Pearse Lyons, the man behind the animal health and nutrition company, Alltech, apparently knows a thing or two about distilling whiskey. Lyons is formally educated (Masters Degree) in brewing and distillation, with a Phd. in yeast fermentation. According to the latest edition of “The Bourbon Review” magazine, Lyons’ knowledge of yeast fermentation actually spawned the idea for Alltech in the early 1980’s, which began by developing animal supplements and feed.
In recent years, Lyons Spirits released a malt whiskey (Pearse Lyons Reserve), and now their latest, Town Branch Bourbon. Town Branch is actually made with a pretty unique grain bill of 51% corn (right at the legal limit for bourbon) and 49% malted barley. This is unusual for a number of reasons. Most notably because bourbon typically contains at least some percentage of wheat or rye depending on what the distiller is going for in the flavor profile.
Let’s put this one through its paces a bit…….
Town Branch Bourbon, 40% abv (80 Proof), $27
Color: Town Branch’s medium golden hue is perhaps a clue (in hindsight) as to the softness that ensues on the nose and palate.
Nose: Soft, overly ripe banana, flint, caramel corn, stale pancake syrup, hints of butterscotch, and dry oak veneer.
Palate: Candy corn, butterscotch, rum soaked golden raisins, and disjointed oak running a few paces behind. “Where’s the beef?!?!”
Finish: The finish works hard to perk things up a shade with white pepper and nutmeg, but it’s a flash in the pan, and quickly smothered with the remnants of caramel corn and toast.
Overall: Town Branch is not a very memorable or complex bourbon, but it’s not below average either. The problem is pretty simple – it’s just too hard to pay attention to an average product when there’s so many excellent whiskeys in this price range. At only four years old or so, perhaps more time would add much needed zip. I do know that a healthy increase in proof would help to concentrate the flavors a bit. That is the part that shocks me most – releasing Town Branch at at a pedestrian 80 proof (40% alcohol). Perhaps it was intentional to align with a softer, smoother style. If so, then I suppose I can understand that, but it hints of “mailing it in” a little. Availability outside of Kentucky is limited as I understand, but getting better.
Sour Mash Manifesto Rating: 7.0 (Good/Solid)
I’ve had this bottle sitting on my home bar for weeks now and just haven’t gotten around to trying it. Thanks for your thoughts. Seems like a very corn-driven bourbon with very little sweetness to it from your tasting notes. I’ll have to try it out soon.
Jason, just FYI, and I hope this doesn’t annoy you. I’m only mentioning this A) I love reading your blog, and B) because copyediting is what I do for a living.
Your use of “it’s”/”its” is usually incorrectly used: Example here:
“Let’s put this one through it’s paces a bit.”
As “it’s” is a contraction of “it is,” you simply ask yourself if you can say “it is” in the sentence. In the example, you cannot, so this should be “its,” no apostrophe. Nice, easy way to remember in any sort of writing.
Again, I mean no disrespect. Many many people hate the grammar people, and I try to limit the times I pull out my badge. Like I said, I love reading your posts, and I thought maybe you’d appreciate a little tip. Thanks for all you do!
Wood is Good – no problem. I am always open to the grammar police! Appreciate the extra eyes.
Love the frequency of posts, Jason. You do a good job here, & it’s fun to stop by.
Very corn driven, very flat, but certainly on the sweeter side. Thanks for commenting Steve.
I wonder who this bourbon was made for. It looks like it is made for the enthusiasts, but I think most enthusiasts will be underwhelmed by its low age/proof.
P. S. from how you describe the taste it sounds similar to Early Times 354. Why not save 15 bucks and get that instead?
I may be wrong, but haven’t Lyons/Alltech only been distilling for a few years? If so, that probably explains the low age on the bourbon. The bare-minimum proof does seem like a mistake, though, particularly with the high barley content. Seems like if you’re going to go through the expense of using that much malt in a mashbill, you’d do best to milk it for all it’s worth. My presumption from European barley-based whiskies is that it can give a lovely, creamy texture, so bottling at a slightly higher proof (perhaps even just 43-46%; Scottish-style proofs for a bourbon distilled in Scottish-style stills?) and not chill filtering would probably be useful.
Half-barley is a theoretically incredibly interesting whisky for me (I’m bonkers over those folks who play around with unusual mashbills). I’m curious but not overly disappointed it isn’t available where I live, since it seems like it isn’t ready yet in the broader sense.
TheBitterFig – you are correct. Only been distilling for a few years. Pearse himself is formally educated though in distillation and brewing. But agree, we shouldn’t expect too old of a product, but the mashbill is producing a very soft whiskey, which is further accentuated by the low proof. I agree with you. To me they would be helping the product with more proof. I too like adventurous mash bills, but in the end it’s all about what’s in the bottle and it has to demonstrate some distinction. This isn’t poorly made, it’s just not special in the least.
Finally tried this one. You nailed it with the banana on the nose. I found this one to be real flat and pretty boring. Sweet corn taste with a little caramel to it and next to no finish. Agreed it could benefit from a few more years and a higher proof. I put bourbon like Maker’s Mark in the “average” bucket. This one was below average for me.
I purchased a bottle of this and found it to be underwhelming. My first thought when i tasted it was that an increased proof (100) would help this considerably.
I don’t like Scotch because of the “peat” taste, and this bourbon tended to have a lot of that running through it. I thought at one point I wa drinking Scotch. Maybe its just me…