The story of New Dawn’s 6-year-old New York Bourbon!
I get asked a lot how I chose our 6-year-old bourbon for my first release to which I want to say, “I actually chose three whiskeys and then the realities of money and season whittled it down for me.” Let me explain.
I jumped into the whiskey business knowing I wanted to release a bourbon and a rye, and eventually get into mezcal. When I partnered up with MHW to source my juice, I sent over what I thought was a random collection of my thoughts, but the wonderful and far too kind Ian Perez said it was the most complete brief he’d gotten in a while.
That brief included my commitment to environmental sustainability and social responsibility, the experience I wanted my brand’s spirits to provide, profiles of the types of bourbon, rye, and mezcal, and the caveat of “I'm not thinking of dropping all three at once but more because they might help narrow to a source because my palate really blends across all three.”
Bourbon Profile: “I love barrel proof spirits and what I feel is the personal customization they provide and how well they hold up to cocktails. I typically like a minimum of 4 years with a preference for 6, and for smooth with more caramel than honey in the body, toasted nuts, cardamom, cloves, and vanilla. I love a smooth finish, and not too wheaty (of a mash bill). I abhor peat on the nose or the palate; if tastes or smells like scotch, its gross.” [don’t @ me scotch drinkers! I have since started dipping my toes into the waters of scotch for bourbon drinkers…]
Rye Profile: The spicier the better - Cinnamon, pepper, ginger, and cloves - but I think it’s lovely when it mellows a bit in the finish. Strong enough to stand up to cocktails often with citrus notes.
Mezcal Profile: I like subtle smoke if I am sipping and more heft if mixing in cocktails. Smooth while maintaining notes of lime and agave (greenness?) with floral and citrus.
And then Ian sent me like 15 samples!
To which I have to say – they were ALL delicious – but since there was no way I could release all 15, I started looking for a whiskey that would help distinguish New Dawn as a place to find approachable whiskeys that were unique and highly drinkable - no matter where you are on your whiskey journey. Because I am a researcher- and this was serious data collection- I created a standardized tasting sheet from various sources across the web and got to sipping.
My process was always the same, and it’s the one I recommend when people are trying New Dawn, or any alcohol, for the first time.
1. Pour yourself a glass of water and a glass of whiskey. [I like Glencarin type tasting glasses, but you can use a rocks glass just approach that fist sniff carefully]
2. Take a sip of water to clear your palate.
3. Smell the whiskey – what flavor notes are popping up; can you smell alcohol?
4. Take a sip of whiskey [It’s probably going to burn a bit, and that’s okay! We’re getting our mouths use to the experience]
5. Give it another sniff – are you getting any different notes?
6. Take another sip of whiskey – what flavors do you get right away? Is it still super burny or has that faded away? As it crosses your tongue what other flavors are popping up? Anything dominating? Is it smooth? Complex?
7. Repeat twice more before adding a few drops of water or ice and starting the process again
8. Leave a pour in the glass for a half hour and repeat the process to see if a little air has opened it up.
Since I had so many to choose from, I would start at 10am tasting my way through a new whiskey every hour to give my palate a break. Some whiskeys immediately got the boot because they tasted too similar to something already on my shelf. Others I thought I might have to lower the ABV because I only really enjoyed them with water and I just wasn’t ready to be making those decisions on the behalf of my community just yet. Some I had to come back to several times, reviewing my extensive notes to parse through differences and the vibe each was giving me. I also pulled in my community - my husband - an experienced connoisseur and one of my best friends, a complete and utter novice, and with their help narrowed it down to four bourbons and two ryes which I packed off to Las Vegas for a family gathering to narrow down some more.
And narrow down we did, again with a mix of experience and love of whiskey at the table, my cousins, sister, husband, and I arrived at one rye, a bourbon, and a wheated whiskey that slipped through the cracks! [More on this wheated whiskey in November and the rye next spring. *wink* sign up for our emails to be the first to know]
What was clear with our final bourbon choice was everyone loved the rich smell that made your mouth water before you even took the first sip. Everyone, especially the novices, was equally delighted that for a barrel proof bourbon it was so smooth. And while it didn’t need water, if you decided to add some, it maintained its velvet mouth feel and stretched out those caramel and stone fruit notes.
It also fit my brief, coming from a distiller that prized organic farming, had worked with farmers to get to a point where all grains were sourced locally, and used well water thereby not putting pressure on municipal systems. I was able to bottle at barrel proof and I knew that it was such an unexpected flavor profile and look (it’s such a beautiful dark color!) for a bourbon coming out of NY. I looked forward to saying, “trust me, you haven’t had anything like this before.”
And that, my friends it the story of New Dawn’s 6-year-old bourbon!
Orders are now flowing like bourbon, and we truly can’t wait to hear what YOU think! Please tag us on social media with your tasting notes and unboxing videos or head over to Distiller.com to leave a review!
