavor or does it just affect a limited portion of the palate? Taste again and judge the finish. Is it short or long? Is it dry or oily? Is it warm and pleasant or hot and irritating?

Today, I am going to start off with a true bourbon called, Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon Whiskey, and a Tennessee Whiskey called Collier & McKeel (my misspelled namesake).

I have two partners to help me: my wife and our friend in town from Ireland, Therese Cullen. They are both much better at distinguishing the different aromas and flavors than I am.

Corner Creek

I will be honest. I bought Corner Creek for two reasons: 1) I had never seen it before, and 2) it was on sale for under $23 from $25. I bought it at Great Wines   in East Memphis on Poplar, which has an awesome bourbon and whiskey selection. Apparently, they also have tastings regularly at the restaurant next door, Circa .

Corner Creek is distilled in Bardstown, KY. Bardstown is the epicenter of Kentucky bourbon making, home of both Jim Beam and Makers Mark. It comes in a distinctive green tinted bottle shaped like a wine bottle.

Corner Creek has a light caramel appearance. The aroma has hints of banana, caramel, vanilla, and dark cherry. The taste was a little hot with subtle flavor that intensifies with the aftertaste. It was sweet with hints of vanilla and maple.

Our rating: GOOD

Collier & McKeel

This is the third time I bought Collier & McKeel. I bought this bottle at Great Wines, as well. However, I have also bought it at Busters and the Wine Market. Usually it runs for $30; however, Great Wines had it on sale for $27. I first bought this primarily because it shares my last name. I bought this again, because it is delicious, especially for under $30.

Like Jack Daniels, Collier & McKeel is a Tennesee Whiskey. Although it is distilled in Nashville, it is the charcoal filtering process that makes it a Tennessee Whiskey.  Collier & McKeel uses a sugar maple charcoal.

Collier & McKeel has a dark caramel color with a strong woody aroma that has sweet hints of butterscotch and maple. As with the aroma, it has a strong oaky flavor with caramel and sherry highlights. The flavors were more subtle on the palette, not as hot as Corner Creek. It was very smooth with a lot of body. It also had a lot of peatiness that reminded me of a good scotch, like the Lagavulin I mentioned above.

Our Rating:  DAMN GOOD