Proof and Wood DC Collection
These are my tasting notes for the DC Collection from Proof and Wood. Dave Schmier of Proof and Wood Spirits joined me on the podcast recently (listen here!) - he was a fantastic guest who went into detail on all of these whiskies as well as the Vertigo, 100 Seasons, The Stranger Polish Rye, and Roulette Rye during our interview. You can find tasting notes for all of these by clicking their links.
The Presidential Dram 4-Year-Old Barrel Proof Bourbon
Age: 4 Years Old
117.6 Proof (58.8% ABV)
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley
Eye: Dark maple syrup. Thin disintegrating rims and drooling droplet legs.
Nose: Maple and fruitiness, strawberries on top of cornmeal pancakes. Some proof heat, but not too much. Buttered cornbread and lots of delicious charred and cooked corn.
Palate: The proof shows more here, lashing my whole tongue with heat and white pepper. Heat turns creamy while still being hot, cornbread edges with honeyed butter comes in. Mouthfeel is prickly, bright, a little bitterness that turns into a sweet tartness, neither coating nor oily.
Finish: Medium-length, corn pudding with a dash of nutmeg and sweet cinnamon.
Overall: The bitter note in the mid-palate is odd, but the rest is a cornmeal bomb, charred and caramelized with a background fruity sweetness closest to strawberries.
Rating: 6.8
The Representative 4-Year-Old Barrel Proof Bourbon
Age: 4 Years Old
114.8 Proof (57.4% ABV)
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley
Eye: Perfect amber. Medium disintegrating rims, slow droplets.
Nose: Plenty of that corn pudding sweetness and caramelization on the edges, but also a distinct rye scent, very light menthol and sweet mint. Caramelizing grains in a pot still, through never too sweet.
Palate: Candied apples, more oak spice and woodiness than I expected. Also more of a rye punch, more like a 60/36/4 than the 75/21/4 mashbill. Minty freshness sits on my tongue. Not much proof burn at all. Mouthfeel is peppery at first, velvety, lightly coating and a bit effervescent.
Finish: Showcases more of the oak, with subtle hints of bitterness and woodiness. There’s corn sweetness, too, but it really does profile more like the 60/36/4 recipe.
Overall: The thing that annoys and astounds me is how this and comparable pours, like The Presidential Dram, are similar if not the same on paper and yet can have such different flavor wheels.
Rating: 6.7
The Senator 6 Year Old Barrel Proof Rye
Age: 6 Years Old
116 Proof (58% ABV)
Mashbill: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley
Price: $80
Eye: Golden caramel.
Nose: Herbaceous rye - the 95/5 comes through loud and clear. Lots of mint and rye spice, clove in particular.
Palate: Clear 95/5 - if you know the profile, it’s everything that profile has to give. Clove numbs the palate gently as sweet herbs and dill wash over the tongue. Not oaky at all, though there’s some oak pepper present. Mouthfeel is light-to-medium, briefly coating.
Finish: Herbal and spicy, medium-length.
Overall: A rye-lover’s rye. If you like 95/5 in any sense, you’ll love this. The age is just right (though one more year is even better in my opinion) and the barrel proof isn’t going to blow your face off but rather enhance the flavors.
Rating: 6.9
The Justice 14-Year-Old Barrel Proof Bourbon
Age: 14 Years Old
94.2 Proof (47.1% ABV)
Mashbill: 84% Corn, 8% Rye, 8% Malted Barley
Price: $100
Eye: Darkened caramel.
Nose: Tons of vanilla up front with peanut/almond butter sliding in right behind. No sense of the…um…Tennessee bourbon flavor normally there.
Palate: Immediately hot with lots of peanut - Booker’s, where are you? When the heat passes (and before it comes back) the mouthfeel turns oily and coating, lacquering your tongue with hot peanut butter.
Finish: Also hot, though smoke and corn build out the flavor profile.
Overall: Looking at the mashbill and the undisclosed producer, there are flavors and scents I was expecting that, thankfully, did not appear. Instead, this did its best impression of a Booker’s or a 14-15YO Knob Creek, with lots of peanut goodness.
Rating: 6.7
The Ambassador 12 Year Old Barrel Proof Bourbon
Age: 12 Years Old
107.5 Proof (53.75% ABV)
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley
Price: $150
Eye: Maple syrup, thin legs and rim.
Nose: So much caramel and vanilla, with oak rounding out the nose with a woody body and basic astringency. Rye herbal notes come out in the background.
Palate: Spicy up front, mildly numbing. Corn-forward sweetness leads into light caramel like liquid off the top of a flan. The vanilla bean keeps building sip by sip and the heat pleasantly sticks around. Mouthfeel is oily and medium-bodied.
Finish: Long and drying, but also like a sweeter old fashioned.
Overall: A great batch. Tastes like MGP for sure if less rye than wheat, which works for this batch. Delicious.
Rating: 8.1
Final thoughts:
The Ambassador was the first one of these I tried, and I think it’s still my favorite. The bottle I tried at The Whiskey Ward was vanilla and banana cream pie, and subsequent bottles have been just as good. I’ll have to give The Justice another shot, since I don’t usually like whiskies from that unnamed Tennessee distillery, but this wasn’t offensively vitamin-y. Still have to find The Presidential 8-year-old, then I’ll have the complete set.
I find it fascinating how bourbons that are similar on paper (the Representative and the Presidential, both 4 years old, 75/21/4, barrel strength) can be so different in the glass, but then again that’s part of the magic of whiskey, isn’t it?
Thanks again to Dave for spending time with me on The Whiskey Ring Podcast, and you can find these bottles at the Proof and Wood website.
