J. Riddle Peated Bourbon

Two James is a craft distillery located in Corktown, Detroit, Michigan, not far from my home. They are the first licensed distillery in Detroit since prohibition. All of their releases were made from sourced distillate, until this one came along. J. Riddle is their first release of their own distillate, which is a mash bill of 79% Michigan corn and 21% peated barley from the UK. It is labeled as a “Peated Bourbon Whiskey”. Bottled at 45.5% ABV and as it is called a bourbon I would suspect that it is natural color. I have no info on whether it is chill filtered or not. The color is a honey gold. This is from batch # 17-1, which I believe means the first batch of 2017, and the first ever for this expression. The nose is very odd at first, much like the same oddness I got from one of their other expressions, Johnny Smoking Gun. It’s hard to describe it, but it’s unique. After getting acclimated to it you can pick up on other notes. It’s very vegetal/earthy, which is probably the peat influence, but no real smoke to speak of. Toasted oak and some corn sweetness. Vanilla and toffee. A cardboard note with some toasted coconut. A little smoke starts to waft in. Green vegetables like cooked green bell peppers or celery, can’t quite put my finger on it. More corn and a bit of malted barley. Floral honey and melons like cantaloupe or honeydew. With time some brown sugar and butterscotch are revealed along with pickled ginger. Much more complex than I was expecting, but nothing spectacular. That same odd feeling that was one the nose shows up on the palate as well. The peat smoke is stronger here than on the nose. Very weird to get that from a bourbon but I like it. Vegetal peat as well. Green oak, clove and ginger. Undercooked corn and honey with a little barley sugar. Light toffee and butterscotch. Medium bodied mouthfeel that is very dry. The finish is quite short and again very dry. Vegetal, celery and corn. A hint of mint and fennel. That odd note I kept getting never really goes away, but you get used to it. Much better than the Johnny Smoking Gun. Peated bourbons are not a common thing as far as I know so I’m glad I was able to try this, and the Islay Rye I had from G.T.D. which was a peated rye. Not really worth the $54 I paid for it, but you do pay a premium for craft distilleries. 3.75 Cheers

So, I decided to rifle through some samples that have piled up lately and I found this local, craft bourbon that was sent to me by my friend Paul, of suburban Detroit. It’s a local distillery to him (Two James Spirits) and I believe he’s sent me 2-3 samples from these guys that were initially made from sourced distillate. This one is supposedly their first use of some good ole, home grown sauce. It has a mash bill of 79% corn and 21% of peated barley that was sourced from the U.K. So, this is basically a peated bourbon. It should be interesting. It’s 91 proof and I believe it is chill filtered. The nose is heavily bourbon influenced with oak and vanilla taking the forefront before slight wisps of smoke and earthy peat moss mingle in. There’s also an underlying sweetness reminiscent of honey and sugary cereal that lingers when you give it time to breathe. Pretty good nose. The palate is grassy, earthy with a heavy dose of malted barley. It falls kind of flat here and feels very uninspired. The smokiness is seriously muted and a strange, weird taste creeps in that wasn’t present on the nose: it threw me a curveball that I couldn’t detect even after multiple attempts. By then the sample was gone so I just gave up on trying to determine exactly what it was or what it resembled. It left me perplexed. The finish is short and heavy on the corn. It’s plenty smooth, but not lively at all. I’d like some zip at this point, especially at 91 proof, but it never came. I think it needs more time in the barrel but then I believe any trace of smoke would be lost and therefore render this “peated bourbon” without much peat. Thanks to @Generously_Paul for sending me something I’d never get to experience. I think Two James has potential, I just think they shouldn’t focus on experimental stuff at this point and prioritize their base whiskey before trying more of these one-offs. But, that’s just my $0.02. Cheers, my friends.

Not sure where to begin with this one. It smells like a barn and kind of tastes like one. You get the corn and earthiness but with the smokiness from the peat, it just throws it way off. Super unbalanced with a pretty odd combination that is just a bit wacky, for lack of a better term. I get a lot of petrol notes mostly on the finish. But also a little on the attack before corn comes through. The mid pallet does have some interesting spiciness and you get the wood and vanilla from the cask but because of everything else going on it's just a weird experience. And unfortunately, not one that I will likely return to.

Nose: rye, dill, green pine, corn, butter, vanilla, olives/dill, Taste: heavy roast corn, charcoal, vanilla, butterscotch, a hint of malt, burning hay, clove, basil, cilantro, sage. Adding water brings out the oak barrel and lightens everything else while adding intense caramel. This really is a weird one. If you were blinded, you’d think it’s a rye. But there’s still the background hint of peat / charcoal. Apparently it has no rye and I saw it poured. The rye is really seemingly there but it’s not. Spirit is also really young so that might have something to do with it.

This is surprisingly good. I was shocked by how much I like it. Beyond having a very attractive bottle, the bourbon is very good. The nose has a strong vanilla scent. It is very pleasant. It is surprisingly pleasant on the tongue, with a mild sweet vanilla start on the tip of your tongue, and a peaty middle and a satisfying burn for the finish. A smooth texture throughout makes this a very good bourbon, and surprisingly better than many of the Kentucky bourbon. Definitely give it a try, this is the best thing to come out of Detroit since the assembly line.

J. Riddle ... Jimmy Riddle Hoffa, born and raised in Detroit. Horseshoe and local 299 on the label throwing back to his teamster past and the red fox in the centre, The Red Fox Restaurant the last place Hoffa was seen. A Peated Bourbon with 79% Michigan corn and 21% Scottish Peated barely mash gives a lot away with how it tastes. That huge corn content brings the body and sweetness I expect from a bourbon. The peat smoke only hits once its on the palate and is just enough to warm my palate up to welcome that bandaid, mossy peat profile.