High Wire Distilling is located in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded by husband and wife team Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall, High Wire Distilling makes small batch spirits distilled in a hand-hammered, German copper still. The company’s flagship product is Jimmy Red, made from 100% Jimmy Red corn sourced from Turnbridge Farm in Darlington, South Carolina. A rare heirloom, Jimmy Red corn is a “varietal that the brand has worked tirelessly to bring back from the brink of extinction."

‍‍The bottle in review comes from Batch 9.

The sip opens with an intriguing aroma that differs from your typical bourbon profile, which is to be expected given its singular grain mashbill. Grilled peaches and subtle brown sugar greet you while light oak and bubble gum linger in the background. Sweet corn oil, fig paste, dark chocolate-dipped raspberries, and a faint pressed mint add additional intrigue. The scents come off as subtle, but the combination forms an intoxicating aroma that has you coming back for more.

A thin, oily mouthfeel delivers flavors of white peppercorn spice, corn syrup, and subtle orange rind. Light yellow cake appears along with subtle notes of chalky vanilla, tangerine, and fruit punch. A sharp tannic oak note is present in the background and lingers; however, it's thankfully tempered by the other flavors. While it’s intriguing and flavorful, the sharp tannic oak note tends to hold it back from greater heights.

The end of the sip ramps down, rather than up, with a focus on more straightforward flavors delivered in a subtle fashion. A quick hit of corn syrup kicks things off, followed by white peppercorn spice and oak. A dab of vanilla rounds things out, adding a light touch of sweetness. The combination fades away to oak and white peppercorn spice, which wrap up the sip in short order. It’s the most forgettable part of the sip, ending the opposite of how the nose kicked things off.

The uniqueness of Jimmy Red Bottled in Bond Bourbon comes not only from the taste of the bourbon but also from the singular grain used to make it. I went in-depth about this in my review of Lost Lantern 2024 Single Cask #10: High Wire South Carolina Straight Bourbon. It’s worth reiterating here just how unique this corn grain is and how much of a role High Wire Distilling had in bringing it back from the brink of near extinction. This is a grain that went from nearly being extinct to Highwire Distilling growing enough to bottle ongoing and limited edition whiskey releases.

As a result of this endeavor, High Wire Distilling chose to distill a bourbon using only this singular grain, which is unusual to say the least. Even Mellow Corn, which is what most people think of when the words high corn mashbill are uttered, is only 90% corn. And it’s not even a bourbon. A more apt comparison is the recent release by Frey Ranch with their 100% Malted Corn Bourbon. The main difference between the two is that Frey Ranch uses malts and their associated enzymes to produce their bourbon, while High Wire Distilling uses unmalted corn, although it’s assumed that enzymes were added to help during the fermentation process.

Creating a bourbon without any malted grains is rare, and the result is rewarding, as Jimmy Red Bottled in Bond Bourbon tastes neither like a straightforward traditional bourbon nor a young craft bourbon. Instead, the resulting flavor profile the sip delivers is unique and nuanced, particularly at the start and midpoint. While its limitations are clearly displayed in the finish, you have to tip your cap to High Wire Distilling. for standing apart from the rest of the crowd and marching to the beat of their own drum.

Smaller craft distilleries usually charge a premium for their product, and High Wire Distilling is no exception to this rule. Priced at $80, Jimmy Red Bottled in Bond Bourbon is expensive for a (presumably) younger bottled-in-bond bourbon. This especially comes to light when other craft distilleries like Chattanooga Whiskey’s bottled in bond line is priced at just over $50 with a complex mashbill. However, it’s the simplistic mashbill in Jimmy Red Bottled in Bond Bourbon’s case that is also its value proposition.

The use of Jimmy Red corn is rarely seen in whiskey, especially bourbon, which makes up 100% of the mashbill. There’s a price premium that has to be acknowledged when it comes to using a specialty grain in high doses. The result is that despite a high price, Jimmy Red Bottled in Bound Bourbon is priced accordingly for the unique pour it delivers and the grain it uses.

Overall, consumers' typical exposure to a non-traditional mashbill is when they try a four-grain bourbon, which is what makes Jimmy Red Bottled in Bond Bourbon’s 100% Jimmy Red corn mashbill stand out so much. It flips the script on what most consumers think makes up a bourbon by employing a singular unmalted grain. The fact that High Wire Distilling had a hand in bringing this grain back from the brink of extinction makes it all the more interesting.

The resulting pour is unique and surprisingly never comes across as overly corn-focused. While it starts much stronger than it finishes, Jimmy Red Bottled in Bond Bourbon still manages to deliver an interesting sip that is both familiar and unique. This whiskey is a reminder that sometimes less is truly more, and in today’s exploding market full of multiple barrel finishes and blended mashbills, sometimes that’s enough.