This is the 2015 release in the Woodford Reserve Masters Collection series, and uses white or “sweet” corn instead of the regular #2 yellow dent corn used for the regular Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select. It’s a throwback to the mid-1800’s when Oscar Pepper and James Christopher Crow used white corn at the distillery in Versailles, Kentucky that now is known as Woodford Reserve. By the way, white corn is usually sold “on the cob” for roasting, and is very rarely used for anything else these days.

The nose has notes of roasted and buttered corn on the cob, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, oak, and muted spices. While the nose is sweet, the taste is spicy with a blast of chili powder, black pepper, and cinnamon notes that gradually fade to a subtler pepperiness with notes of linseed oil and lemon zest underneath. The finish lingers nicely with those soft spices, hints of buttered corn on the cob, and a soft oakiness. Very nice! (November, 2015)