Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey

Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey.

The Johnson Distilling Company

Bardstown, KY

50% Alcohol (100 Proof)

I've reviewed and tasted a few unaged and/or barely aged white lightnings, white dogs, white whiskeys, moonshine or whatever you want to call them over the past couple of years.  And generally, they're a bit underwhelming and overly sweet.  The only exception was Germain Robin's Low Gap whiskey which is far and above the best white whiskey I've ever tasted. So now, we have another in the lineup, The Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey.

Low Gap Whiskey

Low Gap Whiskey

Craft Distillers

Clear Whiskey

Aged 357 Minutes in Oak

44.8% Alcohol (89.6 Proof)

Every once in awhile, something will catch you off guard.  Something will be so random, so unexpected, that it makes your head spin.  Now I have had quite a few "white" whiskeys over the years, including moonshine, pure corn whiskeys, and several "white dog" mashes of a variety of bourbons (including Buffalo Trace's White Dog Mash Recipe #1 reviewed just a few days ago).  But, the thing that's currently blowing my mind is Craft Distillers' Low Gap Whiskey.  This isn't your grandpa's cough medicine.

Craft Distillers' Low Gap whiskey is distilled by hand in an antique double-distillation copper cognac potstill from Germain-Robin's old Surrenne distillery.  If distilling whiskey in a cognac still sounds odd, that's because it is.  Low Gap is made from Bavarian hard wheat, slowly fermented to 8.8% alcohol, distilled, then brought to bottle proofing with rainwater.  That certainly sounds impressive and guess what?  The end product most definitely is.

Low Gap whiskey is aged for 357 minutes in oak before being bottled, but this liquid is as clear as spring water.  It smells like mildly sweet corn and bread, with some background notes that are almost floral.  Tasting it totally caught me off guard.  Whereas Buffalo Trace's White Dog is almost cloyingly sweet, Low Gap's sweetness is tamed down.  It has much more depth and roundness to its flavor, but it is almost difficult to describe.  There is a delicate sweetness, where the floral notes show up again, some wheat in the background, and an almost ethereal base.  It has surprisingly little alcohol burn.  

Don't let the plain looking bottle fool you, Low Gap is special stuff.  It is easily the smoothest, most elegant white whiskey I have tried.  I craved more after my glass was gone.  I'm excited to try this after it has been aged a few years.  Considering how delicate and refined it already is, several years in wood could give some of the heavily aged Pappy Van Winkle whiskeys some stiff competition.  

This is a white whiskey I may have to keep stocked in my liquor cabinet.  Brilliant, brilliant stuff. 

Drink This: if you want to try white whiskey done well.

Don't Drink This: if you don't drink whiskey neat or with a splash of water.  It would be a shame to mix something of this quality with cola or a sour mix.    

      

Buffalo Trace White Dog

Buffalo Trace White Dog

Buffalo Trace Distillery

Corn, Rye, and Malted Barley- Mash Recipe #1

Unaged Whiskey

62.5% Alcohol (125 Proof)

The recent rise in craft distilleries has also given rise to more and more "white" whiskeys, "white dogs," "white lightning," or "moonshine."  This has caused quite a stir in the whiskey community, especially by those aficionados who prefer a longer-aged whiskey.  The reason behind releasing so many of these white whiskeys is to fund the new distilleries productions.  Typically whiskeys, aged in full-size barrels, are usually aged 3+ years, with 5-10 being more standard for things like bourbon.  Scotch tends to age even longer preferably.  New distilleries simply cannot afford to wait that long.  They need something to fund their business, which is where white whiskey enters in.  Not only is there no law as to how long whiskey must be aged (can even be less than a day),  but distilleries are using smaller barrels to speed up the process of aging.  This actually creates some different flavors (notably just extra oakiness) rather than the the smoothing effect caused by long-term aging.  Sure, the color gets darker quicker, but the flavors don't develop the same as with larger barrels.  This whole drama is discussed all over whiskey blogs, as in John Hansell's blog What Does John Know as part of Malt Advocate.  But, I will let it rest for now.

Anyway, back to Buffalo Trace's White Dog.  It is their Mash #1, which is comprised of corn, rye, and malted barley and bottled at a respectable 125 proof.  To the unknowing eye, it would appear to be water, vodka, or gin.  It smells like sweet corn liquor with some interesting green notes.  The taste is really quite sweet, almost like corn syrup (which makes sense), but with an impressive alcohol kick and some odd rye spice.  You can definitely tell it's whiskey, though.

The coolest part about tasting this is seeing how much the aging in new charred oak barrels changes it from the white dog to real bourbon.  You can really start to pick out the notes gained from the wood (molasses, brown sugar, caramel, oak, etc.) when tasting it side-by-side with some of Buffalo Trace Distilleries' standard bourbons.  Will I buy it again? Not likely.  Was it worth the purchase and experience of comparing it with regular aged bourbon?  That's a big YES. 

Drink This: if you want to compare white dog to the finished bourbon product side-by-side so you can differentiate the flavors more.

Don't Drink This: if you're not a whiskey and beer geek, or don't like drinking whiskey neat.  If you've never had whiskey neat, this 125 proof white dog is probably not the best place to start.