Premier Drams Bourbon (Drug City), Rye (Allview), and American Whiskey (Jack Rose) Review
Background
Over the past week in the DMV, a long rumored brand has finally arrived. Rumblings of a Bill Thomas, the owner of Jack Rose in DC and fairly legendary whiskey figure, owned whiskey brand have percolated through various Jack Rose tastings over the course of the last ~year. Casually referenced offhand by Bill, then we all would collectively move on to whatever tasting was front and center. Come early May, a label suddenly appeared on Coming Whiskey for Premier Drams, eponymous with the yearly whiskey bacchanalia hosted by Jack Rose. When the Imperial, Jack Rose’s sister restaurant, converted part of their space to a bottle shop and sandwich shop also named Premier Drams, a coordinated launch seemed destined to happen…
And then these bottles just arrived on the market. As of yet, no overview of the brand tasting at Jack Rose. No major Instagram post from Jack Rose or Bill, nor the Premier Drams (bottle shop) account. We get a fairly vague post from distributor Prestige Ledroit and then a series of ~$200+ single barrels. Now, the word of mouth is starting to ramp up and is fairly unsurprising. Bill Thomas has a famously good relationship with Willett, and the prevailing information on the market is covered in my dear friend’s review here, but the long and short of it is this is supposedly contract distilled Willett aged at Castle and Key. Hopefully a Jack Rose tasting will soon emerge to confirm this, but until then we will operate under that assumption as multiple local-and-in-the-know bar/restaurant owners have said as much to me. This review will cover three barrels selected by a trio of legendary DMV institutions: Drug City, Allview Liquors, and again Jack Rose.
Premier Drams Single Barrel Rye: Allview Liquors (#20341) (7 Years, 102 Proof)
Nose: Light, effervescent, muddled mint and gently herbal. The nose is very delicate and honestly muted. It’s a bit hard to understand to gauge what’s coming next.
Palate: Now we’re talking! A lovely, honey note and viscosity combined with a lemon tea and hints of that mint. Light but flavorful, it dances on the palate.
Finish: A delicious, syrupy mint sensation lingers. It's almost mint julep-esque. Gentle, and not super long, but undoubtedly pleasant.
Great (7/10)
Overall: If there was a little bit more to draw you in on the nose this would be quite a fine whiskey. It’s still absolutely delightful on the palate and the finish, especially if you’re in the mode for a light and flavorful pour. I often get tea notes out of Willett single barrel ryes, it’s one of the reasons why I loved them consistently, and this is no exception.
Premier Drams Single Barrel Bourbon: Drug City (#19857) (7 Years, 117.4 Proof)
Nose: Orange peels and orange oils. It really is a lovely citrus note, and there’s a complementary toasty something or other. Graham cracker is what comes to mind initially, or perhaps a bit of French Toast.
Palate: Ah yeah, brown sugar and maple syrup. Great mouthfeel too. It’s not quite syrupy, but it has some heft, some nice viscosity, that pulls you in. There’s a cherry cordial note as well, with a bit of dark chocolate dryness cutting the other sweet notes.
Finish: The brown sugar lingers, cloves and allspice, a bit of black pepper. It provides a nice balance to the sip as a whole with some gentle spice notes entering the picture.
Great (7/10)
Overall: A very nice, fastball down the middle of a bourbon. Will I be bouncing my grandkids on my knee telling them about this bourbon? No, but it’s fairly idyllic and hard to poke too many holes in it except it’s just not wildly exciting or unique. And that’s fine! It’s just at the $200-$230 price point you’re in some pretty competitive territory.
Premier Drams Single Barrel American Whiskey: Jack Rose (#20421) (7 Years, 102.2 Proof)
Nose: Bright lemon lime citrus. Citrus candies honestly, but oh so bright and limey. For what it’s worth, of the three my wife picked this one out as easily the best nose, and I agree.
Palate: Well this is odd! Good odd! Delicious odd! It’s a bit like if a cream soda had a torrid love affair with a peach iced tea. The front of the palate is this almost but not quite creamy vanilla until it morphs into a herbal tea but then I also get a peach that verges on the candy peach rings.
Finish: That tea carries through with a dry herbal sensation. It’s not overly dry, as there’s still hints of peach, but it has that dryness you get at the end of a nice glass of unsweetened ice tea.
Excellent (8/10)
Overall: With American Whiskey, my mind personally goes to something like the Old Carter offerings, where they tend to blend in a lot of higher proof light whiskey. All of those are typically delicious but they get a little same tasting batch to batch. This, apparently, is rye aged in a reconstituted barrel, and it makes for one of the most unique whiskeys I’ve had in recent memory. I absolutely agree with my compadre’s review that this is a knockout summer pour. Light and fun and delicious, it’s the pour that made me splurge on purchasing a full bottle that I immediately opened and kept enjoying. Truly fun stuff.
