Mellow Corn

Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky, makes the majority of the commercially available US Corn whiskeys. Corn whiskies, by US Federal law, must be made from a mashbill of at least 80% corn. In practice, the other up to 20% will almost always be comprised totally of malted barley, because there is NO WAY that you will taste the corn if you add significant amounts of either rye or wheat. These whiskeys are almost always sold unaged. Mellow Corn is a Heaven Hill product which is sold Bottled in Bond, which means, among other things, that it is at least 4 years old and sold at 100 proof/50% ABV. Since there is no separate age statement, this whiskey is assumed to be approximately 4 years old

Nose: moderately strong intensity, fragrant,a little floral, honey, vanilla, caramel,a hint of sour corn mash

Taste: there is some corn flavour here, but after only four years in wood, it is the wood that is the strongest flavouring in what I am tasting-- by far. Lots of vanilla, caramel, some honey, and yes, a backdrop of Corn

Finish: moderate in length, fading out to a pleasant sweetness, which still has a lot of the wood flavours present

Balance: I went in search of the flavour of corn, somewhat mellowed compared to the unaged White Dog version. What I found was something that, upon reflection, is not too surprising to me: the flavour of Corn is so subtle that every other flavour factor will dominate it. In the case of this 4 year old Mellow Corn Whiskey, the corn flavour is no match for the oak in which it is aged. This is pleasant enough whiskey to drink, but what you get is a wood profile-- like a bourbon without the flavour, i.e. flavouring grain: rye or wheat. I think that you have to go far out of your way to sip this and say "This tastes like Corn!!" Corn is a fragile flower whose flavour cannot hold up on its own except under hot-house conditions

this is in our Grains tasting.

Due to the abundance of Corn in the US, American whiskey was traditionally made with a high corn content. By definition, corn whiskey must be made of at least 81% corn. In addition, corn whisky does not require aging but if matured, the barrels must be either virgin oak or used – they cannot be new and charred or toasted as with bourbon production. This is the style of whiskey most usually associated with moonshine.

Mellow Corn is made by the Heaven Hill. It is actually four years old, aged in ex-bourbon casks, which has taken off some of the rough edges associated with corn whiskey and added a touch of spice. It is a simple, sweet whisky that is very reasonably priced (around £21 for 750ml from online retailers).

Dominic says: "The softest of starts, this is the whiskey equivalent of a big, soft, shapeless cushion. Creamier and flabbier than bourbon, nonetheless it has a bourbon-lite soft vanilla, candy and caramel cocktail at its core. Without the lengthy and intense influence of new and charred oak, there is little in the way of tannin and spice to give the whiskey shape, and it tails away sweetly and pleasantly"

Combined notes (and scores) Nose: acetone, violets, Demerara sugar. Taste: gentle at first, quite nutty, slightly perfumed. Finish: woody spice and assertive at end.