MAY'S SPIRIT OF THE MONTH--TOWN BRANCH TRUE CASK KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON

Living in Louisville Kentucky for 5 years makes it really hard for me to say anything nice about Lexington Kentucky. Besides a few of my good friends being from Lexington and the grounds at Keenland racetrack being beautiful, Lexington is the home of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, the archrivals of the Louisville Cardinals. Anyone with a rival knows it’s hard to find positive things to say about them. So when Joe Minyard of Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. came to taste me on the Town Branch line of whiskies, I’m not ashamed to admit that I was skeptical about what we’d be tasting. To my surprise, like Mine that Bird winning the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Town Branch was a winning line up. And while I think all 3 of the expressions we carry from Town Branch are delicious, there is 1 that stood out to me the most and that would be their True Cask Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

True Cask is an uncut blend of the two Kentucky mash bills Town Branch uses, aged 2-3 years old and 6-7 years old and is bottled at 109.3 proof but hides it dangerously well. What I really enjoy about True Cask is that it has a little bit of everything in the flavor profile. Some Bourbons have some fruit, some can be savory and then others are sweeter. In the True Cask you get a little bit of everything. Apricot fruit and tea leaf flavors bring a freshness that lightens the palate along with some savory characteristics that stay along the sides of your tongue. Toasted toffee and creamy vanilla bean create a big mouthfeel that adds richness to your experience. More tea leaf notes on the finish pull some spice notes out of the oak allowing all the flavors to linger.