Black Button Distilling Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Black Button Distilling, out of Rochester, NY, is putting out some damn fine whiskey at a relatively young age. I just laid out my love for their Empire Rye the other day, but it all starts with this: the Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Black Button’s origin story is a fun one, and their site and representatives can tell it better than I can (be on the lookout for the Whiskey Ring Podcast episode with Alex Hunnell, coming out soon!). The part I want to repeat here is founder Jason Barrett’s background in whiskey: briefly told, he left the family button factory (hence the “Black Button” name) to learn distilling out in Washington state with one of the earliest PNW distilleries. When he felt ready to strike out on his own, he returned to Rochester, NY, where his family had been running that factory for three generations.
Then came the question: “what kind of whiskey, or what kind of bourbon, do I want to produce?” New York is undoubtedly a great place to produce - any of the four major whiskey grains are readily available, as are limestone-filtered water sources and a temperate climate. It’s hardly a far-north distillery that either focuses exclusively on rye or has to bring in other grains (by the way - nothing against those, as some are the best ryes and whiskies I’ve ever tried). In New York, though, with everything available, why not use it, right?
Jason did - along with his gins, the bourbon cream that accounts for a staggering 60% of sales, and other whiskies, he began with this four grain mash bill. With 60% corn, 20% winter wheat, 9% Danko rye, and 11% malted barley, the resulting bourbon is light, refreshing, and a dangerously easy sipper. This bourbon does have a young grain flavor, but it’s not the one I expected. At 2+ years old and after aging in 30-gallon barrels (soon to be 53s, but 30s for now), this bourbon manages to hit a note I’m not sure I’ve had before: I can taste every grain that’s in here, and each one tastes mature yet fresh, like you could chew on the grains themselves. I found minimal levels of that “young grain” flavor that gets almost universally negative connotations. I’m sure others will find the notes I found “refreshing” to be “young and not ready”, but that’s not what I felt.
If I could describe this in one way, I would call it a “session” bourbon. This isn’t a bourbon that a proof hound may enjoy (look to Black Button’s Cask Strength for that) or someone who wants a heavy palate might like.
Here’s a good place to stop and ask how I, a fully-licensed proof hound and someone for whom a solid mouthfeel is the factor most likely to indicate a positive review, enjoyed this so much. I’ll fully admit, I don’t quite know. I first tried it at a family member’s house, during a time of year when “refreshing” isn’t exactly the profile I was looking for. And yet, I enjoyed it. Between the two, I did enjoy the cask strength more - bigger mouthfeel, not a refreshing bourbon but a punchier one - so maybe my palate is still where it’s always been.
Anyway…I encourage you to try this, either by itself or alongside some other four grain bourbons. In a fruitful coincidence, just days before trying this and talking to Alex Hunnell, I talked to Nick Maas of Dancing Goat Distillery in Wisconsin. Not only is Dancing Goat also using Danko rye, but Nick specifically mentioned how a four grain mashbill can balance overly youthful flavors. He wasn’t quite sure how, but I don’t doubt it. Young ryes can be excellent. Young bourbons can be…challenging.
It’s possible the four grain straddles the line, lending maturity to the corn, heft to the wheat, and backbone to the rye. Maybe it’s the grains involved, too: Black Button is using the regular yellow dent corn, but the Danko rye may make a significant difference. Winter wheat is fairly common, too, so I doubt it’s that component making a difference.
In short, I don’t know. I just know I liked it, I would be glad to have a bottle, and I can finally recommend a young bourbon that doesn’t taste closer to mash than to whiskey.
Thank you to Black Button Distilling for providing this bottle for the review with no strings attached.
Black Button Distilling Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Specs
Classification: New York Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Origin: Black Button Distilling
Mashbill: 60% Corn, 20% Wheat, 9% Rye, 11% Barley
Proof: 84 (42% ABV)
Age: 2+ Years Old
Barrel Size: 15- and 30-Gallon (Transitioning to 53-Gallon as of Writing)
Location: New York
Black Button Distilling Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Price: $52.99
Black Button Distilling Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Reddish amber. Variegated rims and random droplets.
Nose: Definitely grainy, but I don’t mind it here. It smells closer to a fresh, clean distillate than a raw grain. Warm and toasted, the smell of fresh wood in a cooperage. Campfire embers dying.
Palate: The barrel is the strongest influence up front, with warm pencil shavings and toasting grains. Ezekiel bread, dry red wine, and grain - lots of grain. Each has its turn here. Mouthfeel is slightly dry, surprisingly filling, with bready wheat and barley. Corn sweetness comes out on the end.
Finish: Quite long, all the grains taking another turn as the oak turns more toasted.
Overall: I don’t think I would have appreciated this a year ago, to be honest. I would have thought it was too young. Having tried other whiskies and especially bourbons that are too young, this isn’t. It’s more of an aged aquavit, a clean-tasting grain bourbon. The grains are crystal clear and each flavor notable.
Final Rating: 6.2
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, 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 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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