Cinnamon apple chip | Light oak | Faint vanilla | Touch of brown sugar | Light aroma

Watery vanilla | New oak | White peppercorn spice | Light caramel | Thin mouthfeel

Rye spice | Pie crust | Caramel | Burnt brown butter | Charred oak

If the Nethery family name sounds familiar, it’s because they’re best known for their line of Jeptha Creed bourbons. The family is back with a new whiskey brand that focuses on the family farm where it’s distilled. The company states that “the brand honors their patriarch, Roy ‘PaPaw' Nethery, a Shelby County native, hardworking farmer, and lover of life's simple pleasures.” They go on to state that “PaPaw's Ridge isn't a place you'll find on a map; it's the Nethery family's affectionate name for a ridge on Roy's old farmland.” The corn-heavy mashbill uses locally grown yellow corn from Shelbyville, Kentucky. 

PaPaw’s Ridge is an approachable bourbon, but that’s mainly due to the fact that its nose and palate underdeliver before moving onto a pleasing finish. The sip starts with an incredibly light aroma of traditional scents, along with an intriguing cinnamon apple chip anote. These lead to a thin mouthfeel that focuses on additional traditional flavors that veer towards watery in some instances. Thankfully, the finish pulls some life into the sip, delivering a pleasing combination of rye spice and supporting flavors that linger. With the exception of the finish, this is a light bourbon that doesn’t allow its sip’s flavors to fully deliver.