Today’s installment of Tennessee Spirits takes us to the Music City, USA–Nashville–and features probably the most unique spirit yet in this series (and it could end up being the most unique even when this series eventually finishes). Corsair Artisan Distillery was a pioneer distillery for the city of Nashville, opening in the Marathon Motors Building near Downtown just after the state laws changed to allow for distilling in other counties besides where Jack Daniel’s is produced. I toured their facility back in late 2010 and you can read about that HERE. Corsair Artisan has made a big splash in the Tennessee distilling world through their experimentation with strange and unusual liquor varieties and their quick aging process, which uses a 10 gallon barrel instead of the traditional 55 gallon, allowing a greater wood-to-liquid ratio, which (in theory) provides for the taste of a long-aged liquor in a shorter amount of time. I say “in theory” because this works only to an extent and does tend to leave the beverages tasting a bit young, especially when you first open a bottle. What it definitely does, though, is allow an experimental beverage to come to market sooner, which is an advantage in and or itself.
Today’s Tennessee Spirit is “Triple Smoke”…and this particular bottle was hand-selected by Grace’s Plaza Wine & Spirits in Nashville, actually only two doors down from UPtown’s Smoke Shop. Experience would lead you to expect a Tennessee-created whiskey to be similar to a Bourbon, but this time around it seems the makers had their minds more “north of England” than “north of Tennessee.” Like many a fine Scotch whisky, Triple Smoke is a 100% malted barley based drink. Whereas most Single Malt Scotches are peat-smoked barley, Corsair Artisan is separating their malted barley in 3 fractions and smoking it with 3 different types of smoldering matter: peat, cherry wood, and beechwood. They use a traditional pot-still to distill the liquor, then use new charred oak barrels to age it…as opposed to the used Bourbon barrels (or cognac or port barrels) that Scotch makers use. In doing so they are taking what are some of the best elements of an American whiskey (the new wood) and mixing it with the peat-smoked barley of Scotch, then mixing in some other wood smoke elements to add complexity. Before even starting the “official review” part of this post, I will say, this is the most unique and unusual whiskey I’ve ever tasted.
The first time I poured a glass of this, I wondered if it was right…while the color is similar to most bourbons and other American whiskeys (medium to dark amber…must darker than most Scotches) it was very cloudy in appearance…something I can’t remember seeing in any other distilled liquor, at least while it was unmixed with something else. Sticking my nose in the glass, I got the aroma of a brewery or distillery…that yeasty, grainy smell that permeats some buildings. But there was more, too…a strong wood aroma and a rich sweetness. The yeastiness makes the point that this is a young whiskey. While the small barrels do cause the aging process to occur faster, sometimes there is no replacement for Father Time. I think they tend to age their batches around 6 months; I wonder how much of that raw, young flavor would be rounded of if they doubled that time. Besides the youngness of this whiskey, though, there was more to consider. I could definitely taste the peaty note that made me think of my favorite Islay Scotch, Laphroiag, but there was so more to it…the cherry wood smoked barley definitely lent a sweeter flavor. If you were not told it was cherry wood, you might not pick that out exactly, but I think you would definitely call out some kind of fruit overtone. The beechwood smoking and oak barreling comes through in the pronounced woody notes.
So what we have here is a very complex whiskey that combines Scotch and American traditions with a twist and it tastes like almost nothing on the market…and it’s hard to pair a cigar with. I tried several and was not very pleased with the result. Before the time that I wrote this review, I think the most successful pairing was with a Guillermo Leon Signature, a medium bodied smoke that has it’s own subtle fruit sweetness. Neither that smoke nor the whiskey is strong enough to to overpower the other. At the time of this review I decided to try it with a cigar with another unique flavor: Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Cameroon. I reasoned that this should again be a medium bodied smoke and that the Cameroon wrapper should have a delicate sweetness and enough of its own unique flavor to stand up to the Corsair Artisan Triple Smoke. This proved to be an interesting pairing, although again not one I can call a straight-up success.
I’m almost tempted to say this whiskey is something you should either enjoy by itself…no mixers, no cigars…or not at all. To me most bourbons will pair successfully with most cigars; Scotches are a little more difficult, especially since there are so many permutations of Scotch. When you combine the mash bill and methods of the two…you end up with something that is unique but very hard to work with in regards to pairing. If you get a chance to try the Triple Smoke, let me know what you think and what cigar pairings you have had success with. Corsair Artisan spirits are available in about half the states and Triple Smoke runs somewhere in the $35 to $40 neighborhood.
