St. Augustine Distillery Line Up and New Release
Who makes it? St. Augustine Distillery
Mashbill: 60% corn, 22% malted barley, 18% Hard Red Winter Wheat
Where it’s from: St. Augustine, Florida
In this line up we start with the Florida Straight bourbon coming at 88 proof. We taste throgh these bottles with Wll Hensler, the Chief Operating Officer and the VP of Production, Ric DeMontmollin. Will gets a rustic note, cigar box cedar, and chocolate notes and Ric added in cocoa. Kris and Erik found that on the nose was easy, woody with a sweetness to it. On to the taste with ripe red fruit, a little nuttiness with a little bit of that chocolate making an appearance. For it being a wheat forward bourbon Kris definitely thought it had a more robust flavor which the 22% barley contributes to. Most often times wheated bourbons are smooth, softer and on the lighter side. Most bourbons we have tasted stay in the 4-6% malted barley range. Ric says that wheat tends to be more single noted while corn and barley you can get more variance out of. That’s why they decided to go with higher malted barley.
Then we moved onto the Port Finished Bourbon on the nose a little bit of that higher proof came through but this time a bit more fruitier aspect still containing that sweetness. On the finish ripe red fruits, plums, raisins. Will suggests that the Port Finished pairs well with a cigar. Kris thought it had a more subtle flavor but longer on the finish compared to the Straight.
Lastly the Cognac finished. On the nose a lot of leather, tobacco then on the finish Will says he gets Red Velvet cake while Ric thinks flan has prominence. As for Kris and Erik, they thought it dried out the palate but had a solid flavor profile and a long lasting finish and were very impressed.
Ric took some new make right off the still for us to nose and taste coming in at 149 proof, man that’ll get ya if you you’re not ready. Holy smokes! That is brining on the heat!
We pose the question to Ric if there is a right and wrong way to nose and taste. He said there isn’t a wrong way but definitely taste everything and make a mental catalog of those flavors and smells!
Huge thanks to Will and Ric for taking the time and extolling their expertise! This is a limited release that only four French Cognac casks were filled for this finishing and it’s only being sold at the distillery. We highly recommend taking the tour and stopping by the shop afterwards, tasting some samples, support local and buy a bottle or two!
