6 years, 46% abv, 90 CHF. Highly polarising one, we nicknamed it the Farmer’s Bourbon, prohibitively expensive.
This bourbon is put out by 35 Marple Street, who also make our beloved Uncle Val’s gin and which was founded by the heirs of California wine maker Sebastiani. The name of the bourbon, Bib & Tucker, is a phrase that used to describe the finest attire in early America; clothes that you’d only get out on special occasions.
Unfortunately, it is not known where the bourbon is distilled or where it is aged. Some presume it might come from a Tenneessee distillery, maybe George Dickel. The mash bill is 70% corn, 26% rye, 4% barley; and it is cold filtered before distilling. The distillation occurs two times, a first time in column stills, a second time in pot stills. Honestly, I don’t get why you would put a column still distillate into a pot still; so I presume it’s a marketing gag…
In the tasting, we found this an extremely unique whisky, diverging massively from the common bourbon taste profile.
- In the nose, we found unusual aromas such as papier-maché, wet hay and cut grass.
- These aromas where mirrored in the palate, with some wet leather joining in, and maybe even cow manure.
Not in a bad way, necessarily, but peculiar, as is the entire bourbon. Not terribly balanced on the palate; there are some patches that feel too light, and some that feel too spicy. Definitely something that you ought to try once, but also probably something that only few with fall in love with. With that being said, the bottle is very pretty, but I also feel that you pay a lot of money for the bottle, not the liquid inside.
