Hudson Whiskey NY Baby Bourbon, 35 cl

Product Information

Hudson Baby Bourbon is an interesting expression, aged in small 2 gallon barrels and “sonically matured”. Yes, you read it right! The 100% corn spirit and the casks get some agitation with the help of bass speakers. Every bottle has been hand-filled and numbered, and sealed with a wax. No carbon or chill filtration has been used. Okay, so we know “straight bourbon whiskey” has been aged over two years and we know “bourbon whiskey” has not met that legal requirement. Is it even worth seeking out bourbon without the “straight” moniker? Yes. There are nuances and innovations happening that are upending the norm and leading to wholly new expressions. They’re not going to bear the slowly unfolding qualities of a 15-year-old Pappy, but they’ll certainly grab your interest.

Share With: This is definitely a bourbon to share with others who know enough about bourbon to appreciate it’s unique production characteristics as well as it’s unique taste. If you have bourbon loving friends who haven’t tried it yet I suggest you all go in on a bottle and try it at your next tasting event. I also think it makes a great entry level bourbon for those that would benefit from something with a milder and sweeter taste before diving into some of the more traditional bourbons.

The Burn:** After the first sip I couldn’t notice any burn on my lips or tongue. Every sip was silky smooth with a nice hit of oak and mild burn at the finish.

There’s little doubt that the design is unique and distinctive. It’s easy to spot a bottle of Tuthilltown’s product on the store shelves due to the shorter, fatter bottle design. Nose: Wow, this smells young. The raw, grainy note is reminiscent of other distillery’s White Dog (unaged spirit). The “breadiness” of the nose gives way to astringent, green notes. The facility itself dates to 1788, when the eponymous Mr. Tuthill founded a grist mill to supply flour and other grains to the local region. The area became known as Tuthilltown (although that won’t help if you put that in Google – try Gardiner, NY instead) and is the quintessential bucolic New York location.Despite the fact that the barrels have not yet been aged, they are still new charred oak barrels that have been reduced in size so that the wood to liquid ratio is higher. This improves the wood component of the whiskey, even at its very early stages. Bourbon is then aged for about 3 months before being bottled and sent to us for enjoyment.

In 1834 a Scottish chemist called James Crow invented the sour mash process. Or it might be better to say, he perfected and explained the process as it was probably something that some distillers were doing before. In the sour mash process a portion of the last ferment is added to the next to get things going rather like with sourdough bread, only better because you end up with whiskey. This raises the acidity of the fermentation which makes it hard for bacteria to survive so you’re less likely to get spoilage. The sour mash process meant getting a consistent ferment every time. Color & Consistency: Honey with medium legs and pretty close to the consistency of fresh motor oil.It’s a deep and rich flavor that’s delicious and enjoyable. Something you could sip all afternoon and late into the night. On Ice Previously they had been using barrels as small as 3 gallons but now they were able to switch to the 53-gallon variety. The underlying message of the switch was meant to signal that they intended to age their products for much longer now. Large investments into the marketing and distilling equipment occurred almost immediately. The increase in capacity allowed Hudson to lay down more whiskey and with that came the ability to fill up much larger barrels. Baby Bourbon has won Gold Outstanding Medal at International Wine & Spirits Competition 2013. It is an exciting dram. Fresh and lively one. Still a draft of an whiskey on the palate but the aromas are quite good. Definitely a conversation starter because of its uniqueness.

About 2 months ago I attended a whiskey tasting at The Wine & Cheese Place in St. Louis featuring Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Whiskey line. The tasting was led by Tuthilltown’s very own Gable Erenzo – the son of the founder and the brand’s leading ambassador. Over the course of the evening, we sampled the entire Hudson Whiskey line which consisted of their New York Corn Whiskey, Baby Bourbon, Four Grain Bourbon, Manhattan Rye and Single Malt Whiskey. I know what your thinking and yes, it was hard work. Very hard work! They also changed the name to “Bright Lights, Big City.” If that doesn’t sound like a name you’d give to a bourbon, I’m right there with you. But Hudson explains it away by saying that they want to be different from the other guys both in attitude and the way they market their whiskey. I suppose by giving it a name like that, they have achieved their objective. Cleveland Underground has the most interesting story of any modern bourbon. Whiskey innovator Tom Lix developed a new way to age whiskey in hours instead of years. The short of it is this: The hot juice goes into a new American oak barrel to meet legal requirements denoting bourbon. Then the juice, oak staves, and finishing wood chunks go into a proprietary pressure-cooker-like device where a vacuum is created and oxygen-rich air is pumped in forcing the liquid literally through the grains of the wood over and over again until the whiskey is fully “aged.” This process takes about 24 hours. So what was the point of that story? It makes me think that all is not right with this brand. For every review that calls it out for being young, astringent, ethanol-forward and unpleasant, there is a one where the reviewers claims their eyes have been opened to just how great this whiskey is and how it’s changed their views on the brand.

Why Is It Called Baby Bourbon?

The new variant names reflect New York attitude and embrace the kind of characters, places and moments that only exist in New York.” Our Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery is a small, family-owned business that strives to produce the best whiskey it can. Hudson Whiskey is made using only the finest ingredients, such as corn, malted barley, rye, and water. We're not making whiskey the 'traditional' way, as defined for 80 years by the big whiskey producers," says Erenzo. "We are making it the way their grandfathers made it. We do all the work, hands-on, from scratch. All of our product is hand-made." The whole situation has a stench to it that one side is lying and the other side is trying to expose them. So it is with that in mind that I got my very own bottle of Hudson Baby Bourbon to finally settle this once and for all. I sampled it neat in a glencairn. Tasting Notes Hudson bourbon is a type of bourbon that is made in New York. It is a very smooth bourbon that has a lot of flavor. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good bourbon to drink.