Name: FEW Bourbon
Color: Copper brown
Nose: Cinnamon, spice, anise
Taste: Caramel, corn, cloves, spice, peppery herbs
Review:
I first tried FEW Bourbon at Whiskey Live in NYC and at the time I had not heard of this brand but I know them now. I tasted all of their products, but when I sampled the bourbon I was very surprised by the flavor. When I see the word “Bourbon”, I get prepared for a sweeter tasting whiskey due to the corn mash, but not this whiskey. It has the sweetness of bourbon but with spiciness of rye that makes a great combination. I started thinking about how this would taste in a cocktail. A week later I was at the Brandy Library having a FEW Old Fashioned and as expected, it was excellent. By the way, when I say Old Fashion I mean no mashed cherries and easy on the sugar.
Based out of Evanston, Illinois, FEW Bourbon is less than 4 years old and is a 3-mash bill of 70% corn, 20% rye, 10% two-row malt. At 4 years in the barrel I do not expect much from a whisky this young. You cannot have your cake and eat it too when you look at age, taste, and cost. Something has to be sacrificed in that combination to make a whisky in 4 years. Naturally, the whisky would taste better if it had more time to mature in the barrel, but products have to be released to make a profit.
The name FEW comes from Frances Elizabeth Willard, founder of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union who were involved in establishing prohibition. Prohibition started in 1920 and ended in 1933 and was overall a failure of politics. The only good thing to come out of prohibition, besides the strength the Mafia gained, was cocktails designed to offset the taste of cheap homemade booze (aka bathtub gin).
Priced around $50 it is a little high for a mixer but I feel it is worth it.
If you like it, drink it!
