What we’re drinking: Redemption 18-Year-Old Bourbon
Where it’s from: A purposely rye-forward whiskey brand, Redemption falls under the Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits umbrella. The spirits are overseen by Master Blender Alan Kennedy, with the blending done at Castle & Key.
Why we’re drinking this: I’m a fan of Redemption. Their 2022 Sur Lee Rye made our favorite rye whiskeys of the year list, and we’ve featured them in several best-of articles for their high-proof, barrel-finished and everyday affordable releases, respectively — and I’m all for the brand’s attempt at a rye revival.
That said, I’m not always a big fan of bourbons with big age statements, so I was curious if they could pull off an 18-year-old, rye-forward whiskey. The new ultra-aged expression is the latest offering in Redemption’s Ancients Series collection, which also includes an 18-year-old rye and a 36-year-old bourbon, the latter of which, admittedly, seems like overkill.
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But after testing these barrels, Kennedy was surprised. “When I’m blending things, I go on emotion,” he says. “My whole goal in making bourbon, especially bourbon with higher rye content, is I’m trying to create something that has attitude from the rye, but I also want to find the soul. Attitude and soul are what I do — and here, the sweet corn notes were still there, and the stone fruits, while the bourbon is still alive. Tasting this, it feels like those hot, humid summer days in a Kentucky rickhouse.”
Still, there were problems. Physically moving barrels this old, Kennedy said he lost four casks. With only 2,400 bottles available, is this worth snatching up?
How it tastes: Coming in at 103.4 proof, this non-chill-filtered bourbon has a lot of cherry on the nose with the palate full of warm oak, cherry, vanilla, leather, cinnamon, mint and tobacco (add a drop of water, and the fruit notes really shine). It’s complex, slightly sweet and oak-forward but surprisingly balanced. And, as Kennedy notes, this is thankfully not “like licking a barrel.”
Fun fact: Kennedy says he “aerated [the whiskey] pretty heavily to break down the tannins, so some of the fruit notes could come out a little bit.” And that off-hand comment led to a whole side discussion on the concept of aeration, which isn’t talked about much in the whiskey world.
From this release, the Kennedy used more of “an old-school Armagnac technique” (which involved a big steel tank, leaving some head at the top and then using a diaphragm pump). “Aeration is kind of the forgotten main tool — we slowly do it to pull exactly what we want,” he says. “If I went too far, the fruit notes would just die off. If I didn’t go far enough, things will be too tight and you won’t get the caramels, cinnamons, leathers and things like that.”
Where to buy: Redemption 18-Year-Old Bourbon is available in limited quantities for $400. Depending on the state, the bottle is available on ReserveBar.
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