Glenn’s Creek "Edison" Cafe Ole Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey The Prime Barrel Pick #121

One of the fun things about visiting distilleries is finding something new and unexpected.  One of our Prime Barrel members suggested we visit Glenn’s Creek Distilling, an innovative small distillery that was new to most of us.  We went, tasted, and returned when we had time to select a barrel.  We wound up choosing two unique and compelling barrels.  

One of the barrels is Cafe Ole Bourbon, a fantastic discovery.  The mashbill is 85% corn, 10% rye, and 5% chocolate barley.  The flavor influence of just 5% chocolate barley is extraordinary!  It starts as regular malted roasted barley, giving it a dark color.  The resulting flavor profile has notes of dark, rich coffee and chocolate.  Darker beers like Guinness, porters, stouts, and Dunkels are made with chocolate barley. 

Chocolate barley is one variable that makes Cafe Ole such a distinctive bourbon.  It is fermented with a yeast strain salvaged and propagated from a fermentation tank at the historic Old Crow Distillery.  In addition, Glenn’s Creek crafts their bourbon with a low barrel entry proof, using toasted barrels and then charred to level 3.

Cafe Ole has a traditional nose but is bold on the palate and features a long finish.  It is like an oaky caramel bourbon, dark roast coffee, and bittersweet chocolate.  

Capture the spirit of Cafe Ole, the perfect winter pour.  This is a rare opportunity to buy a one-of-a-kind bourbon from Glenn’s Creek Distilling outside the handful of states with distribution.  

Specifications:

• Mashbill: 85% corn, 10% rye, 5% chocolate barley
• Age:  5 years (barreled 12/14/19)
• Proof:  108

Tasting Notes:

• Nose - Toasted oak with caramel, vanilla and mocha
• Palate - Bold with notes from an oaky caramel bourbon quickly transitioning to notes of dark roast coffee and bittersweet chocolate
• Finish - Long with a flash of spice, oak, vanilla and espresso bean