Review: Brother’s Bond Regenerative Grain Bourbon and Bottled-in-Bond 7 Years Old
Review: Brother’s Bond Regenerative Grain Bourbon and Bottled-in-Bond 7 Years Old
Its first release didn’t offer a whole lot to write home about, but Brother’s Bond got a leg-up at the start thanks to its celebrity ownership, which has kept the brand’s name at least in circulation. But now the boys of Brother’s Bond are moving into their own with some more exciting and interesting offerings. Today we look at a pair of them.
Brother’s Bond Regenerative Grain Bourbon Review
Booze collaborations are commonplace, but this one raised a few eyebrows thanks to its focus on sustainability. Brother’s Bond collaborated with WhistlePig to sell this whiskey and WP’s latest Beyond Bonded Rye as a bundle (though it can also be purchased solo). Both are designed as farm-to-bottle expressions (though Brother’s Bond’s is made by Southern Distilling in North Carolina), though otherwise I don’t think they share any specific DNA as part of their production. This Regenerative Grain Bourbon is a four-grain bottling with a derived mashbill of 70.5% corn, 14.7% rye, 9% wheat, and 5.8% malted barley — the result of blending a three-year old rye bourbon and a six-year-old wheat bourbon. All grains are grown through regenerative agriculture practices, which are designed with soil longevity and sustainability in mind. While it’s a fairly young buck, the whiskey’s nose is surprisingly fruity and pretty, loaded with notes of apples and, with time to evolve, moving into fruitcake elements of figs and, especially, dried dates. Candied fruits and cloves linger as you give it some air, along with festive notes of cedar chest and vanilla. The palate showcases the spice against a backdrop of blondie batter and butterscotch, but the whiskey is a bit raw underneath this sweetness, leaning heavily on cereal and more raw wood elements than I’d like. It’s a bit winey as it develops, though the finish makes a return to cereal — a bit doughy, with a Madeiraized quality to it — echoing cloves and torched orange peel. It’s got some really strong features and more complexity than I would have expected, but it’s clearly not quite ready for prime time. I’d love to see it with two more years of barrel time on it. 95 proof. B+ / $60 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Brother’s Bond Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon 7 Years Old Review
An MGP-distilled update, perhaps, of Brother’s Bond’s previous cask strength expression, and the first of the Brother’s Bond whiskeys to carry a formal age statement. This one takes the four-year minimum of the bonded designation and blows through it to hit a solid seven before bottling. It’s also reportedly the brand’s first high-rye, three-grain bourbon release – made with 51% corn, 39% rye, and (unusually) 10% malted rye. This is a fun whiskey to compare against the Regenerative bottling above, as it differs in almost every way… except for the price tag. The nose is immediately sweet and spicy — loaded with baking spices and elements of sweet pipe tobacco, almond nougat, and coconut. There’s a fun interplay of lemon on the nose here too, amplifying a lightly grassy aromatic quality. The palate mostly falls in line with the above, though a gentle maple note adds some sweetness, and the underlying grains in the mash become more evident, particularly as the whiskey opens up. Baked apple overtones soon emerge, which complement the core elements of cinnamon and nutmeg, evoking an apple cider quality that hangs on well into the finish. The fade-out recalls almonds, brown butter, and nutty Abba-Zaba candy. It may not break new ground, but it’s a solid whiskey through and through — and the best Brother’s Bond to date. 100 proof. A- / $60 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Brother's Bond Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon 7 Years Old
USD60
