It seems like a lot of new whiskey companies are turning to design gimmicks to get their bottles off the shelf and into people’s homes. And while I’m not against having a fun design, it feels like the visual marketing of a whiskey should take a backseat to the actual product. But who can resist a good story?
Sixth Street Bourbon, for example, aims to capture and build on Austin, Texas’s, musical background. The bottle is shaped like a guitar, and comes with a thick metal guitar pick chained around its neck (with the number six etched in the center). The design is nice – the bottle clearly well crafted (the designer of the bottle won an award in 2016 for the product).
However, the issue, as with so many things in the whiskey industry, is in the details. Namely, that the Dime Box Distillery bottling plant is located in Fort Worth, Texas, nearly 200 miles away. And, while certainly a different city, Texas is big… perhaps they could be forgiven for making the geographic stretch in the advertising. However, as the label on the neck of the bottle states, the whiskey itself is actually distilled in Indiana. (That didn’t stop them from winning first place in the 2016 International Whisky Competition for the Texas Whiskey category, though.)
Now, while sourcing, and re-bottling and branding whiskey is by no means a new phenomena, it does seem a bit off to base your entire branding around a city that has nothing at all to do with the actual whiskey you’re selling (Dime Box Distillery’s tag line is “A strong, honest spirit, for a strong honest soul”). Their website claims that they’re in the process of building their own distillery, so hopefully we’ll see some homemade spirits from them in the near future to add to their current lineup.
But still, at the end of the day, whiskey’s about more than the location or back story (or fancy glass bottles). How the drink tastes is what really makes the difference. Let’s see if Sixth Street Bourbon’s produced some sweet music, or whether it’s just more noise.
Tasting Notes: Dime Box Distillery’s Sixth Street Bourbon
Vital Stats: The mash bill of the bourbon consists of 75% corn and 21% rye, and has been aged “six years or longer” in new charred white oak. It’s single barrel, and at 90 proof, the 750 ml bottle will cost you about $55.
Appearance: A golden-auburn in the glass, it has thin, slow legs.
Nose: The nose is subtle – a hint of mandarin orange, cherry soda, and an earthy whiff of wood-chip mulch.
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Palate: The first mouthful is a bit of a surprise, considering how light the nose is. Coming on quite sharp, it hits you with flavors of dandelion, honey, and dark, dark chocolate, fading away to an aftertaste of warm leather with a lingering back-of-the-tongue rosemary bitterness. A splash of water opens up that honey flavor, while softening the initial blow. The lingering bitterness remains, however.
Final Thoughts & Score:
Score: 68/100
The bitterness that lingers on with this bourbon really put a dent to my final score. The nose is quite lovely, and the bottle design (duplicitous back story aside) is actually kind of charming! But I finished my glass not because I loved the taste… but only because I’m loath to waste it.
At $55, the price is a bit steep for what you get. But hey, at least you get a free guitar pick, right?
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