- DISTILLER: Black Feather Whiskey (sourced whiskey from MGP)
- MASH BILL: 70% Corn | 21% Rye | 9% Malted Barley
- AGE: Two years (a blend of two and three-year selections)
- YEAR: 2018
- PROOF: 86 (43% ABV)
- MSRP: $29.00NOSE: Ethanol | Nutmeg | Vanilla | Oak | Citrus
TASTE: Corn | Pepper | Clove
FINISH: Short, except a light spiciness came back and left almost as quickly as it came.
SHARE WITH: Folks who utter the words “and Coke” after whiskey or Bourbon.
WORTH THE PRICE: $30 is at the lower price point for “craft” whiskey. I still wouldn’t pay that.
BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Perhaps if you’re looking for a mixer, this could be a buy, but quite frankly, I don’t use anything in a cocktail that I don’t enjoy drinking neat. At best, this is something to try at a bar in a cocktail.
OVERALL: I’m always excited to #DrinkCurious. When I was first approached to review Black Feather, it was something I’d not ever heard of, so I jumped at the chance.
Black Feather is a younger, MGP-sourced Bourbon. It comes in a very nice presentation, using a heavy bottle with “Black Feather” embossed in the glass, a thick, paper label, and a wax top. My bottle is from Batch 1.
When I attempted to open the bottle, the first thing I noticed was the expected tab to break the wax was missing. I wound up using a knife. If I would have read the hang tag, I would have learned the proper method would be to simply twist the cap until it broke the seal. As such, if you casually toss the hang tag, you’ll miss this important instruction. That’s not a knock on the whiskey itself, rather, it is what I view as a faux pas by the design team.
In the glass, the appearance was a lighter amber that bordered on gold. It left a thin rim that created fat legs to fall back into the pool.
I had to leave my glass alone for almost 15 minutes just to get past the ethanol to perform a proper nosing. Even then, it was still dominating. When I held the glass at chin level, aromas of corn and nutmeg presented. At lip level, vanilla and oak became evident. Just under the nostrils, behind the still-existent ethanol, was a very light citrus. When inhaled through my lips, pickled ginger was the only thing picked up.
The mouthfeel was thin and slightly coating. Up front, the palate was all corn. It took a few sips to get the palate acclimated to the corn to discover what hid underneath. Those subsequent sips led to an almost stale spice that eventually became a mix of pepper and clove.
The finish was short and left little to describe. However, when you think it is over and done with, it repeats with a light spice before vanishing again.
Overall, there is nothing noteworthy about Black Feather. Despite giving it plenty of opportunities, it was nothing more than mediocre. I’ve got several bottom shelf Bourbons that soar above it.
Black Feather Whiskey was created to be accessible – a premium, but not precious, go-to American bourbon to be enjoyed by all levels of whiskey drinkers, whether poured neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail. A true whiskey workhorse, Black Feather starts big with an 86-proof kick, followed by an easy going finish. Its founders and investors include three media and entertainment platform builders, Jeremy Rawle and Travis Pastrana from the Nitro Circus franchise; and advisor/investor Rob Dyrdek, known for shows in which he has both starred and produced.In addition to its smooth-drinking whiskey, Black Feather has become known for its many creative endeavors, the most recent of which is a new app that brings the brand’s illustrated crow, Odin, to life, sharing with fans the latest news about the brand, such as its strong showing at SFWSC. Through the app, now available for download from Google Play and the Apple App Store, users can interact with an animated Odin by pointing their smartphone at a bottle of Black Feather.
ABOUT BLACK FEATHER WHISKEY
Founded in 2016, Black Feather Whiskey is a true American product with handpicked allotments from Indiana, bottling in Houston, Texas, and headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Black Feather Whiskey is currently available in Texas, Utah, Colorado and California—and plans to open Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida in the coming months, with Illinois and Canada to follow. The average retail price is $30.00 for a 750ml bottle.