10,000 Drops Single Barrel

I've at no point sought out whiskey made in Minnesota. There's not any history or distilling reputation here to speak of, though we do produce a lot of corn in the state. That said I'll never say no to trying something, especially when it's free. A while back my wife's boss gifted her (us) a bottle of Minnesota-made whiskey and that'll be our topic for today.

What I have is 10,000 Drops Single Barrel Bourbon. If you don't know, 10,000 Drops is a reference to the number of lakes in Minnesota, with the state often heralded as 'The Land of 10,000 Lakes.' (It's actually more btw.) 10,000 Drops was formed by three friends in concept in 2015, seeing no doubt a dearth of whiskey distilling in the state and a booming industry nationwide, with their opening years spent preparing an old building in Faribault (pronounced Fair-a-bow) for the project. In early 2018 they started distilling and partner with a local organic farm for their corn and wheat. They basically do it all, mill, mash, ferment, distill and mature on site, bottling must be elsewhere. See their story page for more if you're interested. It could be an fun place to visit too, we drive by Faribault with some regularity, as they have cool-looking indoor and outdoor spaces but only do tours one hour a week (3-4pm on Saturdays).

From the website, look! Bottle 1, Barrel 1.

From the looks of it the Single Barrel Bourbon is their primary whiskey. The site doesn't have pages with their different products but does have a bunch of pictures, showing a Naked Whiskey (clear, probably un-aged), various vodkas, gin and rum. There appears to be quite a bit more at the distillery than at, say, Total Wine (which has the SiB, Naked Whiskey, gin and unflavored vodka). To their credit the Single Barrel Bourbon appears to be whiskey truly from varying casks, the barrel number is written on the label and the proof changes depending on the batch. Assuming they numbered as you'd expect, this came from only the 25th barrel of whiskey made by 10,000 Drops.

The label offers a bit more. This whiskey was aged for four years and one month (in newly charred American oak barrels, as is required for Bourbon). It was made from 'local corn, wheat and barley.' It must be at least 51% corn but that's all we're going to be able to know. We can guess based on the order there's more wheat than barley, barley is usually the smallest percent anyway. I shouldn't be surprised they made wheated whiskey, where wheat replaces rye in the mash. It's far less spicy, is extra sweet and is very popular with most Bourbon drinkers.

I like the bottle art but the shape makes me think of olive oil

Stats:

ABV - 53.5% (107 proof)

Mash - Corn (51+%), wheat and barley

Maturation - New charred American oak

Age - 4 years, 1 month

Location - Faribault, MN

Price - ~$60

Tasting Notes:

Nose - Orange, burnt sugar, alcohol

Color - Light copper, decent color

Taste - Fruity! citrus and cherry, some caramel sweetness

Finish - Medium long, some burn, hints of spice, wheat?

Final Thoughts:

I think the whiskey is fine. It's really nothing special, and certainly not a value at >$60. Of course I'm not a wheat fan, so take it with a grain of salt, but there's just too many better whiskeys at or below this price point, other wheaters included (like the wheated Origin bottles from Bardstown for example). The higher proof is a bit of a saving grace at least.

The reason to buy this bottle would be to support a fairly new, local (to us) distillery. I'd still visit the distillery if that makes sense for us, just probably not buy a bottle there.