By Richard Thomas
Rating: C+
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
The Chicken Cock whiskey brand dates back to the 1850s, and its first run lasted about a century, as the brand fell into obscurity and then discontinuance in the 1950s. Like so many fallen, but not quite forgotten brands, it was revived during the Bourbon Boom, coming back in 2011 and undertaking contract production with Bardstown Bourbon Company (BBCo) in 2018. Just last month, the brand was bought by Next Century Spirits.
Chicken Cock Bourbon is their entry-level rung. A minimum of four years old and coming from the BBCo production stock, BBCo built their industrial model around the concept of identical expansions, so any part or set of production equipment could be effectively interchangeable. Ditto for their rickhouses, excepting the one rickhouse with floor-to-roof glass paneling on one end, which is for the benefit of tourists and travelers driving on the Bluegrass Parkway. So, their 70% corn, 21% rye, 9% malted barley mash aged in char #3 new oak barrels is going to turn out in a reasonably consistent/predictable fashion. It is bottled at 90 proof.
The Bourbon
For starters, I have always appreciated the chicken mesh embossing on these Chicken Cock bottles. As for the look of what is inside this one, it takes on a copper cum bronze color in the glass, so lighter than amber. It’s not actually a young bourbon, so I chalk that light coloring up to the #3 char on the barrels.
The nose leads with caramel and graham cracker, with a sliver of spicy oak coming up behind it. That pattern repeats itself on the palate, no extra notes or development, with the sliver of spice and oak coming on the back end. The finish adds a little astringent tannin as it opens, before this fades down to leave a faint trace of that spicy oak that runs on.
Overall, it’s a standard, benchmark bourbon. There is nothing wrong with it, but also nothing extraordinary or even something to make a signature. Keeping that in mind, its price tag is a stumbling block (see below).
The Price
Officially, expect to pay $60 a bottle for this entry-level run of the Chicken Cock line.
