Uncle Bogue Special Reserve Touriga-Aged Bourbon Review

 

Doc Brown Farm & Distillers states that it is Georgia’s only seed-to-still distillery, with everything from start to finish happening in the state. Founded in Senoia by Amy Brown, her son Daniel Williams, and Paige Dockweiler in 2018, the journey began when Amy and Paige read an article about Jimmy Red corn. The duo were pecan farmers in Cordele, so their interest was natural. They were fascinated and determined to distill whiskey using the corn they had read about.

 

Incidentally, the name Doc Brown doesn’t come from Back To The Future. Instead, it is a blend of Paige’s and Amy’s surnames.   

 

Its master distiller is Matt Greif of the Distillery of Modern Art in Chamblee. The team from Doc Brown is involved in each step of the process, from cooking the mash to filling the casks. Gainsville Cooperage is the source of the barrels used for aging.

 

“At Doc Brown Farm & Distillers, our mission is not hidden between the lines; it’s palpable in every sip of our exceptional products. Being a farm distillery, our family’s values and heritage are deeply ingrained in everything we do. We take immense pleasure in sharing the results of our hard work with whiskey enthusiasts across the country.” – Doc Brown Farm & Distillers

 

Today, we explore Uncle Bogue Special Reserve Straight Bourbon. Uncle Bogue is a high-rye Bourbon made from Jimmy Red corn, which has a nutty flavor and was initially grown to make moonshine. Once Prohibition hit, Jimmy Red was abandoned by most in favor of the more common yellow varieties. Before it died out in the 2000s, it was saved from extinction by Ted Chewning, a South Carolina farmer specializing in heirloom crops. Today, Jimmy Red is grown by a select few southern farms, and those farmers are careful to ensure they keep their seeds from one harvest to the next.

 

Doc Brown took an unreleased barrel of its Resurrection Red Bourbon and, once matured, placed it in a French Oak Touriga wine barrel from Wolf Mountain Winery for a year. Touriga Nacional is a thick-skinned Portuguese grape varietal that grows well in Georgia and is known for its bold, fruity, floral notes. Once the finishing process ended, it was discovered the Bourbon took on a bit too much of the wine’s jamminess. The solution was to blend it with a 7-year-old O.Z. Tyler Bourbon, and then let that finish in an American white oak spiral-cut barrel.

 

Uncle Bogue is packaged at its cask strength of 60.4% ABV (120.8°). Only 198 - 750ml bottles were produced, with a suggested price of $149.99. It can be procured from the distillery’s online store. But is it worth picking up? We’ll have to #DrinkCurious to find out. First, I must thank Doc Brown Farm & Distillers for providing me with a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

Lastly, I must give kudos regarding the press package. It was clever; there was an old, leatherbound book with a cut-out to hold the sample bottle. There was also an old ledger sheet that had something to do with pecans (I’m assuming that was a purposeful nod to their previous farming careers).

 

Appearance: I poured this Bourbon into my Glencairn glass to sip neat. Good heavens, look at how dark this liquid is! I’d describe that as mahogany.

 

It formed a medium-thick rim, which produced widely-spaced, angular tears.

 

Nose: The aroma consisted of fudge, black currants, plums, blueberries, corn, and oak. When I took the air into my mouth, it tasted of old leather.

 

Palate: Uncle Bogue’s texture was thin and oily, leaving my tongue coated. The front of my palate encountered cocoa, leather, and heavily toasted oak. The middle featured black currants, blueberries, and elderberries. The back included dark chocolate, ginger spice, and cinnamon Red Hots.

 

Finish: Long, arid, fruity, and spicy, there were flavors of ancient leather, cinnamon Red Hots, ginger, elderberries, and French oak. I timed its duration at 2:48.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I’ve had whiskeys made from Jimmy Red corn, and they’ve been all over my rating system. Uncle Bogue drank about ten points below its stated proof. It was fruity, spicy, and bold. I really enjoyed how dry the finish was – it had pucker power, causing me to smack my lips and click my tongue, bringing a new wave of the finish.

 

Uncle Bogue lacks any opportunities for disappointment. It is well-balanced, offering layers for the palate to explore, and once the finish fell off, there was almost a rush to get that next sip in my mouth. And the more I sipped, the more I enjoyed it.

 

While spendy, I found Uncle Bogue well worth the cost of admission. I’m thrilled to have this in my whiskey library, and my recommendation is to grab a Bottle before they’re just a memory. 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.