Corsair Centennial

Several months ago, I visited my old college stomping grounds of Bowling Green Kentucky. I came back to take a tour of something that did not exist there (legally anyway)when I attended school - a distillery. Corsair Artisan has been practicing their trade in Bowling Green Kentucky as well as Nashville Tennessee. They are known for being very open minded and experimental in their choice of grains and envelope pushing flavor profiles. I made this trek to try a hop flavored whiskey they have been producing. As the mash comes through the still, it makes a pass through a compartment which holds hop pellets - In the case of this whiskey, the Centennial Hop variety. And what you get, is the dank. The ickiest of the sticky. The stickiest of the icky. There's bud in the house, is what I am saying. This smells like a serious west coast triple IPA. Grapefruit, resin, pine needles - all the usual suspects are rounded up and provide an excellent cover for the new make it envelops. Yes, this is young whiskey, and if you nose deep enough, the edges of the white dog come through. New make is not a favorite taste, so I was both surprised and overjoyed to discover a great deal of citrus and vanilla in the taste. It is very sharp and leaves more sweetness on the tongue than bitterness. Really not what I expected from the nose at all. This duality is jarring, and takes some getting used to, but I do like it.

I couldn't drink a lot of this in one setting, but man, is it ever one to share with friends. I really want to introduce this to some beer enthusiasts I know. Corsair bottles many hop variety whiskies. This is only one. I will be interested to check out another variety in the line up very soon.

Refreshingly different.