Extra Añejo Barrel Finished Tennessee Whiskey
I am a big fan of Chattanooga Whiskey. I’ve reviewed a few bottles now of their experimental batches and single barrels. I’ve gone through a couple bottles of 111 now and I attest it’s a whiskey that needs to live on every bourbon fan’s shelf.
Experimental Batch #018 is a straight bourbon that was finished for an undetermined amount of time, in Extra Añejo Tequila barrels. The high malt mash bill you know and love from Chattanooga but with an agave twist on the flavor profile.
Tasting Notes
Incredibly thick legs and a rich dark tawny color.
Very grain forward. Probably more so than any other bottle I’ve had from Chattanooga. It has that craft paper/cardboard like nose. Moldy, mildew, mossy firewood log, too wet to use in your campfire. Wood finishing oils. Leather and light tobacco. Some nutmeg spice to it. With air, the potent alcohols dissipate and you find some more fruity raisin bread flavors. Unappetizing funk to it.
The palate is a bit of a mess. A lot of acrid flavors. Very off, very bitter profile. An oak extract taken too far. Again, time and air really helping out. More fruits and much needed sweetness develop. You get some green flavors and light citrus. Not very enjoyable.
Bitter cocoa finish and thankfully short. I’m finding it difficult to discover anything of redeeming quality. It’s just unpleasant whiskey.
Overall
As a fan of Chatt, I am glad this was only 2 ounces. I have had an excellent Tequila finished whiskey from Bull Run but it was also aged for a significantly longer time prior to finishing. That bottle had a rich deep tobacco flavor that I had hoped to find in this Chattanooga sample, but unfortunately all I found was a whiskey soaked oak stave. This was an experiment as the bottle makes you well aware of. This was a failed experiment to me.
