This Whisky Wednesday has a very clear theme for me. It’s all about exploring some amazing Bourbon’s! Tonight, I have a Bourbon tasting with Norbert Tebarts from Whisky4all, who is considered the leading expert of American Whisky in The Netherlands. And it’s also from his website that I bought the sample of Noah’s Mill I’m reviewing this afternoon, to get myself in the mood. Whisky4all has an amazing bottle share collection including Bourbon, but Norbert also has Scotch and other world whiskies on there. For whisky fans in the Netherlands, I can highly recommend checking it out!
Back to the whiskey at hand though… Noah’s Mill is a bourbon bottled by hand at 57,15% and before dropping the age statement from the label it used to be a 15-year-old bourbon. Most likely this means that there’s some younger barrels in the mix nowadays. This bourbon is distilled entirely at the Willet Distillery in Bardstown Kentucky and the label reads: genuine BOURBON whiskey, Handmade in the hills of Kentucky. There’s an old-fashioned style to the label used as well, and all together it shows that this dram wants to bring us an old school style of bourbon.
Tasting Notes: Noah’s Mill Batch 20-23
Stats:
ABV: 57,15% (134,3 proof)
Age: NAS
Distillery: Sourced
Owned by: Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD)
Category: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Chill-Filtered: No
Natural Colour: Yes
Setting:
It feels like the first days of spring are upon us. Even though it’s still quite nippy outside, the sun warms you up nicely, and I almost felt like taking of my coat during my long Wednesday walk. The dogs were overjoyed as well, as lots of friends came out to play. So, while I was enjoying a wee dram… they we’re having a ball. Back home I poured this dram neat into my Spey Dram and I set about writing.
Nose:
On the nose you instantly recognise this as a bourbon. Thick molasses, dark brown sugar, caramel, and vanilla… they all pack a punch. But there’s a malty note in there as well, reminding me somewhat of whole grain biscuits. And I’m picking up on some herbal qualities, with fennel and cardamom being the outliers here. All-in-all there’s plenty of complexity hiding behind those initial robust scents. Water tames this dram a little, even though the flavours do remain dark and bold. The vanilla becomes more pronounced.
Palate:
On the palate this dram packs a punch as well, as you can really tell the high ABV. Behind the sizzling sensation of high ethanol lie a lot of wonderful flavours though. Barrel aged maple syrup and thick homemade molasses are two of my favourite notes here. But the notes of oak and dried fruit work amazing as well. The dried figs I’m finding bring such a nice balance to this dram that I instantly find myself wanting to go out and buy a bag. And then after those flavours you start getting to the spice, red hot peppers to be precise. A lovely extra layer, making this dram wonderfully complex. Water brings forth a caramel candy, like a Werther’s Original. And it also ramps up the spicy notes even further. Aside from that I’m also finding a black tea note now that I adore!
Finish:
The spice that I was finding on the palate roars on for quite a while in the finish, lingering as if I’ve just finished a spicy chipotle dish. The oak notes turn into liqourice root and I’m able to discern molasses, cinnamon and cloves as well. It’s full of the dark and intense notes that I’ve been finding throughout this dram, and it makes for a lovely whiskey to sit with and enjoy for a while. The finish becomes a lot smoother and well-rounded after adding a few drops of water. Instead of harsh conflicting flavours it turns it into one coherent dish if you will.
Verdict:
Dark and intense flavours, it seems to be the essence of this dram. The flavours I’m finding here are perfectly suited to my palate, but at the same time I can easily see people being offended with this dram as well. Because it really does get in your face. Think of it like this: If you don’t like peated whisky, going for something like an Octomore will most likely not be your cup of tea. If you do like peat, it can be heaven though. And that’s what I think this Noah’s Mill represents for bourbon. It’s the darker less forgiving sides of Bourbon that are ramped up, and if you’re a fan like me you’re going to adore them in this dram. It is delicious. But if you dislike Bourbon, you’re going to dislike this one. As this is Bourbon taken to the next level. At roughly 70 euro, I think the pricing is more than fair. Even though they dropped the age statement.
Rating:
88/100
Value:
B+
Click here to learn more about how I come up with my tasting notes. And how I determine rating and value.
