Whiskey Review: High Wire Jimmy Red Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Bond Single Farm Edition

Editor’s Note: The party behind this whiskey gave us a review sample. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review. It should also be noted that clicking the buy link in this review earns our site a small referral payment, which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.

High Wire Distilling, located in Charleston, South Carolina, has long been known to craft whiskey aficionados for a fervent dedication to using heritage grains in their whiskeys. Distilled from a hand-hammered, German copper still, husband-and-wife team Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall have made a name for themselves with unique, terroir-forward expressions.

At the core of their offerings is their Jimmy Red Corn bourbon, a once nearly extinct corn variety the distillery championed back to life alongside a network of dedicated farmers. From two ears of corn in 2011 to date, High Wire has harvested over 3.25 million pounds of Jimmy Red, making its own statement about what it feels quality whiskey should be from start to finish.

This past fall, in celebration of their tenth anniversary, High Wire released a special “single farm” edition of their Jimmy Red bourbon, also making a bottled-in-bond expression for the first time. Known as Jimmy Red Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Bond, Single Farm Edition, this limited edition bourbon is over four years of age and made from 100% Jimmy Red corn grown by Campbell Coxe at Plumfield Farm in Darlington, SC.

“Jimmy Red Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a celebration of the diverse agricultural traditions of our region,” said  Blackwell at the time of its release. “A true revival spirit, this whiskey began as a labor of love alongside Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills and Clemson University to save Jimmy Red corn from near extinction. Little did we know we were preserving some of the finest whiskey corn in the country.”

Each bottle of Jimmy Red Bourbon Whiskey Bottled in Bond contains the equivalent of three-and-a-half pounds of Jimmy Red corn, and a mingling of 14 barrels yielded the roughly 3,000 bottles of this bourbon that were produced. Packaged in a custom stoneware, hand-glazed bottle with an imprinted Jimmy Red medallion and a gold wax seal, the whiskey was conveyed in a premium box containing a booklet highlighting the history of Jimmy Red corn, details about Plumfield Farm and farmer Campbell Coxe, as well as tasting notes.

Bottled at 100 proof, it is priced at $299.