J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery of Frankfort, Kentucky, is honoring its family legacy with the release of its Small Batch Classic Bourbon on Aug. 21, on what would have been John Graves Mattingly’s 201st birthday.
The Classic Bourbon is the first flagship bourbon released under the J. Mattingly 1845 line of whiskies, and will offer fans a consistent taste profile they will be able to find year-round at retailers and online. “Previously, all of the J. Mattingly 1845 double-staved whiskey releases have been custom blends, created for specific retailers, our guests at the distillery, or by our blending team to honor a specific cause or event,” said Harry Richart, president of J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery. “This classic double-staved release is now our anchor “house style” from which all of our custom blends, including your own, emanate.”
If early reviews are any indication, J. Mattingly 1845 is right on track – famed Whiskey Bible author Jim Murray scored the Classic Bourbon a 96, saying, “This is extraordinary bourbon for a 6-year-old, having been taken as far as it can go – a bit like an apple plucked from the tree when at its most carmine but juiciest. … Every year you will find a very small handful of bottlings which is a real bourbon-lovers’ bourbon. Well, this is one of them.”
The J. Mattingly 1845 Classic Bourbon is a six-and-a-half-year blend bottled at 119 proof. Like all J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery releases, this bourbon has undergone the Distillery’s signature double- staving™ process, allowing the whiskey inside the barrels additional surface exposure to charred barrel staves to impart more flavor and color.
“This bourbon is the very definition of complex, as well as one which appears to like to stretch a point as far as it can without being guilty of over-indulgence. Unquestionably this is due to the Double-Staving method deployed which, with its extra charring, has turned a 6-year-old into something showing the honeyed and toasted intensity of a bourbon a little over three times that age: remarkable. More remarkable is the feeling that just another summer month of maturation and this would have clicked from brilliance to failure: such is the fine line of success in the rarefied atmosphere of whiskeys at this stellar level,” continued Murray.
The Classic Bourbon is available at the Distillery in Frankfort, in select retailers, and online, with shipping to 46 U.S. states. Suggested retail pricing is $110 for 750 mL.