Troy and Sons Oak Reserve is an interesting whiskey. It’s made using Crooked Creek Corn, an heirloom variety of white corn (non-GMO), and nothing else except water. To get the starch to convert to sugar for the yeast to do its fermentation they utilize a separate enzyme in the fermentation process.
Being a 100% corn mashbill, and aged in used copperage, the Troy and Sons Oak Reserve’s actual TTB designation is a corn whiskey, but the company bills it as an aged or “rested” moonshine. Using moonshine as a synonym for new make / white whiskey (white dog) irks me a teeny bit, but it’s been appropriated by pop-culture to the point that I even use here on TWJ. It’s a minor quibble that I’ve come to accept and reluctantly embrace.
Troy and Sons Oak Reserve Info
Region: North Carolina, USA
Distiller: Asheville Distilling
Mashbill: 100% Crooked Creek Corn
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: NAS
ABV: 40%
Price: $45
Troy and Sons Oak Reserve Review
EYE
Chestnut
NOSE
Toasted grains, caramel, spice, dried corn, apricots, vanilla, molasses, nutmeg and a touch herbal with a dusting of bakers sugar. It’s quite sweet, but not unpleasant. A bit more maturity to add more depth and I think it’ll be awesome.
PALATE
Butterscotch, candy corn, roasted corn, toffee, vanilla, molasses, citrus peel and a touch of grains and oak. The palate is more cloying than the nose, but it’s still not horrible and could also use a bit more maturity.
FINISH
Medium fade of butterscotch, molasses, vanilla, oak and herbs The fade reminds me of a nice funky rum.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Decent balance, full body and a round oily feel.
OVERALL
Troy and Sons Oak Reserve is a whiskey that drinks like a rum. No kidding, if I was doing this blind I would have though this was some kind of nice funky rum and if you drink it with that in mind it goes from a decent whiskey to a good rum and I’m thinking I should use it in some tiki cocktails as a substitute and see how it turns out. Strong rum resemblance aside it’s a decent dram.
There’s enough funky, molasses-like herbal funkiness going on inside of the Troy and Sons Oak Reserve to make it consistently interesting and something that I’ve found myself weirdly drawn to now and then. If you like the weird stuff pick this up and if you’re a rum fan definitely do yourself a favor and at least get a taste. If you’re looking for a classic “whiskey profile” then move on down the road to something else because this ain’t it, but it’s still darn tasty.
SCORE: 84/100 (B)
*Disclosure: This sample of Troy and Sons Oak Reserve was graciously sent to me by the company for the purposes of this review. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
