Cinnamon | Graham cracker | Brown sugar | Light almond | Toasted oak

Graham cracker | Chocolate | Brown sugar | Dark cherry | Tobacco | Malty undertone

Baking spices | Brown sugar | Hint of leather | Lingering cinnamon spice

Chattanooga Whiskey’s Founder’s Anniversary Blend releases are created to symbolize the company’s past, present, and future. To do this, Chattanooga Whiskey Co. combines whiskeys from three different solera barrels, representing past, present, and future. According to Chattanooga Whiskey Founder and CEO Tim Piersant, “This year’s Anniversary Blend is special to me because it focuses even more on Tennessee. For the first time ever, the 1816 solera includes a Chattanooga-distilled version of the recipe…and the Infinity tank now contains a mashbill made with 100% Tennessee-grown wheat.” This release represents 14 years since the distillery was founded, and is the distillery’s 5th Anniversary release.

In addition to the standard 750mL bottling, Chattanooga Whiskey Co. also released a “Drink Like a Founder” blending kit, which “gives drinkers access to the very same whiskey and tools Tim uses to develop his blend,” according to Grant McCracken, Founding Distiller. In addition to doing your own in-home blending, the kit gives a rare glimpse into tasting each of the base components of the Anniversary Blend on their own.

Chattanooga Whiskey Co. pays as much attention to detail as any distillery out there, and deep diving into any of their releases makes that clear. Their Anniversary Blend diverges from their standard releases, though, as it incorporates whiskey they did not distill themselves, as well as integrates the solera concept to the extreme. This is also where the 2 year age statement comes into play, as the age statement (on the bottle) must state the youngest whiskey, though the reality is there are much older whiskeys in those monstrous ever-changing solera barrels. However, because the process involves continually extracting a small portion and then replacing it, achieving an exact age mix isn’t possible.

Offering each of the base components in their blending kit immediately confirms one thing: The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is evident when you taste each component individually, which, while enjoyable to varying degrees on their own, don’t find the balance of the combined blend. The blend marries the more traditional flavors found in the “Past” barrel, with the more amplified caramel and honey found in the “Present” barrel, and finally the maltiness found in the “Future” barrel.

The result is a well-executed blend that’s highlighted by notes of cinnamon, graham cracker, brown sugar, and some savory notes laid on top of a definitively malty undertone. This malty undertone is key for Chattanooga Whiskey Co., as their “Tennessee High Malt” mantra is baked into just about every one of their releases. As for Founder’s 14th Anniversary Blend, the final blend is a spot-on representation of where the distillery is today, and where they are headed in the future.