Caramel sauce | Pear | Golden raisin | Lemon zest | Orchard fruit | Fried dough

Honey | Sweet bun | Chamomile tea | Golden raisin | Sweet malt | Good mouthfeel

Shortbread | White pepper | Toasted grain | Slightly dry | Short

For Chattanooga Whiskey’s Experimental Batch 047, the company set out to create a malt whiskey inspired by traditional Irish whiskey, but with a few of their own touches. The mashbill is made up of four grains: floor-malted barley from one of the oldest malthouses in the UK, Calypso barley, an unmalted raw barley from Tennessee, a pale malted barley, and hulless malted oats from Asheville’s Riverbend Malthouse, aka “Streaker Oats.” The Chattanooga team then double-distilled it on their 100-gallon Experimental copper pot still. Though Irish whiskey is typically triple distilled, according to the company, they stopped at two runs so “more of the grain, malt, and fermentation character is carried through into the final spirit.”

This malt whiskey tastes like a classic-style malt whiskey at heart, but with a subtle Chattanooga touch. The grain-forward nature features many raw cereal grain notes in its flavor profile, yet balances sweet notes of honey, sweet bun, and golden raisin, with middle ground notes of Chamomile tea, shortbread, and toasted grain, against a hit of white pepper spice near its end.

Chattanooga Whiskey’s Experimental Batch 047 isn’t necessarily trying to wow newcomers to the style by being unnecessarily flashy. Where some find grain-forward whiskeys to be negative, it's entirely the point here. Oak takes a back seat to the whisky’s cereal grains and the delicate flavors they impart. Most of them are light and sweet with a touch of peppery spice at the end. It also features a nice mouthfeel that isn’t overly buttery, but, more so than a typical whiskey many might be more familiar with. At $60, it is in line with what other major distilleries are charging for their malt whiskey, but in typical fashion, Chattanooga is able to tease much more nuance and character out of their mashbills. The result is a whiskey that may not win over bourbon fans, but malt lovers will enjoy how well it's put together.