Brother Justus Founders Reserve 2 American Single Malt Whiskey Review

 

The Minneapolis, Minnesota distillery, known as Brother Justus Whiskey Company, was founded in 2014 by Phil Steger. He looked toward the man at the forefront of Minnesota distilling: Brother Justus (his real name was William Trettel). He wasn’t the first moonshiner in the area, but he felt it was immoral to produce low-quality moonshine that could sometimes be toxic. If you were going to break the law by running an illicit still, you don’t do that at the expense of your neighbor’s well-being.

 

As Brother Justus learned the trade, he shared his knowledge with others in the area. He helped, through the church, acquire the necessary materials to build copper stills and taught locals how to make them and then how to make quality whiskey. His required payment was called a whiskey tithe, which consisted of a jar of the whiskey his students distilled. It is estimated that nearly 1200 corn farmers were using Brother Justus’s techniques before the 21st Amendment passed, eliminating Prohibition.

 

Brother Justus is known for its American Single Malt Whiskeys. As some of you know, the American Single Malt Category is, legally speaking, brand new. The Alcohol Trade & Tabacco Bureau (TTB), the governing body, has stated that, among other things, American Single Malt cannot be distilled over 80% ABV (160°), which is in line with how Scotland distills, as well as American rules covering the production of Bourbon, American Rye, and several other whiskey types. The exception is Light Whiskey, which requires distillation above 80% ABV.

 

Brother Justus has released a statement that it “fundamentally disagrees” with the rules and is considering its legal options to challenge them. It did file commentary in 2022 when the TTB opened the considered regulations for public discussion. 

 

The position is understandable. Phil and his team are innovators. They’ve done several out-of-the-box things with whiskey. That brings us to today’s review: its newest whiskey called Founder’s Reserve 2.

 

“I love an Old Fashioned, but I love the big flavors of a high-proof whiskey even more. So, for our second Founder’s Reserve, I selected casks of our American Single Malt that hit those Old Fashioned notes, but from the whiskey itself - no sugar or flavor added.

Each sip of this cask-strength whiskey bursts with notes of jammy orange, brown sugar, melted butter, wildflower honey, allspice, and cinnamon. Like its finish, the possibilities of this American Single Malt are vast: sip it neat, with a drop of water or a rock, or go meta and make an Old Fashioned. I hope you love it as much as I do.” – Phil Steger, Founder & CEO

 

Distilled from a mash of 100% malted barley that underwent a seven-day fermentation cycle, Founders Reserve 2 is aged about a year in new, charred oak and is packaged at 62% ABV (124°), and a 750mL bottle can be purchased from the distillery, the tasting room, select stores in Minnesota, or from its online store for $129.99.

 

Something else you should know about the brand: Brother Justus uses only Minnesota-grown malted barley and water from the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which, incidentally, is the only part of the river that runs over a limestone bed.

 

Brother Justus was kind enough to provide a sample of Founders Reserve 2 in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review. Let’s #DrinkCurious and discover what this is all about.

 

Appearance: I poured this whiskey into my Glencairn glass to sip neat. It possessed a burnt umber color. A thin rim formed pencil-thin, slow tears.

 

Nose: The aroma included complex smells of dates, orange peel, butterscotch, dark chocolate, allspice, cinnamon, and oak. Inhaling the vapor into my mouth revealed fennel.

 

Palate: A thick, creamy texture rolled across my palate. The front tasted of coffee, toffee, and caramel. My mid-palate encountered dark chocolate, leather, and orange peel. The back featured smoked oak, cinnamon spice, and brown sugar.

 

Finish: Very long and warming, flavors of smoke, dark chocolate, toffee, caramel, leather, oak, and cinnamon Red Hots remained. The experience ran 3:16.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I know Phil planned to be an unflavored, high-proof Old Fashioned-like whiskey. It wasn’t quite that, but I wouldn’t consider it a failure. Instead, this is a flavorful, depth-filled, Light American Single Malt Whiskey (I just coined that term; perhaps that’s the next new category for the TTB to consider?). It drank far below its stated proof.

 

Some might balk at the price of a one-year-old whiskey. The beauty of American Single Malts is they typically mature faster than Bourbon, Rye, and other whiskey types. I’ve had some six-month-olds that I found stunning. Others might balk at the price regardless of age. That’s fair; $130.00 is expensive for most people.

 

So, what’s the rating? Out of the three Brother Justus whiskeys I’ve tried to date, Founders Reserve 2 is simply outstanding. The result? Bottle. 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.