Bourbon Review: J. Rieger & Co. Sweet Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey
J. Rieger & Co. Sweet Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the flagship expression from the recently revived bourbon brand.
-
Jeff Bogursky, innovator turned wine seller, runs vintagekosher.com for rare bottles.
Jacob Rieger & Company was founded in 1887 in Kansas City’s West Bottoms Livestock Exchange district. The brand offered over 100 alcoholic products and took pride in maintaining a quarter of a million unique customers by offering mail-order delivery services. Prohibition killed the brand until 2014, when the expired trademark, slogan and name were revived by a local restauranteur. They have a wide selection of novelty labels, including tributes to the Old American Negro League baseball teams of the early 20th century. The Rieger Straight Bourbon is their original launch flagship expression.
Rich orange with yellow highlights
Corn sweetness atop a slightly smokey; candy cane and fresh peeled oranges.
Classic bourbon bloom of sweetness from corn with a slight bite that only highlights the sweetness. Nothing cloying here, just rich flat bourbon goodness, demarara sugar over an oaky underlay.
As the whiskey goes down, it has a slight bloom of bite, but this too resolves into a gently fading sweetness.
Mash bill is high rye – 30% with 14% malted barley working with 56% corn. Yet, the bite is mild, a very mild rye spiciness is really just a suggestion. A very reliable and tasty pour from this Kansas City craft distillery. The whole history angle of the brand seems to outshine what is really a very good quality bourbon. This is a whiskey that would be just as good if their styling wasn’t so nostalgic. And, at 90 proof, there’s no fire – drinks as if it was bottled at 80.
Jeff Bogursky
Jeff Bogursky is a restless innovator and entrepreneur. He started one of New York’s first digital agencies and developed software applications for decades, before simpliying his life by becoming a wine and spirits seller. His website vintagekosher.com specializes in hard to find and good to drink bottles.
Latest On The Whiskey Wash
