Review: Silverbelly Bourbon (2022)
Review: Silverbelly Bourbon (2022)
The latest celebribourbon is this bottling from — or rather, for — country music artist Alan Jackson. Silverbelly (named for the color of Jackson’s cowboy hat) is a sourced product from the prolific Silver Screen Distilling Company. In the bottle is a no-age-statement Kentucky straight bourbon made by Green River Distillery (formerly OZ Tyler) from a mash of 78% corn, 13% rye, and 9% malted barley, and each bottle is being sold with a unique label according to its batch, with each batch tied to a different chart-topping song from Jackson. The first batch, “Here in the Real World,” has already sold out — though I would not expect much variation between any of the planned 35 batches.
We tapped into the “Real World” batch to see if Mr. Jackson has a worthwhile product bearing his name. Here goes:
The nose is mild but pleasant, with notes of sesame seed and spice, and a very mild rye grassiness. Gentle barrel-driven notes dominate the experience; I think a bit more rye in the mashbill might have given this whiskey a bit more bite (in a good way). The palate’s also quite gentle, leaning on notes of almond cookies, nougat, and brown butter — maybe a touch of apple in the mix. More fruit and more spice seem like natural complements, as the finish is otherwise straightforward with doughy and nutty notes, but as it stands the whiskey works well enough, its slightly higher abv serving to provide a little more oomph on the palate.
91 proof.
B / $40 / silverbellywhiskey.com
Silverbelly Bourbon Whiskey (2022)
$40
