*“Chicken Cock Eternal”. Photo Credit: Grain and Barrel Spirits, Chicken Cock Website.*

A name can mean everything - Marketing 101, right? It’s hard to disassociate once you’ve connected a conception to a name. For this one, I’m asking you to put aside the obvious double (triple?) entendre to reconsider a brand reclaiming its place in the limelight.

Chicken Cock American Whisky was founded in 1856 in Paris, Kentucky by James A. Miller. Miller didn’t live long enough to see his creation grow much, but his successors certainly did. George C. White, who would take the whiskey into the next few decades, made Chicken Cock a trusted brand even before the enactment of the Bottled-In-Bond Act in 1897.

In the run-up to Prohibition, The Old J. A. Miller Chicken Cock (still whiskey, not bourbon, though it would qualify as such under today’s post-1964 standard) was considered alongside Old Forester as brands to be trusted, free of at best prune juice and caramel and at worst tobacco spit and formaldehyde.

The proud rooster graced bars across the U.S., none more so than at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City. Chicken Cock’s new owners, Grain and Barrel Spirits, note this prominently on the website:

The Cotton Club, located in Harlem at 142nd St. and Lenox Avenue, featured Chicken Cock as their house whiskey. The Cotton Club was one of the most famous speakeasies in history and hosted some of the jazz era’s most prominent musicians. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Fats Waller all took their turn performing at this iconic 1920s hideout. Duke Ellington and his orchestra regularly performed on the Cotton Club’s stage, which eventually launched him into national fame and international stardom.
As the house whiskey, Ellington recalls Chicken Cock as “good whiskey,” and even reminisces about the whiskey that came sealed in a can in his memoir, Music is My Mistress.

The Old J. A. Miller Chicken Cock American Whiskey rode high in the early 20th century - one does not get atop a Prohibition-era bar from nothing. But, like all but six exempted distilleries (which were allowed to continue production for medical reasons), The Noble Experiment forced them to choose either closing or relocation. As Prohibition started, the Chicken Cock brand was bought by Distillers Corporation Limited - unable to produce in the United States but unwilling to let Miller’s creation die alongside so many other distillers and brands, Chicken Cock’s new owners moved it north of the border.

During Prohibition, Chicken Cock had a place on smugglers boats with Canadian Club and Seagrams. While the brand remained in Canada, though, the dismantling of American whiskey’s infrastructure was rampant. The immediate loss of inventory starting in 1920 was only the start: by the time Prohibition ended with the 21st Amendment, entire distilling operations, networks of grain-to-distiller connections, and distribution systems had been upended. Even for those lucky brands that could distill in the ‘20s, those connections didn’t simply pop back into place like a light switch.

Just before Prohibition’s end, Distillers Corporation Limited sold the Chicken Cock brand to National Distillers Products Corporation (later referred to simply as National Distillers). National Distillers owned The American Medicinal Spirits Company, which was one of the few operations allowed to continue producing whiskey. Moving production back to Kentucky from Canada, National Distillers saw the 21st Amendment as a chance to restart the venerable Old J. A. Miller Chicken Cock name. To its credit, it tried. But American tastes and circumstances were changing.

The 30s saw flagging production as companies tried to catch up after a decade-plus hiatus; the early 40s saw distilleries converted to support the war effort, again pausing or restricting production. In the following decade, American distillers finally caught up to the pre-Prohibition demand; unfortunately, Americans were gravitating towards clear spirits. Distillers over-produced, leading to a glut that would last through the 60s and 70s. In the meantime, a fire at the distillery closed Chicken Cock in the early 50s, seemingly for good.

