There’s a delicate art, when it comes to fusing history with marketability in the spirits industry. Having a great name and totemic figure to base a new brand around is a big part of the battle … but so is then assembling a product that reflects the historic story being evoked. Things become that much more complicated, as well, when dealing with one’s own family legacy. Such is the position of North Carolina’s Call Family Distillers as they launch The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey, which trades on the family’s own history as a primary influencer in the legacy of American whiskey.
The Reverend is a reference to The Rev. Daniel Houston Call, a 19th century “preacher, farmer, grocer and distiller.” In his distilling education, Call worked alongside two names that have now grown into legends of the industry: Jaser “Jack” Newton Daniel and Nathan “Nearest” Green, both of which are names obviously associated now with major whiskey brands. Together, the three were involved in the development of the Tennessee whiskey category in particular, and its Lincoln County Process, which is in basic terms the filtering of finished whiskey through maple charcoal.
As for what is actually inside a bottle of the new The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey brand, though, it may not exactly be what one would expect. There’s no Tennessee whiskey, for one–according to a company representative this is “a blend of 100% sour mash whiskies from Kentucky, Indiana and North Carolina.” That presumably implies some of the usual sources for sourced Kentucky and Indiana whiskey, along with distillate from Call Family Distillers itself. That distillate is blended and then maple charcoal filtered in North Carolina, allowing the company to label each bottle as having been “produced and bottled” by Call Family Distillers in Wilkesboro, NC. It’s not the most transparent label if we’re being honest, and it would be nice to see it note where its component parts had been distilled. Also of note: The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey is effectively the national launch/reconceptualization of a previous “Reverend” product produced by the distillery, which can still be seen on the company website. That product is now obsolete, and The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey we’re tasting today is taking the concept wide, with a national release underway by the end of 2024, at a fairly approachable $36 MSRP.
So with all that said, let’s take a gander at The Reverend and see how this blend of modestly aged (4-6 years) KY, IN and NC whiskeys get along.
On the nose, there’s a pleasant and light caramel sweetness that pushes into more floral honey, along with green apple and fresh pear fruitiness. There’s certainly a freshness to this that is somewhat unexpected, paired with anise and ginger spice and some freshly sawed lumber-like woodiness. At the same time, though, traces of dried fruitiness evoke more of a mature profile, so it’s hard to get an exact read at times on the nature of this blend.
On the palate, the first impression here before anything else is an unusually “sugary” sense of sweetness, in a way that is initially slightly off-putting but then fades before it becomes too distracting. I’m getting a lot of sweet fruitiness here, with apple flesh, mint and honey, followed by rye spice and a little clove. The most unexpected aspect is actually an unusual acidity to this sip, which makes it feel slightly tart of zingy, but not in a “sour oak” sort of way that I rarely appreciate, because wood flavors aren’t particularly prevalent. Instead it evokes something more like tart stone fruit, dusted with cinnamon. That pairs pretty well with gentle toasted oak on the finish, with a subtle woody astringency.
This is a somewhat unusual little blend here in The Reverend, and I have a feeling it may be one of those whiskeys where my opinion may evolve significantly when I revisit it, but I at least admire it striking out in its own unique direction. The fruit flavors are nice, and the acidity is something I’m coming around on … for now, at least. If you’re interested in exploring a blend that is covering some novel territory, it’s worth checking out.
Distillery: Call Family Distillers
City: Wilkesboro, NC
Style: Blend of straight whiskeys
ABV: 45% (90 proof)
Availability: 750 ml bottles, $36 MSRP
Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.