Description
Never Say Die is a Kentucky straight bourbon with an English chapter. It is distilled in Kentucky from 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley. After years in a Kentucky rickhouse, the barrels make a six-week ocean voyage across the Atlantic. They then finish maturing in Derbyshire, England, before bottling as a six-year-old small batch.
The name belongs to a racehorse born on co-founder Pat Madden’s family farm in Kentucky. As a sickly foal, he was revived with a shot of whiskey. In 1954 he won the Epsom Derby at 33-1. He was the first American-born winner in 70 years. The bottle even uses the colours of jockey Lester Piggott’s silks.
Nose the glass and you’ll find vanilla, black pepper and orange peel over a base of toffee. There is a little sweet corn in there too. The palate is chewy, with thick toffee, caramel, rye spice and a pinch of nutmeg. Charred oak, leather and cherry sit in the background. The finish lasts, warming you up before it dries out with cinnamon and tobacco.
At 47.5% ABV it has the backbone for like an Old Fashioned or Manhattan. It is just as good neat or over one large cube.
Pour it with grilled meats, smoked ribs or a piece of dark chocolate. If you usually prefer , add a splash of water and let it open up first.
