Review #29 - Mellow Corn

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It's all soccer and house hunting this weekend. Down home stuff, so I'm trying a down home whiskey. I planned a total buying freeze (of everything unnecessary, not just whiskey) during the entire home purchase process. The last whiskey I decided to pick up was this, the beautiful retro label of Mellow Corn. At 14 bucks a liter how could I say no? Decided to have it with a bit of HH Kentucky Old Dark Fired in a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe on the porch.

Nose: It might be Spring starting here in Minneapolis, but it's full on Autumn in my glass with Mellow Corn. I grew up in the country in rural Wisconsin, and this smells so much like my memories of that. Jumping in and out of corn bins, farmers harvesting in for silage. Dried field corn and straw bales is what this reminds me of. Sweet and slightly musty. Corn, vanilla, a little bit of oaky wood.

Palate: It's quite sweet. Corn, vanilla, sweet plantains, toasted wood, and a little hint of walnut.

Finish: A nice medium corn and vanilla dance that trails to a sweetness balanced by light wood.

Verdict: Simple. Joyous. Seriously, this is awesome. Cheap and delicious. Makes me think of childhood. Easy drinking, even neat at 100 proof. I could absolutely see myself spending a lazy afternoon on the porch sipping this with a few cubes and smoking my corncob pipe of Kentucky Old Dark Fired tobacco while listening to Trampled by Turtles. There's not a ton going on with it, so it's not going to be an everyday choice. That said, this is absolutely going to be on my shelf. Sure, part of why I love this is it far surpassed my expectations, because at the price my expectations were so low. There's nothing particularly amazing about this whiskey, but there's sure nothing bad about it either. The flavor is up front, simple, sweet, and pleasant. The basic values of the American Midwest, summed up in American Corn Whiskey.

Would I buy this: Yes. Absolutely yes. The value to fun/enjoyment ratio here is amazing.

Would I order this in a bar: I can't imagine a regular bar that would have this. And if I'm at a bar, I'm probably being more highbrow. If they have it and you want to try it without, um, "investing" in the grand sum of a liter bottle, give it a go!

Would I drink this if someone gave me a glass: Yes. Howdy neighbor! Come on in for a slice of pie.

Rating:★★★★

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