Bourbon: Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon Whiskey. 88 Proof; NAS.
Distillery: Who knows? The label states “Corner Creek Distilling
Co.,” but that’s just one of the many assumed names of Kentucky Bourbon
Distillers, Ltd. Worse, this assumed
name has been inactive since 2003. Does KBD have so many assumed names that it
can’t keep track of them and renew the certificates as needed?
Cost: $25.99
Color:
Light amber.
Nose:
Not complex. Soft nut
and vanilla flavors. It lost any discernable
nose with a splash of water.
Taste:
No heat or bite, which I missed. Smooth and sweet, and no complexity. The lower proof was noticeable. Definitely drink Corner Creek neat; it’s
already watered-down enough.
Finish:
A dry finish that was only slightly warm and pretty short. Oak flavors dominated, with a little
medicinal flavors at the very end.
Rating:
While bourbon hunting I struck up a conversation with the
owner of a small liquor store in LaGrange, Kentucky. Of course he didn’t have what I was looking
for, but he went on and on about Corner Creek.
He has family in from Pennsylvania every Thanksgiving and they make
special requests for him to be sure to have Corner Creek. Then he told me a story about how Corner
Creek was started by guys from the wine business who are now distilling in
Bardstown. I hoped that he was just
misinformed instead of lying to me, because I knew that Corner Creek was part
of the KBD portfolio.
Maybe he was just relying on the label, which claims Corner
Creek is produced “in the tradition of the great wine importers,” or maybe it
was the wine-styled bottle (with the Bob Ross landscape art). Or maybe it was just a sales pitch. But he was extremely friendly so I didn’t
challenge him. Not only that, I decided
to buy a bottle.
My final recommendation is that Corner Creek is fine, but
it’s under-powered and it left me wishing for more complexity and bite. Additionally, there are so many other options
in this crowded price range (or lower) that you should try first, like
Four Roses “Yellow Label” and Small Batch, Elijah Craig 12, anything in the Weller lineup, Maker’s Mark or Bulleit. As
a bonus, we know where each of those are distilled and aged (even Bulleit, at
least for the time being). I would
prefer all of these over Corner Creek.
Score on The Sipp’n
Corn Scale: 2.5
The Sipp’n Corn Scale:
1 – Wouldn’t
even accept a free drink of it.
2 – Would
gladly drink it if someone else was buying.
3 – Glad to
include this in my bar.
4 – Excellent
bourbon. Worth the price and I’m sure to
always have it in my bar.
5 – Wow. I’ll search high and low to get another
bottle of this.