About $23 for a 750mL bottle
Background
I expected to present a review of sorts of this particular libation about a year ago…but when I went to pour some for the review, I found that my wife had gone and drunk it all. I looked high and low (well…in several liquor stores…there just aren’t that many that aren’t too far out of the way for me) and couldn’t locate a drop anywhere. It took until the next winter-time release…when I spotted the bottle in December, I snagged it! Then stashed it in the fridge and forgot about it. I guess I’ve been a little busy.
So today I can finally present the latest in my series of “Tennessee Spirits” reviews…and the first one to appear on Leaf Enthusiast (for the sake of keeping the series together as much as possible, I’m going to try to get the installments published on the Tiki Bar updated and posted here as soon as possible).
Fly into Nashville, drive southeast on Interstate 24 until you see the signs for Tullahoma and Lynchburg, the towns most closely associated with Tennessee Spirits, drive past those cities and continue south until you come pretty close to the Alabama border. Eventually you will find the tiny city of Kelso and the old school-house that houses Prichard Distillery. I’m fallen in love with their Double Chocolate Bourbon (although I really can’t afford it) and their Fine Rum (one of the best sipping rums around and the only one made in the Volunteer State to my knowledge) and even their “Single Malt Whiskey” is unique. But I’ve gathered you hear today to talk about their very special Fudge Brownie Cream Liqueur.
Most people associate the words “cream liqueur” with names like Bailey’s or Carolan’s, and think of green fields of four-leaf clovers, but really any liqueur made with dairy cream can be a cream liqueur. This one adds chocolate to the mix, making for what is practically chocolate milk…then spikes it with a healthy dose of Prichard’s whiskey. What type of whiskey exactly is unknown…they do make a Tennessee Whiskey and a Bourbon and a Rye…and the Single Malt I mentioned before. If I had to bet, I would say it’s the Tennessee Whiskey because it’s the least expensive of the lot.
Notes
This stuff pours slow…it’s like heavy cream, but thicker. It looks like chocolate milk in the glass, but take a whiff and the whiskey aroma comes through loud and clear. It’s not sharp like it would be with the alcohol vapors of a straight 80 proof shot, but this 35 proof liqueur definitely has a graininess up front before your nose picks up on the cream and chocolate.
Taking a sip is almost the exact opposite. First you get the sweet cream and chocolate flavors, then you get fire and spice and corny goodness from the whiskey underneath. It was silky smooth on the palate with just a hint of bite to it.
So, what do you pair something like this with? First, I have to dispel the notion that I probably shouldn’t be drinking this at all. Frankly, this is a big kid’s chocolate milk drink…and I’ll cop to being a big kid any day. If you won’t let your inner child come out and enjoy this stuff…well, that your problem, no mine. I’m wondering how well this stuff would mix up with some ice cream into a milk shake!
That being said, I would pair this with cigars that share some of the same traits. Sweetness. Chocolate. A little bite. Just about anything in the Tatuaje catalog that uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper will probably work. I tried it out with a Noellas Reserve.
Beyond that, I would say you could probably successfully pair this with most Maduros as an “after-dinner” cigar and libation. Or if you like a nip of whiskey first thing, pair this with a nice, smooth Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar.
