SPIRIT DETAIL
BRAND: J. Mattingly (Bourbon 30)
CLASSIFICATION: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
AGE: 5-6 year
MASH BILL: MGP; 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley
ALCOHOLIC CONTENT: 59.00% ABV | 118.00 proof
CASK INFO: Char #4 with additional charred staves
TASTING NOTES
NOSE: Cereal, red fruit, blackberries, vanilla cream, baking spices
PALATE: Butter pecan, grandma’s spiced buttery pie, oak tannins, toffee
FINISH: Vanilla, caramel, oily oak, hint of baking spices
BEHIND THE BOTTLE
Ylli picked this barrel almost like any other J. Matt barrel he’s done. Simply, blending select bourbon casks to taste at barrel proof. He states, “single barrels don't even compete with it.” Being able to have near full control in the J.Mattingly kitchen has been one of the most fun projects for him to be apart of. He wanted to go back to basics on a different profile of a straight bourbon with this one. Batch #4 is truly a bourbon drinker’s bourbon.
With regards of doing a collab with Three Bears, he said it just makes sense. It gets his barrel picks into the hands of the people. Three Bears dominates the off-premise world outside of the Municipality of Anchorage, so having his patrons able to get juice he’s signed off on, while not in Anchorage, is a blessing. Two great entities coming together as a symbiotic partnership- what’s better then that? Well…maybe good whisky, like the one showcased here.
EDITOR’S NOTES: It’s 2am, it’s raining outside, I just opened this bottle to try it for the first time and Drake (ft. Lil Baby) - Wants and Needs is playing right now (I love that Degrassi graduate). All the tasting notes above are Ylli’s aside from toffee on the palate. I really can’t add any notes because they are pretty damn spot on. What a delight. All these damn J.Matts drink like they are 48% ABV, jeez. I’ve been into the finish of my drams moreso than note and palate lately, and I’ll say this one is the epitome of not a dry or super oily finish. That’s why I think when Ylli stated ‘oily oak’ I think that really is the best descriptor for how she sets.
If you have followed Ylli’s journey with J.Matt, you can understand the allure behind why he cooks in that kitchen the most. To be able to curate a tasting profile to suit your palate with no restrictions is wild. Luckily, this won’t be like Batch #3 where it was a small yield.
Savor slowly, xoxo
-L^2