Old Dominick Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey Batch No. 5 Review & Tasting Notes

 

Domenico Canale’s family emigrated from Italy to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1844. They opened a successful wholesale grocery firm that, among other things, sold liquor and wine. Domenico followed his family to America in 1859, joining his uncle Abraham Vaccaro, who operated a street fruit cart. Seven years later, Domenico established his own food wholesale business called D. Canale & Co. Like his family, he also offers liquor, selling ceramic bottles of his own brand of whiskey he called Old Dominick.

 

Domenico died just a few days before the 18^th Amendment was passed, bringing in that awful period we know as Prohibition. His son, John, took over the family business and was one of the most prolific grocery distributors in the Midwest. In 1933, when Prohibition was thankfully repealed, D. Calale & Co. caught the attention of Anheuser-Busch and, soon after that, was granted exclusive rights to distribute its beer throughout the region.

 

In 1999, D. Canale Food Services, under the helm of John Canale, Jr., was sold, ending a 125-year run. However, its sister company, D. Canale Beverages, stayed with the family another 11 years before it was acquired in 2010.

 

Three years later, Chris and Alex Canale discovered a late 1800s unopened bottle of Old Dominick Toddy and are determined to resurrect the brand. The duo began constructing a distillery in downtown Memphis, and four years later, the Old Dominick Distillery was ready to start operation. Alex Castle was named master distiller and produced Old Dominick Tennessee Whiskey, the first legal post-Prohibition whiskey made in Memphis.

 

Alex Castle knew she wanted to be a master distiller since she was in high school. After graduating college with a degree in chemical engineering, she started her whiskey adventure at Wild Turkey as a production supervisor. When her cousins Chris and Alex (Canale) looked to build the distillery, Castle was instrumental in its design. Her distillate first ran off the stills. She was named Head Distiller and, in 2019, promoted to Master Distiller.        

 

Today, I’m exploring Old Dominick Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey Batch No. 5. Distilled from a mash of 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley, it slept in new, #4-charred West Tennessee white oak barrels for at least four years. It is non-chill filtered and comes from a six-barrel batch. Because it is bonded, it is bottled at 50% ABV (100°), and a 750ml package has a suggested price of $69.99.

 

How does it taste? Well, we have to do the #DrinkCurious thing to find out. But first, I must thank Old Dominick for sending me this sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

Appearance: I poured this whiskey into my Glencairn glass and drank it neat. Inside, the liquid was the color of caramel. It created a medium-thin rim that caused a curtain of wavy tears to fall.

 

Nose: The aroma included smells of gingerbread, torched caramel, toffee, oak, and barrel char. When I pulled the air through my lips, caramel and plums rolled across my tongue.

 

Palate: Old Dominick had a rich, oily texture that coated my mouth. The front of my palate encountered leather, tobacco, and caramel. The midpoint suggested flavors of toffee, cinnamon, and roasted almonds. The back featured charred oak, black pepper, and rye spice.  

 

Finish: The long duration tasted of rye spice, cinnamon, tobacco, charred oak, and black pepper. Strangely enough, caramel came out of nowhere once those flavors dropped off.  

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: Old Dominick Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey is the first Alex Castle distilled product I’ve tried. Its balance was flawless, with flavors that seamlessly melded and transformed as it crossed my palate. Its finish was inviting, with the bonded proof acting bold enough to maintain interest without overwhelming my mouth and throat.

 

Is $70.00 a bit high for a bonded Tennessee whiskey at its suggested age? Yeah, but you won’t care. Old Dominick Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee Whiskey is excellent, and I’m thrilled to have a Bottle in my whiskey library. Cheers!

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.