Milam & Greene’s CEO and master blender, Heather Greene, was recently recognized as a master blender of the year at the Women of Whiskey (WOW) Awards, an accolade that this writer-turned-whiskey maker has clearly earned. This new release of Unabridged is a blend of just 56 barrels distilled in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas that was bottled at 117.6 proof. The barrels ranged from 16-year-old Tennessee bourbon to a two-year-old Texas bourbon made using malted rye in the mashbill.

According to Greene, some of the casks lost 68 percent of the liquid from evaporation. “The seven-year-old casks from Tennessee spent two to three years in high heat, which led to a ton of evaporation plus richness,” she told Robb Report. “We have extreme drought and heat in the Hill Country… The oldest (16-year-old casks) were partially aged in Tennessee, then came to Texas where we had to vat them into a holding tank for a year to stop the aging. They spent some time in the heat and drought, and we were going to lose them if we didn’t use them because they were getting richer and more tannic by the second.”

On the nose is an oaky, split-log tang, which is cushioned by waves of pecan pie, maple syrup, and creamed corn, and a whiff of alcohol driving everything forward. The palate is rich and chewy, with cinnamon-spice oak and dark chocolate notes to balance the richness. Long finish."