Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review.
Bending Branch is a Comfort, Texas-based wine and spirits company. The winery, you read that correctly, winery was founded in 2009. Specializing in Tannat style wine, this Texas based winery is expanding in whiskey.
Bending Branch has two whiskey labels, Bending Branch 1840 and Chickenduck. 1840 has a high rye bourbon and a four grain bourbon. The Chicken Duck has a high rye bourbon and a wheated bourbon.
According to a press release from Bending Branch, “The Bending Branch 1840 brand features premium Kentucky straight bourbon and high rye bourbon whiskeys, aged for a minimum of four years in new American charred oak barrels, that Alison and Dr. Bob have sourced over the last two years for additional aging and bottling in Texas. 1840 pays homage to the year the Bending Branch Winery property was settled and to the original log cabin home on the property.”
This review will focus on the 1840 Kentucky straight bourbon high rye. The bottle says aged 4 years, bottled at 108 proof or 54% abv, of 3 ingredients: corn, rye, barley. It says “high rye” and “distilled in Kentucky, bottled in Texas.”
With that, we turn to the glass.
Tasting Notes: Bending Branch 1840 Bourbon High Rye
Vital Stats: 4 year old Kentucky straight bourbon; 108 proof of 54% abv; high rye mash with corn and barley; SRP $75.
Trending Stories
Appearance: Gold
Nose: sweet rye spice with cinnamon and brown sugar. There is an unpinning of alcohol, but overall it is sweet and very inviting.
Taste: Slow burn to the palate to start but a little watery as a mouthfeel. A very sweet splash of rye and molasses sugar to the palate. Each sip introduced a little stronger deep note but it was progressive and allowed you to explore the whiskey. There is a subtle warming in the chest with the sip. There is a lingering char note but extremely soft. Successive sips bring about a little more oily of a mouthfeel, but still very delicate across the mouth.
The finish after the second or third sips starts to hold nicely to the palate. At first it just disappears, but after a sip or two you get a nice tingling to the mouth with a drying component which holds the molasses and wood taste against the palate.
Latest News