Distillery: Chattanooga Whiskey
Proof: 111
Age: 2+ Years
Mashbill: 75% Yellow Corn, 25% Malt (Their site says “Malted Rye, Caramel Malted Barley & Honey Malted Barley” but doesn’t include percentages.)
Price: ~$45
Company
Founded in 2011, Chattanooga Whiskey became the first distillery in Chattanooga in over a century. In 2015, they began crafting their proprietary malt-forward style of whiskey called Tennessee High Malt in their experimental distillery. After years of experimenting, they released Chattanooga Whiskey 91 and Whiskey Cask 111 at their Riverfront Distillery.
Production
According to their site, Chattanooga Whiskey 111 is the unfiltered, cask-strength expression of their signature Tennessee High Malt recipe. Distilled from a single fermentation, each 6-10 barrel lot is hand-selected by their team. Unlike Chattanooga Whiskey 91, 111 is not Soera aged.
Chattanooga Whiskey 111 Review: Flavor Profile
Chattanooga Whiskey provided the sample used in this review.
Nose – 4.25/5
Tons of sweetness. Caramel, malted barley, brown sugar, and toffee are rounded out with a feint nuttiness. Very unique nose that’s a bit more powerful than expected at 111 proof. Leaves you curious to find out what’s waiting once you sip.
Inspector’s Score | Insider’s Score | Average Score |
---|---|---|
4.5/5 | 4/5 | 4.25/5 |
Palate – 4/5
A tad of a letdown from the nose. Not quite as sweet initially as expected, a bit more heat than the nose suggests, and more of an oak heaviness than expected. Lot’s going on. It took me a few tries to detect the sweeter notes on the palate, but they do shine through – caramel chews and vanilla with that touch of nuttiness from the nose.
Inspector’s Score | Insider’s Score | Average Score |
---|---|---|
4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
Finish – 3.75/5
This one’s pretty hot all the way through, which wasn’t expected with it being lower in proof than most cask strength bourbons. The finish is oak heavy, similar to the palate, with lingering pepper and hints of caramel chews and butterscotch.
Inspector’s Score | Insider’s Score | Average Score |
---|---|---|
3.5/5 | 4/5 | 3.75/5 |
Value – 4.75/5
Chattanooga Whiskey 111 is a great bourbon. It’s even better that it’s only about $45—making it one of the best values in the mid-range bourbon market.
Cask 111 tastes much older than 2 years and provides a truly unique experience that pretty much no other bourbon can match. Chattanooga Whiskey’s Tennessee High Malt recipe produces sweet and rich bourbons with hints of caramel chews and butterscotch.
I have never met a Chattanooga Whiskey expression I didn’t like, and that trend doesn’t stop here. While I think that the spiciness hides some of the flavors in the palate, it’s still a fantastic bourbon.
Inspector’s Score | Insider’s Score | Average Score |
---|---|---|
4.5/5 | 5/5 | 4.75/5 |
Chattanooga Whiskey 111 Review: The Verdict
Verdict – 4.19/5
We score each bourbon based on nose, palate, finish, and value.
Scoring System:
- Platinum – 4.25 – 5
- Gold – 3.25 – 4.24
- Silver – 2.75 – 3.24
- Bronze – <2.75
Hunter Branch is the Founder and Director of Editorial for Bourbon Inspector. He has been writing about and professionally reviewing bourbon since 2020 (and has been drinking it for much longer). He’s been able to interview big names in the bourbon industry like Trey Zoeller from Jefferson’s Bourbon and his work has been featured in publications like TastingTable, Mashed, and more.