Old Dominick Distillery
Most tasting kits introduce you to a distillery. This one could help determine whether we pick a barrel from it.
Old Dominick is one of the great revival stories in American whiskey. The brand traces its roots to Italian immigrant Domenico Canale and 1860s Memphis, where Old Dominick became a fixture of the city's whiskey culture before Prohibition brought that chapter to an end. More than a century later, the Canale family resurrected the name and, in 2016, began legally distilling whiskey in Memphis for the first time since Prohibition.
Today, Old Dominick operates a grain-to-glass distillery on South Front Street in downtown Memphis, producing Tennessee whiskey, bourbon and wheat whiskey with a distinctly modern point of view.
At the center of its Tennessee whiskey program is a 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley mash bill, followed by the Lincoln County Process—filtering the new make through sugar maple charcoal before barreling. But Old Dominick doesn't stop at an easy-drinking flagship. The same distilling philosophy stretches into Bottled-in-Bond whiskey, higher-proof expressions and single barrels that let you see what happens when proof, age and barrel individuality enter the equation.
And then there's the wheat whiskey.
Built around 83% wheat, Old Dominick's single-barrel wheat program offers a dramatically different side of the distillery—older, cask-strength whiskey where wheat replaces corn as the dominant grain.
That's exactly why we're doing this tasting.
This kit is both an introduction and an evaluation. We'll taste six expressions spanning the Old Dominick portfolio and, during the live tasting, discuss whether there is enough member interest to pursue a future Prime Barrel × Old Dominick single barrel selection.
What's in the Kit
Old Dominick Straight Tennessee Whiskey | 85 Proof
The starting point for understanding Old Dominick's house style. Made from 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% malted barley, then mellowed through sugar maple charcoal using the Lincoln County Process. Aged four years in Char #4 barrels, it balances the sweetness of corn with a surprisingly assertive rye backbone. Look for vanilla, caramel, crème brûlée, tobacco, anise and oak.
Old Dominick Bonded Tennessee Whiskey | 100 Proof
The same signature Tennessee whiskey mash bill viewed through the stricter lens of Bottled-in-Bond. Old Dominick's first release was distilled in Fall 2017 and aged at its South Front Street distillery. Bottled-in-Bond requires whiskey from one distiller, one distillery and one distilling season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse and bottled at exactly 100 proof. Expect vanilla, caramel, tobacco and crème brûlée with additional structure and intensity.
Old Dominick Cask Strength Bourbon | 114 Proof
Now we turn up the volume. Old Dominick's high-rye bourbon presented at cask strength delivers honey and cinnamon on the nose before moving toward rye spice, leather, dark chocolate, caramel and a lingering cinnamon finish. It's an opportunity to see the distillery's character without the restraint of a lower bottling proof.
Old Dominick Tennessee Whiskey Single Barrel | Barrel Proof
Where the standard Tennessee Whiskey establishes the house profile, the single-barrel format lets individual cask character take over. This is particularly relevant to our tasting: we're not simply asking whether Old Dominick makes good whiskey—we're trying to understand what its whiskey can become when we're eventually standing in front of a flight of barrels choosing one.
Old Dominick Single Barrel Straight Wheat Whiskey | Cask Strength
One of the most intriguing whiskeys in the lineup. This is wheat whiskey, not wheated bourbon: 83% wheat, 12% corn and 5% malted barley. Existing releases have reached seven-plus years at cask strength, offering an unusually mature look at a category that receives far less attention than bourbon or rye. It's also the first Memphis-made wheat whiskey released by Old Dominick since the city's post-Prohibition distilling revival.
Old Dominick 8 Year Reserve Bourbon | 100 Proof
The elder statesman of the flight. Old Dominick selects and reserves barrels each year specifically for this eight-year expression. The profile moves toward cream soda and peach on the nose, followed by raisin and icing before caramel, butterscotch, honey and vanilla lead into an oak-driven finish. At eight years and 100 proof, it gives us an important look at what additional maturation can do to Old Dominick's distillate.
Kit Contents
- 1 × 1.5 oz Old Dominick Straight Tennessee Whiskey — 85 Proof
- 1 × 1.5 oz Old Dominick Bonded Tennessee Whiskey — 100 Proof
- 1 × 1.5 oz Old Dominick Cask Strength Bourbon
- 1 × 1.5 oz Old Dominick Tennessee Whiskey Single Barrel
- 1 × 1.5 oz Old Dominick Single Barrel Straight Wheat Whiskey
- 1 × 1.5 oz Old Dominick 8 Year Reserve Bourbon — 100 Proof
🥃 Live Old Dominick × The Prime Barrel Virtual Tasting
August 26, 2026
8 PM ET / 5 PM PT
RSVP details provided after purchase.
Join us live, taste through the portfolio, share your notes inside The Prime Barrel Discord, and help us decide whether an Old Dominick barrel selection belongs in our future.
