Silverthorn Reserve Finisher's Art Port Finish Whiskey Review

 

Drew Thorn is a name you may know. He is part of the brains behind Sagamore Spirit, the Maryland Rye distillery with a cult-like following. He was there for about a decade before he “retired,” then immediately “unretired” and started Silverthorn Reserve.

 

Silverthorn Reserve is named for a combination of the Silvers (his wife’s family) and the Thorns (his family). His whiskeys are passion projects (much like Whiskeyfellow is for me); sure, he wants to make money, but there’s so much more than that.

 

“Silverthorn Reserve is independently owned, it can take on projects in the pursuit of excellence knowing they would be completely unscalable even if they were well received. We self-distribute and are very selective about how many accounts we work with, so we can stay connected with our customers and quite nimble.

If I find 3 barrels that make an amazing blend – I am going to do it. A larger company wouldn’t be looking at 3 barrels in the first place, and if they happened to stumble across them by accident all they would do is blend them into a large batch to not mess with consistency.” – Drew Thorn

 

Drew embraces transparency, but because of various contractual terms, he cannot tell you who the actual distiller is beyond the fact that it is in Indiana, and that it utilizes two distinct Rye mashbills: 95/5 and 51/44/5. Per Drew, “I do find that our customers are quite sophisticated though […], and they have a good idea where that came from.” That means it was distilled by (cough, cough) MGP (cough, cough). Drew has a sublease agreement with Old Line Spirits in Baltimore, where he ages, dumps, blends, finishes, and bottles his whiskeys. 

 

Today, we’re going to explore Finisher’s Art Port Finish Whiskey. The decade-old blend of MGP distillates is finished in Tawny Port casks, is packaged at 50% ABV (100°), and is available through its online store for $100.00.

 

Should you order one for yourself? Let’s #DrinkCurious and find out. But, before we get there, I must take a moment to thank Silverthorn Reserve for providing me with a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

• Whiskey Type: American Rye
• Distiller: MGP
• Age: 10 years
• Mashbill: A blend of:
• 95% rye, 5% malted barley (57%)
• 44% corn, 51% rye, 5% malted barley (43%)
• Cooperage: Six new, 53-gallon charred oak barrels, then finished in Tawny Port wine casks
• Alcohol Content: 50% ABV (100°)
• Price per 750mL: $100.00
• Non-chill filtered

 

Appearance: I poured this whiskey into my Glencairn glass to explore neat. The ginger color was deep and dark, and the liquid produced a medium-thick rim with randomly spaced, husky tears that meandered back into the pool.

 

Nose: As I was pouring this whiskey into my glass, the air in my whiskey library was filled with smells of ripe cherries and plums. It was challenging to wait the customary 15 minutes, but I made it happen. When I brought the glass beneath my nose, my olfactory senses plucked out rye spice, mint, cherries, plums, orange peel, and a bit of dark chocolate. I drew the aroma into my mouth and tasted chocolate-covered cherries.

 

Palate: My first sip revealed a warm, dense, creamy texture, with a palate-shocking burst of cherry pie filling and ancient leather. With the next, I encountered notes of dried figs, dates, and plums on the front. I tasted orange zest, dark chocolate, and dusty, old leather on my mid-palate. There were flavors of rye spice, cinnamon, and charred oak on the back. It seemed as though each time I took another sip, the mouthfeel became weightier and creamier.   

 

Finish: Warmth from Silverthorn Reserve remained on my tongue and in my throat. It was very much a Kentucky (or in this case, Indiana) hug that had nothing to do with the spice content. The finish featured oak, rye, nutmeg, and cinnamon spices competing with dark chocolate and dried figs. About 20 seconds into it, mint made an appearance, demanded attention, then lost interest and went elsewhere. The duration was long and lingering, lasting 1:51.  

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I didn’t quite know what to expect with this Silverthorn Reserve Port Finish Whiskey. So many non-distilling producers (NDP) use MGP’s 95/5 mashbill, and Thorn wouldn’t be the first to finish it in Port wine casks. I caught myself asking, “Would this be yet another me-too Port finish experience?”

 

I’m pleased to say that the answer is, “Definitely not!”  If nothing else, I found myself fixated on the mouthfeel. It was ridiculous (in a great way) how the whiskey thickened with each draw. I very much appreciated how the barely-legal and 95/5 mashbills melded, making the finishing cycle a complementary aspect rather than a brow-beater.

 

I must point out that I am a huge fan of Sagamore Spirit, and this Silverthorn Reserve expression tasted nothing like any that I’ve tried. While a bit on the pricey side, I found Finisher’s Art Port Finish Whiskey to be well worth having in my whiskey library, and it earns every bit of my Bottle rating. 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.