Leiper’s Fork Distillery, located in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee, creates high-end premium whiskeys using local ingredients, time honored techniques and pure limestone filtered water. A small batch whiskey distillery, it is situated in Williamson County. They filled their first barrel in the Spring of 2016. Their whiskeys are 100% Mashed, Fermented, Distilled, Aged and Bottled by hand, to very special specifications. Producing only 25,000 gallons of whiskey annually, they are truly a genuine small batch distillery.
The distillery is owned by Lee and Lynlee Kennedy/ Lee is a perfectionist when making whiskey, and is something of a local historian and a great keeper of the Tenessee whiskey making heritage.
I am a bog fan of the Lees, and have written about them before. But I must chirp about a recent tasting. I had their most recent release of their Leiper's Fork Tennessee Whiskey Bottled-in-Bond. This was an absolute standout at a recent tasting (more of which you will hear about at a later date).
The uniqueness of this whiskey was was that while it waas corn dominant, the fascinating thing was the large amount of toasted malted barley used in the mashbill - 15%. Most distillers only use 5% malted barley, the enzymes being enough in that amount, to help break down the carbohydrates into simple starches in the mashbill. But the 15% absoluutely made a huge difference.
The result? This bottled-in-bond raises the bar on Tennessee whiskey like nother, elevating it to almost Highland style Single Malt in flavor. There is a meatiness to this whiskey that is unmistakeable. The toast come across as does the barley. It tastes like you're crunching on grains. But in the most sophisticated manner. Cocoa, mocha, Damson plum, dark cherry, and caramel highlight the nose. A complex palate of toffee, stewed berries, and baking spices come across on the palate.
This is as sophisticated as Tennessee whiskey or Bourbon can get. It's as if bourbon and Highland single malt were blended. Instantly and easilly, it become one of the best whiskies I have tasted in the last twelve months. And certainly an absolute keeper!