The Duke Club - October 2019
This month, for Just A Taste’s Duke Club, I am excited to feature Noah’s Mill Kentucky Bourbon.
Noah’s Mill Small Batch Bourbon
Blender/Bottler: Willet Distillery
Region: Bardstown, Kentucky
Mash Bill: unknown (rumored to be blend of wheated and hi-rye bourbons)
Distilling: sourced from numerous Kentucky distilleries
Aging: older bottles at 15 yr; current releases withhold age statement (blend of 4 to 20 year)
Serving Suggestions: with splash of water
Cocktail: spirit-forward cocktails, such as old-fashioned, manhattan, or julep
Nose: heather, leather, lavender and fig with black walnut, spice, and clove with water
Palate: (neat) warm, honeyed body with focus on spice and fruit flavors
(with water): toffee, nougate, citrus and floral notes come foward
Finish: warm, lingering spice with sweet expressions of fruit, nuts, and oak
About Noah’s Mill
Noah’s Mill is one of several negociant brands created by Willet Distillery. The term “negociant” is more common in the wine world, so to paraphrase, it is the practice of purchasing either raw or finished product from other producers to blend together into the purchasing house’s label. Noah’s Mill, Rowan’s Creek, and Pure Kentucky are all labels created by Willet Distillery,; however, Willet distills little to no whiskey that goes into those bottles. While this practice may seem non-transparent, it is common across other mediums: Blended Scotch, bulk wine, and even the larger negociant houses of Burgundy blend products together to create their styles or expressions. In fact, there are several whiskey historians that contribute the popularity and incline of craft bourbon to small blended brands like Noah’s Mill.
About Willet Distillery
The Willet family has been distilling in Kentucky since the mid-1800s, but the stills have gone cold more than once. First, prohibition ceased most bourbon production from 1919 to 1933. Shortly after, in 1936, Willet Distillery was erected. The distillery steadily grew in volume and fame, but by the 1980s, it discontinued distillation. Into the 1980s, under Even and Martha Willet Kulsveen’s leadership, Willet Distillery reopened as Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, a negociant-styled company. They purchased barrels from other producers, blended together different whiskies, and in the 1990s released Noah’s Mill, Rowan’s Creek, and Pure Kentucky to wide success. Jump forward to 2012, Even and Martha’s son Drew restarts the stills as Master Distiller. Four years later, their first Willet Family Estate Bottled Bourbon Whiskey is released. In September 2019, Even Kulsveen was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame for a lifetime achievement award.