J. Mattingly 1845 White Elephant

A little background

Based out of Georgetown, Kentucky, J. Mattingly 1845 is the premium label under the Bourbon 30 Spirits name. According to their website, J. Mattingly 1845 commemorates the year Master Crafter Jeff Mattingly’s great-great-great uncle, John Graves Mattingly, started the second registered distillery in Kentucky; Mattingly & Sons. Jeff uses his knowledge from the culinary world to finish barrels to people’s likings. At the distillery, people are able to sample whiskey as well as select their own barrel. This particular bottling, White Elephant, was pulled as a single barrel. The barrel is 12 years old, yielded 42 bottles and was bottled at 138 proof. Like all J. Mattingly 1845 bottles, White Elephant has a price of $120.

(Tasted neat from a Halo Glass)

Color

Light Straw

Nose

The nose has a fairly high ethanol presence, which does not surprise me given it’s high-octane at 69% ABV. Notes of ivory soap rush to the front after the initial burn, and are follows by subtle notes of caramel. Very slight hints of black pepper appear as well, but almost as an afterthought. Upon nosing the whiskey closer to the face, it begins to smell almost like sour watermelon gummy candy.

Palate

The palate is fairly thick, and has a slight oily texture to it. The first thing that I notice is the burn of the alcohol, but it is quickly subdued by flavor. Big notes of toasted butterscotch and black pepper become present on the mid and back palate. The flavor is rich and sweet considering the proof, and is extremely concentrated in the few notes that it has.

Finish

The finish is medium-long and laden with what starts as toasted butterscotch, which quickly transitions into a really awesome burnt popcorn flavor. It sticks to the mid palate like glue.

In closing

Wow, I really enjoyed this! The nose suggested that my palate would be shortly fried, but it drank much lower than the proof. For a 12 year old whiskey, the color is extremely light. I noticed this with Blondie VI as well. It makes me want to know more about where this barrel was aged and what the char was on the barrel. For being a 12 year old barrel proof whiskey it’s kept a remarkable light color.. Regardless, this just proves again that J. Mattingly knows how to single out flavors and let them shine. White Elephant was not overly complex, but the flavors present were very in-your-face and very delicious!