Beacon Bourbon
Odd that I reviewed a single barrel pick from Mid-Valley Wine and Liquor before reviewing the core Beacon Bourbon, but that’s how samples come sometimes!
Over the past few months, I’ve joined several whiskey groups locally and nationwide. One of my favorites has been the Hudson Valley Bourbon Enthusiasts. I love promoting New York spirits, whether they’re great, good, or on the way, and Nathan, the group’s founder, is of the same mind.
We’d chatted a bunch - especially about a fantastic Taconic Distillery pick called “Bobby’s Bottle” (also, check out my interview with Paul Coughlin, the founder of Taconic, on the Whiskey Ring Podcast) but we’d never met in person. The opportunity arose, and we met up at Dennings Point Distillery in Beacon, NY.
Dennings Point Distillery is a tiny operation, all in a single building that could’ve been a former garage just off the main drag in Beacon. The main room is at once the tasting room, distillery, fermentation area, and I think bottling line (though that wasn’t out in the open like the rest).
There’s a certain hands-on nature to a place like this - you know that it’s small, but you also feel right in the middle of the action as soon as you step in the door. The tables are Beacon Bourbon barrels, with more barrels, grain, and equipment lining the walls. I got the same feeling when visiting Seven Caves in San Diego, where everything is in a single room from grain to bottle.
Add to that that all the grain (and fruit for the brandy) are sourced from farms 50 miles or fewer from Dennings Point, and you understand the depth to which the Hudson Valley landscape is imbued into the bourbon and brandy. Corn, rye, and barley all grown in the beautiful Hudson Valley - doesn’t get more grain-to-bottle than that.
Now, for the bottle itself - I’ll be honest, I don’t think four years is enough. It’s definitely on the right path, there are just some raw grain notes that need more time in the barrel to round themselves out. The proof is right on and you can feel the flavors developing, so I look forward to re-reviewing this in a few years when the product is a bit older.
One more note, and an unusual one. Dennings Point Distillery produces both their regular bourbon (this product) and their cask strength version. Here’s the weird part: the cask strength version isn’t this product undiluted…it’s the same mashbill and distillate, but aged in different sized barrels than this is.
…why?
Between the two, both of which need more time, this is clearly the better path. I’d really like to know why you’d split your hand like that. It’s one thing if you did parallel production, with versions of both aging in different sized barrels to see how they ended up, but splitting the production kind of makes the comparison irrelevant. It also makes the marketing confusing. I approached the regular bourbon and the cask strength as the same product in different forms, but that’s just not the case. By marketing it as it is right now, that’s how a consumer will see it. I think Dennings Point should take some time to re-evaluate, clarify that the products are different, and decide which direction to go in. I hope it’s this one!
Beacon Bourbon: Specs
Classification: Bourbon
Origin: Dennings Point Distillery
Mashbill: Undisclosed
Proof: 100 (50% ABV)
Age: NAS (4 Years Old on Site)
Location: Beacon, NY
Beacon Bourbon Price: $58
Beacon Bourbon Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Light caramel.
Nose: Light brown sugar, raw corn just shucked. Kind of a tight nose, black iced tea over-steeped. Vague burnt corn and barrel char.
Palate: Peppery spice, raw corn roasting. There’s a pleasant burn, not too hot, a bit oaky. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and brings out more caramel and a creaminess of a pudding not quite set.
Finish: Short, but sweet, a bit of corn and cocoa.
Overall: While not ready yet, this has solid promise. Honestly, between this and the barrel proof version, this is such a clear winner that I can’t understand why there are different processes for each. Choose one - and choose this one.
Final Rating: 5.6
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
More New York Whiskey Reviews
