Review: J. Mattingly 1845 Bourbon 6 Years Old
J. Mattingly 1845 hasn’t been around for quite 179 years, but the brand does claim heritage dating back to that era. Creator Jeff Mattingly is a descendant of distilling pioneer John Graves Mattingly, who’d be 201 years old today if he was still working the stills.
J. Mattingly 1845 Bourbon 6 Years Old — also known as J. Mattingly 1845 Classic Bourbon — is the brand’s flagship, a sourced Kentucky whiskey (made in Frankfort) that sees additional charred barrel staves added to the barrel during the primary aging process. While it’s a 6 (and a half) year old product, the extra staves offer a new dimension to the product.
Let’s give it a try.
Toasty oak dominates the nose, but there’s also plenty of fruit here, in the form of dried apple slices, Maraska cherry, and dried plums. There’s a bittersweet chocolate note evident on the nose, as well, then a minty note that obscures some of the underlying wood with a punch of greenery. On the palate, a significant sweetness dominates, plumping up notes of coconut cream, lemon curd, and butterscotch. The fruit remains aggressive — heavy on cherry, with a ring of cola visible — though the near-60% abv isn’t overwhelming. The unctuous palate takes a long while to fade, at which point the substantial barrel influence becomes more blatant. On the finish, a pinch of cinnamon and a grind of pepper.
There’s a lot going on in this bourbon but it ultimately comes across as not quite finished, like it still has a couple more years to “cook” in order to let its battling elements of fruit and wood to coalesce. There’s certainly no shortage of flavor to explore here, though. It’s definitely a brand to keep an eye on.
119 proof.
B+ / $120 / jmattingly1845.com
