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American

Davidson Reserve Tennessee Small Batch

$45.00

OVERALL
RATING

8

Whiskey Review: Davidson Reserve Tennessee Small Batch

Tasting Notes:

About:
Distilled in Nashville, Tennessee, at Pennington Distilling Co. Mash bill: 70% Tennessee white corn, 25% Tennessee white cereal rye, and 5% barley. Distilled twice and filtered through virgin Tennessee sugar maple charcoal. Aged a minimum of four years in 53 gallon barrels. 96 proof. Priced around $45.
Appearance:
Tawny in color. Love the detachable leather strap on the neck. Great bottle shape.
Nose:
Salty sweet. Medium aromas are not overpowering. It’s briney, with leather, dark cherry and faint amaretto.
Palate:
There’s a big mouthfeel that’s smooth and thick. The flavors are strong on toasted hazelnut, stone fruits, and caramelized sugars with a spicy pepper finish.
Finish:
Comments:
Davidson Reserve Tennessee Small Batch has surprising fireworks. It’s quite satisfying with a little bite. I feel this would be a great whiskey for late summer through winter – and a good sipper by the campfire.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by Pennington Distilling Company. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link towards the bottom of this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.

Pennington Distilling Company began in 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. They make Davidson Reserve, a proudly “small-batch” Tennessee whiskey. While the term “small batch” has no legal definition, it’s always enlightening to learn how each distillery interprets it – and how they look at the competition.

Bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States, as long as the mash bill is at least 51% corn, distilled to less than 160 proof, aged in new charred oak barrels, and bottled at less than 126 proof. Tennessee whiskey shares all of these bourbon characteristics but adds two distinctions.

First, Tennessee whiskey is made in Tennessee. The other difference from bourbon? “Tennessee whiskey is charcoal-filtered before it goes into the barrel for aging. Using a method known as the Lincoln County Process, the distillate is filtered or steeped through charcoal chips before entering barrels. The charcoal filtering process strips the whiskey of some of its harsher flavors, creating a smoother, easier-to-drink whiskey,” says Pennington Distilling Company on their website.

Sometimes, “small batch” doesn’t really mean “small batch” from the start. This whiskey might be assembled from a small subset of a bigger batch. What does all this mean? Let’s dive in a little more.

Whiskey takes a long time to make. No surprise. Most distilleries start with a quick-to-produce product like vodka, or get aged or unaged whiskey from “larger producers who have distilled this alcohol in large batches using ingredients sourced from the industrial agriculture supply chain,” says Pennington Distilling Company. A small amount of this larger-batch whiskey can be purchased, aged, blended and sold as “small batch,” even though it may have originally been distilled in a small batch.

Pennington Distilling Company is proud to market Davidson Reserve as truly small batch from beginning to end. They are a small distillery sourcing all grains locally and overseeing the whole process for optimum flavor. They believe there shouldn’t be anything “uniform” in their “small batch” Tennessee whiskey.

I’ve never intentionally done a side-by-side comparison with “industrial” small batch versus a “craft” small batch, but now I want to. I also want to sample some bourbon next to a Tennessee whiskey and see if I can taste the filtration difference. More whiskey tasting? Seems like fun.

Davidson Reserve Tennessee Small Batch
Davidson Reserve Tennessee Small Batch (image via Melissa Jones/The Whiskey Wash)

Tasting Notes: Davidson Reserve Tennessee Small Batch

Vital Stats: Distilled in Nashville, Tennessee, at Pennington Distilling Co. Mash bill: 70% Tennessee white corn, 25% Tennessee white cereal rye, and 5% barley. Distilled twice and filtered through virgin Tennessee sugar maple charcoal. Aged a minimum of four years in 53 gallon barrels. 96 proof. Priced around $45.

Appearance: Tawny in color. Love the detachable leather strap on the neck. Great bottle shape.

Nose: Salty sweet. Medium aromas are not overpowering. It’s briney, with leather, dark cherry and faint amaretto.

Palate: There’s a big mouthfeel that’s smooth and thick. The flavors are strong on toasted hazelnut, stone fruits, and caramelized sugars with a spicy pepper finish.

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