Over 60 years later, the phoenix began to emerge. In 2011, Matti Anttila rediscovered the brand and began reviving it. Now owned by Grain and Barrel Spirits, Chicken Cock is getting back on its feet, first through contract distilling (i.e. using another company’s equipment but your own recipe and methods - like cooking in someone else’s kitchen). Partnerships with Bardstown Bourbon Company and others soon followed. A rebranding with a chicken wire-embossed bottle leaned into the brand’s history. Instead of shying away from what could be a snicker-inducing name, Grain and Barrel promoted it. First came the bourbon and rye, then limited editions celebrating the brand’s century-and-a-half legacy.

So after all this comes a simple question: is this a flash in the pan? a marketing plan that’s more important than the whiskey? Or a venerable brand on its way back to greatness?

There’s no doubt that Chicken Cock’s new owners had a well-developed marketing plan - but don’t let that distract you from what is really quite a good bourbon. For me, the rye needs a bit more work, but the bourbon is right where it claims to be. At 90 proof, both are a little lower heat-wise than I tend to reach for, but the bourbon in particular had a spicy edge that brought above-average flavor and mouthfeel. The rye was bubblegum-heavy, which isn’t really my preferred rye profile, but it had many of the same peripheral qualities I saw in the bourbon.

165 years after J. A. Miller slapped a rooster on a whiskey and started a brand, that same brand is back to play. It’s not perfect yet, and after only 4-5 years I wouldn’t expect it to be, but it’s on the right path. If nothing else, I view it this way: plenty of brands put out a sub-par product at 1, 2, or 3 years old that is clearly not thought out or otherwise showing promise.

Don’t count Chicken Cock among them.

Thank you to Grain and Barrel Spirits and their publicity partners for providing these bottles and allowing me to review them free of restriction.

Chicken Cock Bourbon: Specs

Classification: Bourbon

Origin: Contract Distilling at Bardstown Bourbon Co.

Mashbill: Blend of two (proportions undisclosed): Younger Mash: 78% Corn, 12% Rye, 10% Malted Barley. Older Mash: 74% Corn, 18% Rye, 8% Malted Barley

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Age: NAS

Location: Kentucky

Chicken Cock Bourbon Price: $60

Official Website

Chicken Cock Bourbon Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Mott’s apple juice. Medium fraying rims and splotchy drops.

Nose: Gentle nose, classic bourbon scents. Corn and vanilla on the sweeter side. No proof heat, but doesn’t smell at all watery.

Palate: A little grainy at first, followed by proof showing itself over the full tongue. Lots of wood influence, with creamy and spicy textures and flavors on the front palate and menthol on the back end. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, spicy, wood creaminess and black pepper. Quite coating with lightly roasted nuts rounding out the pour.

Finish: Long - full-mouth lacquering with nutty brittle, brown sugar, and lingering heat.

Overall: Blew away my expectations. Solid mouthfeel, no youthful notes, well-balanced proof and wood heat/creaminess. A great everyday pour that could also hold up in a low-to-medium alcohol cocktail.

Final Rating: 6.7

Chicken Cock Rye: Specs

Classification: Rye

Origin: Contract Distilling at Bardstown Bourbon Co.

Mashbill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Age: NAS

Location: Kentucky

Chicken Cock Rye Price: $70

Official Website

Chicken Cock Rye Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Golden apple juice.

Nose: Lots of bubblegum - I’m not used to that, but I know I’ve experienced it in a rye before. Menthol and powdered sugar. No proof or oak on the nose. Flavors are transient, though they come back with a bit of air.

Palate: Wow - so much bubblegum! Then it takes a sharp turn into fresh dill with a little proof heat on the tip of my tongue. The dill keeps growing in the corners of my mouth. Mouthfeel is silky and oily, carries the bubblegum notes straight through, coating the palate. Eucalyptus builds on the back palate.

Finish: Medium length, stays coating as the flavor fades away gently. Flavors stay true to the palate.

Overall: The bubblegum and dill profile is a bit odd for me, though not exotic. The flavors are crystal clear, perhaps to a fault, as they end up fighting each other a bit too much for me. If this rye profile is one you enjoy, though, the mouthfeel carries it well.

Final Rating: 5.7

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)