Blending the experience of world-renowned Keeper’s Heart Master Distiller Brian Nation and David Perkins, founder of High West distillery, these two experts have brought us Keeper’s Heart Whiskey Irish + Bourbon. Representing a true marriage made in whiskey heaven, the Irish + Bourbon is a unique blend of rich Irish pot still, smooth Irish grain, and bold American bourbon that delivers a wonderfully complex, layered, and flavorful whiskey.
Speaking about the challenges faced in developing Keeper’s Heart Whiskey Irish + Bourbon, Perkins said, “Bourbon is such a different animal than the rye, with more intense sweetness from the corn. How do we marry that with the pot and the grain to enhance the bourbon? I can’t believe how many iterations we went through to get it right.” Nation said at first, he was trying to just blend the pot still and the bourbon, or the pot still and the rye and it was incredibly difficult. “We couldn’t get them to actually balance, each one of them was fighting against the other. It was a great learning experience for me in that you needed to bring in a bit of grain whiskey to allow the two other components to coexist,” Nation added.
The resulting blend has a layering effect of flavors. The grain whiskey adds sweetness, butterscotch, caramel, and citrus notes, and the pot still whiskey offers a creamy mouthfeel with herbal earthy notes, baking spices, cooked orchard fruits, and cereal notes. The bourbon brings more sweetness, with lots of vanilla from the charred oak.
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