What’s in the box? Fred opens a box and finds a $500 bourbon. He reviews it. Note: I received a YouTube warning that I am not able to use the brand name in the subject header. Thus, I called it Chicken Something.
This is the second major holiday release from Chicken Cock. This year’s super rare whiskey is made from a classic mash of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. That whiskey was aged for an undisclosed amount of years before it was re-barreled into 32 French cognac barrels. Those 32 barrels were then batched, proofed, and bottled as-is for this release.
Chicken Cock Whiskey on Monday announced the release of Chicken Cock Chanticleer, a Kentucky straight bourbon finished in French Cognac barrels. Bottled at 112 proof, this release’s mashbill comprises 70% corn, 21% rye and 9% malted barley. Thirty-two barrels of Chanticleer were produced.
For the first time ever, Chicken Cock Whiskey – known as “The Famous Old Brand” – will release 15 barrels of limited-release Private Cask in honor of National Bourbon Heritage Month. Handpicked by Master Distiller Gregg Snyder, the casks contain Chicken Cock’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which has been aged for seven years.
In general, your neighborhood bartender likely isn’t spending a ton of time judging you and your alcohol preferences. They have more important things to do than wonder why you’d order a shot of Fireball. They have other patrons to worry about, drinks to mix, and various other jobs grabbing for their attention.
Grain & Barrel Spirits, the company behind the Chicken Cock brand’s revival, continues to push the brand upmarket, releasing limited expressions of all kinds of (sourced) whiskeys, revolving around bourbon and rye. This latest expression is a doozy: A 20 year old Canadian rye named in honor of Harlem’s Cotton Club, where the original Chicken Cock was the house whiskey back in the 1920s and ’30s.
The most romantic day of the year can also be the most fraught when it comes to picking a gift. What’s the best way to express your feelings? If you love a whiskey lover, nothing says “You’re precious to me” more than an extra-special bottle.
Chicken Cock was the house whiskey at the Cotton Club (a legendary Prohibition-era speakeasy) and supposedly a favorite of Duke Ellington. A 100-proof Canadian Straight Rye Whiskey aged for 20 years, the new limited-edition Cotton Club release is both earthy and citrusy, while a hint of vanilla slips in on repeated tastings. Outstanding, but also a hefty price — albeit the bottle does come with a commemorative tin, reflective of the tin cans the whiskey would arrive in via Canada during Prohibition. It’s available for pre-sale on the brand website for $500.
Grain & Barrel Spirits recently released a limited-edition Chicken Cock Cotton Club Canadian Rye Whiskey, aged for 20 years and bottled in a Prohibition-era Chicken Cock replica apothecary-style bottle at 100 proof. The mash bill for the new release contains 90% rye and 10% malted barley.
The Chicken Cock American whiskey label, owned by Grain & Barrel Spirits and operating out of Kentucky, is known, among other reasons, for the use of its sharp looking bottles that are replicas of older design. Its latest offering, a 15 year old bourbon, fits especially into this mold with its bottle look and rarer whiskey designation.
Here’s another special edition from the Chicken Cock gang, drawn from just 10 of the brand’s “best and oldest barrels.” For this 15 year old, Master Distiller Gregg Snyder offers a (sourced) Kentucky bourbon made from a mashbill of 78.5% corn, 13% rye, and 8.5% malted barley.
Chicken Cock was originally established in 1856 out of Paris, Kentucky. It wasn’t until years later during prohibition, however, that Chicken Cock became popular as the house whiskey of the Cotton Club, one of the most legendary prohibition speakeasies. Because the brand survived through America’s prohibition, they still know how to make whiskey as they did in the good old days.
The new Chicken Cock Ryeteous Blonde rye whiskey, according to those behind it, was finished in Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Bourbon barrels that were used by Goodwood to age their blonde ale. Once the ale had completed its finishing process in the Chicken Cock Bourbon barrels and the beer removed for consumption, the barrels were then shipped back to the distillery and refilled with the rye whiskey.
The new Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, according to those behind it, It was 100% distilled, aged, and bottled in the Bluegrass State, and has a mash bill that includes 95% rye whiskey. It is also non-chill filtered and bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV).
The world of American whiskey is an incredibly exciting place right now. Every time I visit a distillery somewhere in the United States, I am regularly stunned not just by the variety and quality of the operations, but by the sheer vision and—often—chutzpah of the people who had the guts to bring their ideas to such delicious fruition.