One of Texas’s Best Distilleries Just Released a Bourbon Made From Red Corn
One year ago, Still Austin released a bottled-in-bond bourbon made from a mashbill that included an heirloom red corn varietal in the recipe, and it was a winner. The distillery just announced the return of this bourbon aged for a year longer than the first release, which according to the brand adds a new layer of flavor to the palate.
Still Austin has been around since 2015, and in nearly a decade it has become one of the very best distilleries among many that call the state of Texas home. It’s still a relatively small craft operation, but the bourbon and rye that are made there are excellent across the board. The new expression of the Red Corn Bourbon is the fifth in the Bottled in Bond series, which began with the younger version in June of 2023. Since then, there have been three other bottled-in-bond releases: a straight high-rye bourbon, a straight rye, and Blue Corn Bourbon made from a mashbill containing about a quarter heirloom blue corn.
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The summer 2024 Red Corn Bourbon is at least four years old (five in this case) and bottled at 100 proof, as is required to be called a bottled-in-bond whiskey. It’s also the product of one distillery (Still Austin) and one distilling season. The mashbill is 36 percent Jimmy Red corn, 34 percent white corn, 25 percent rye, and five percent malted barley. We have not had a chance to try it yet, but the official tasting notes detail flavors like candied orange peel, milk chocolate, maple syrup, leather, mint, and marzipan on the palate. It would be interesting to compare it to the younger version if you have a bottle or manage to find one in the whiskey wild. We really enjoyed that first release, describing it as a deep amber-copper colored spirit with notes of dark fruit and honey on the nose, and a sweet palate with flavors like fresh orange, vanilla custard, pecan pie, and a bit of black pepper spice on the finish. The label features the same design by Marc Burckhardt, an illustration of a red snake wrapped around a cactus.
Still Austin Red Corn Bourbon is available to purchase now from the distillery’s website (SRP $85), and will be available from select retailers later this month. You can find the rest of the lineup, including previous bottled-in-bond releases, available at websites like ReserveBar.
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