Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon Details
Distillery: Chicken Cock (sourced / contract distilled and aged by Bardstown Bourbon Company)
Type & Region: Bourbon, Kentucky, USA
Alcohol: 50%
Composition: Unknown
Aged: At least 5 years
Color: 1.3/2.0 on the color scale (russet, muscat)
Price: $70
From the company website:
In the summer of 2018 we laid down a reserve of our famous Kentucky Straight Bourbon. After a 5-year rest, our master distiller, Gregg Snyder selects a limited number of barrels to create an expertly crafted small batch offering.
Matured to the peak of perfection, Chicken Cock Whiskey’s Small Batch Bourbon explores the nuanced flavors in our Kentucky Straight Bourbon by combining a truly small number of casks. Each unique batch highlights the flavor, mouthfeel, and drinking experience of Chicken Cock with our historic commitment to taste and quality.
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon overview
I’ll come out and say it, Chicken Cock is a crazy name for a whiskey brand. If I heard someone say “I want Chicken Cock bourbon” or really in any sentence, I would think that they were insane. I just had to get that off my chest.
As weird as the name is, Chicken Cock is a legacy whiskey brand from Kentucky that’s just as old as Old Forester. The only difference is that the Old Forester survived prohibition (because it was allowed to produce “medicinal” spirits) while Chicken Cock did not.
If you didn’t know already, many brands did not survive Prohibition or its aftermath, although some of these brands are being revived in the 2020’s. To be clear, it’s really just the brand, imagery, and trademarks, not so much the original bourbon itself. That one is…a lot harder to bring back.
There’s a lot of history behind the brand, so instead of trying to rehash it, check out their website for all sorts of details and images. It’s an interesting read and a fun peek into bourbon history.
Apart from all the history, I really appreciate that they are so forthcoming with who makes their bourbon – Bardstown Bourbon Company. While it is a collaborative effort, Bardstown Bourbon distills and ages the bourbon, but with a lot of direction and influence from Chicken Cock. I think the correct term is contract distilling.
I also find it interesting that they use barrels from West Virginia Barrel Company. From my limited experience (of 1 whiskey), West Virginia Barrel Company makes some amazing barrels, leading to some incredible whiskey. Bardstown Bourbon Company used those barrels to create the “Top Shelf+” Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaboration West Virginia Great Company Rye, which exploded with fragrance and flavor.
I firmly believe that barrels matter more than anything else when creating whiskey, and this company is doing it well, with amazing Appalachian white oak and infrared toasting and other scienc-y stuff.
I’ve already gotten ahead of myself as I haven’t gone into the details of the bourbon itself. Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon is a step up from the “standard” Chicken Cock Bourbon, as it’s blended with a smaller number of barrels, likely uses older barrels (5 years instead of 4), and is blended with better barrels. Oh, and the ABV increases from 45% to 50% ABV.
Using fewer barrels means that it’s a lot harder to hide not so good barrels in the blend. Unless you want the final result to be subpar, distilleries tend to (or at least ideally they should) use barrels that could stand by themselves or become even better when mixed with other barrels. So with this small batch blend, the hope is that the final product is more compelling than the version with more barrels in it.
There’s some interesting stuff going on, so let’s find out if the bourbon can back up the wild name in this Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon review.
Thank you to Chicken Cock for providing this sample. All opinions are my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon smell
With my first few sniffs I get dark honey, vanilla, fragrant french oak, baked red apple, roasted oak, cinnamon, licorice, orange peel, and a little dried cherry, darker nougat, grass, nuttiness, and coffee.
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon isn’t all that unique, but it still has a pleasing combination of honey, oak, and cinnamon-forward scents. It reminds me a lot of an elevated Maker’s 46. I make that comparison because the fragrant and effervescent oak make me feel like there’s a French oak finish in there. There isn’t, but it feels like it.
After swirling and rest, I smell honey, preserved oranges, vanilla, fragrant toasted oak, baked red apple, cinnamon, clove, caramel nougat, and hints of coffee, toasted grains (but not in a bad and youthful way), and wheaty gumminess. There’s a very pleasant spiced and baked red apple and citrus vibe.
I usually find wheated bourbons (this feels so much like a wheated bourbon) to be citrus, spice, and gummy-forward, just like this bourbon is, so I suspect that this is in fact a wheated bourbon.
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon smells really nice and has good body and richness, but the scents still don’t move me and impress me as much as I’d like. It’s tough to explain…I’m thinking something like “this is really good” instead of “this is amazing”.
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon taste and aftertaste
The flavors have caramel, orange peel, vanilla, roasted oak, cinnamon, clove, and just a little bit of coffee, toasted caramel nougat, and wheaty gumminess. Towards the end, the toasted bread, wheaty gumminess, and citrus swell a bit. There’s solid body and richness, but not much that I would call unique or stand out.
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon is a sweet, roasty, and spicy bourbon, which screams wheated bourbon in my head. Maker’s 46 is actually a pretty close comparison with the effervescent oak, spice, and wheaty gumminess.
“Chewing” brings out a big burst of honey, orange peel, vanilla, baked red apple, and cinnamon, followed by oak, clove, toasted nougat and grains, and a little grassiness and cocoa powder. Oh ok, I was not expecting that at all…this is way better now.
“Chewing” makes just about everything pop, and it immediately catches my attention. The body and density are great, and the flavors are expressive and delightful. They’re still not all that unique or layered, but it tastes so good that I can get over myself.
The finish starts with roasted caramel and oak, cinnamon, and toasted bread with lingering toastiness, grassiness, and just a hint of wheaty gumminess. After “chewing”, it leaves caramel, orange peel, baked red apple, roasted oak, and cinnamon with lingering toastiness, cinnamon, and orange / lemon peel.
If this wasn’t clear already, Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon tastes amazing, no doubt about it.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon Rating
Alright, I dig Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon. While it offers a familiar experience that I’ve also had with Maker’s 46, it does nail the familiar wheated bourbon formula in ways that I did not expect. Sure, they’re not getting any bonus points for uniqueness (at least good uniqueness), but doing something familiar yet exceptionally well is cool too.
That said, I don’t actually know what the mashbill is, but based on my experience it feels a lot like a wheated bourbon. Unlike something like Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon is not dominated by grassiness and gumminess, meaning that the wheat has been adequately tamed.
Full transparency though, most of the time I was firmly in “Mid Shelf+” territory. I find the scents to be plenty pleasant, but also strangely uninspiring. “Chewing” changes the narrative, as the narrowly-focused wheated bourbon flavors pop and finally wake up for the show. While others might end up rating this a bit lower than I do, my scale is heavily heavily HEAVILY biased towards the flavors, so great flavors can push my rating higher even if the scents and/or finish aren’t at the same level. It is what it is.
It’s interesting that this bourbon is distilled and aged by Bardstown Bourbon Company. I mention that because I’ve had their Bottled in Bond wheated bourbon, but Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon does just a bit more to get to “Top Shelf” while the Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon is close but can’t quite get there. Not that Bardstown Bourbon and Chicken Cock are using the same mashbill, but I think that Chicken Cock’s take on wheated bourbon is superior version, although it’s also $10-20 more expensive.
As much as I enjoy this, $70 for 5 year old wheated bourbon still feels like a lot to ask, although all things considered it really isn’t for a “Top Shelf” wheated bourbon, which are hard to come by these days. This is around the level of a good Maker’s Private Select, which already cost $60-70. By that measure, yeah give Chicken Cock Small Batch Bourbon a try if you can afford it.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.
Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
