Background

FINALLY! For whiskey loving DMV locals, this past weekend marked a fairly momentous occasion. After a number of barrels made it out to the market, Bill Thomas and the Jack Rose team finally hosted a launch party/tasting for their new brand: Premier Drams. There’s been a fair bit of general rumblings about these bottles, so it was great to finally get the official story from the team behind it.

To hear Bill Thomas and Chris Leung tell it, the impetus for this label started back in 2015, when demand for single barrels was starting to rapidly accelerate. As Jack Rose found themselves in an increasingly competitive market to obtain single barrel picks, they wanted to future proof their supply of barrels. Bill then turned to a distillery with which he has a very close relationship (more on this below), and bought basically 4 days of new make of production up. The condition was that the resulting barrels needed to be moved off site. The result was a yield of 258 barrels that form the foundation of this label.

Let’s pause for a bit on that sourcing- it’s Willett distilled. Did they outright say Willett? No, but enough local sources close to Jack Rose have confirmed it. It was also no coincidence that a number of industry folks who have done Premier Drams picks were in attendance wearing Willett gear, and there were a few moments where the production methods of this sourced whiskey were outright compared, shall we say, to Willett. That said, the tasting also indicated that they have barrels from other locations that may end up under the same label further down the line. It’s worth mentioning as this means there’s no guarantee every bottle under this label in the future is Willett distilled.

As to the barrels themselves, one of the key changes they made is adjusting the barrel entry proof down. Some barrels went in at 110 proof, others at 115 proof, down from the more industry typical 125 proof. As they had to move them off-site, they brought them over to Castle & Key’s old stone rickhouse (which apparently is longest rickhouse in Kentucky). This rickhouse has an extremely mild climate, which is why each of these cask strength bottlings come in at a rather low proof. About 28 different single barrels are hitting (or already have hit) the market this year. This marks step one in what Bill sees as potentially a ~20 year journey, and it seemed clear to me at least that this label is something he believes is integral to the future of Jack Rose.

That’s a lot of info. I’m excited. Sorry! Onto the reviews:

Premier Drams Single Barrel Bourbon: Jack Rose (#19985) (7 Years, 101.4 Proof)

Nose: Overripe peaches, honeycomb. Immediately sweet but lightly floral as well. Robust but approachable, it is a really promising and inviting nose.

Palate: At first a bit of sweet tea, maybe the peach sweet tea in particular… but then it pivots. It moves into a more aggressive wood driven note. There's also some anise and black pepper. It’s a bit brash.

Finish: Spicy and dry. Too wood forward, toasted oak. And spicy. More black pepper, some heat. Absent much of that initial sweetness I liked on the palate.

Sub-Par to Good (4.5/10)

Overall: Eesh yeah this one doesn’t totally do it for me. I’d be curious to revisit again, it’s possible after opening up a bit more or on further review I’d feel a little better about it. The nose is great, and I love the initial burst of sweetness on the palate, but then it turns. I was not a fan of how the back half of the palate and the finish landed.

Premier Drams Single Barrel Bourbon: Jack Rose (#20180) (7 Years, 100.5 Proof)

Nose: Bit o' honey candies. Fresh cut apple slices. Definitely more muted than the first pour, and delicate, but there’s some shared DNA with the first pour given the sweet, orchard fruit driven notes.

Palate: Hazelnut and praline. Honeycomb, and a hint of black tea. The predominate note I get is a nuttiness though, like Nutella based baked goods.

Finish: Black tea with a light touch of honey. It's less wood driven than the first. Still dry, but less wood driven. Hazelnut spread and cinnamon on fresh toast.

Good (5/10)

Overall: Better, still doesn’t blow me away but is a slight improvement over the first offering. The woodiness from the first pour is reigned in, and it has a nice start to finish balance… though that balance has a bit of a muted profile I’ll admit.

Premier Drams Single Barrel Wheated Bourbon: Jack Rose (#19526) (7 Years, 106.2 Proof)

Nose: Candied apples. Sticky caramel and a soft, gentle nose. It drifts across the nose, bringing a run of delicately sweet and fruity notes.

Palate: It's a little grain forward. Like lightly sweetened, wheated breakfast cereals. As if you let frosted mini wheats sit in the milk for a touch, thus taking some of the sweetness away from the wheated bites themselves. There's a light, caramel drizzle, maybe more like toffee actually.

Finish: Cinnamon, still a bit of grainy-ness, still a bit of caramel. It doesn’t evolve a ton from the palate if I’m being honest. That’s not a bad thing, just more that I don’t have a bunch of new notes.

Good to Very Good (5.5/10)

Overall: I’ll be honest, I’m REALLY curious to see how this wheated mashbill ages. My gut reaction from this bottling is basically: the mashbill has potential. It’s still a bit grain forward to my taste and for me to totally love it, but I can see where this could become a killer offering at 10 years+.

Premier Drams Single Barrel Rye: Jack Rose (#20400) (7 Years, 101.04 Proof)

Overall:  This one I actually have already reviewed. And…. still love it! This barrel rules, I bought a bottle. Nothing else to add at this time but it was fun to revisit with my fellow attendees and hear that people also enjoyed this barrel.

Premier Drams Single Barrel Rye: Jack Rose (#20351) (7 Years, 102.14 Proof)

Nose: Lemonhead candies, honey, and gentle floral notes. It’s fairly citrus driven, and quite delicate. It does not strike you as a big, bold, rye, but something more eloquent and restrained.

Palate: Lemon driven again… candied lemon wedges. Muddled mint, providing a nice herbal note. White pepper and some gentle baking spices. The prevailing note, though, is the citrus.

Finish: Still lemon-y! A bit of a traditional rye ending as well, as I also get notes of cloves and marble rye bread. Again though, lemon is my core experience start to finish.

Great (7/10)

Overall: Damn nice. Having now tasted 3 different Premier Drams rye barrels, it’s clear this is absolutely a strength of theirs. While the prior barrel is still my high water mark, it’s not meant to take anything away from this still delicious offering.

Premier Drams Single Barrel American Whiskey: Jack Rose (#20421) (7 Years, 102.2 Proof)

Overall:  Similar to the first rye, I have already reviewed this one. The sparknotes version is that it’s a rye mashbill aged in a used barrel, and therefore can’t be called rye. A super interesting pour that actually pairs wonderfully with the brutal DC heat.