Drew Thorn spent greater than a decade serving to construct Sagamore Spirit from an bold startup right into a nationally acknowledged whiskey model. As the corporate’s CEO, he performed a pivotal function in guiding its development and establishing its place within the trendy rye whiskey market. From the start, Sagamore Spirit’s identification was rooted within the mixing of two rye whiskey mashbills, a philosophy that helped outline the model and one which Thorn has carried into his newest enterprise, Silverthorn Reserve.
Now serving as Grasp Blender of Silverthorn Reserve, Thorn has positioned mixing on the middle of the corporate’s strategy. Along with mixing initiatives that vary from as few as two barrels to as many as ten, Silverthorn Reserve additionally affords single barrel ccuration and customized ending. The corporate employs a slow-blending and slow-proofing course of during which a mix is assessed earlier than being returned to barrel for added time to marry. Each launch is bottled non-chill filtered.
Silverthorn Reserve just lately offered Drinkhacker with samples of two new releases: Silverthorn Reserve Single Barrel Rye Whiskey 13 Years Previous and Silverthorn Reserve Blender’s Artwork: The Bourbon Mix 10 Years Previous.
Over the course of his tenure at Sagamore Spirit, Thorn demonstrated a eager understanding of whiskey and the function mixing can play in shaping a last product. Silverthorn Reserve represents the subsequent chapter in that journey, providing a chance to see how his imaginative and prescient interprets right into a model of his personal. Each lovely rose has its thorn. Can this Thorn provide the whiskey neighborhood one other lovely rose by way of Silverthorn Reserve? Let’s discover out.
Silverthorn Reserve Single Barrel Rye 13 Years Previous Overview
Barrel No. 5 of Batch 13B05 was distilled by MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley. The distillate entered an Impartial Stave Co. barrel with a #4 char on February 5, 2013, and was dumped on Could 12, 2026, after 13 years, 3 months, and seven days of maturation. Though the whiskey was distilled in Indiana, Thorn sourced the barrel from Templeton Distillery in Iowa. Roughly the primary 5 years of maturation occurred in Indiana earlier than the barrel was transferred to Iowa following the completion of Templeton’s facility.
Past its age assertion, this launch affords an attention-grabbing alternative to look at how maturation environments can form whiskey that started life from the identical distillate. The American whiskey market has just lately seen numerous 13-year-old MGP rye releases, lots of which hint again to barrels sourced from Iowa. By comparability, bottlings from producers reminiscent of Circle Metropolis Whiskey Firm are drawn from barrels that spent nearly their total maturation interval in Lawrenceburg. Barrel No. 5 yielded 31.62 gallons, reflecting a 40.34% loss to evaporation over its lifespan.
The nostril arrives with spearmint gum and a surge of butterscotch. Given a couple of minutes within the glass, dill and raisin bread toast start to hitch the aroma. Spearmint and dill are hallmarks of MGP’s 95/5 rye recipe, but the prolonged time in oak reveals itself by way of the raisin bread toast notice, setting this whiskey aside from the youthful Indiana rye expressions most drinkers encounter.
On the palate, milk chocolate and peppermint mix in a fashion that remembers an Andes Mint. Rye bread toast enters throughout the mid-palate alongside traditional Indiana dill and a medium-thick viscosity. The end opens with black licorice and lemon zest earlier than tapering right into a small thread of strawberry laborious sweet.
By means of his time at Sagamore Spirit, Drew Thorn developed appreciable expertise with high-quality Indiana rye, and that background is clear right here. This is a fascinating rye whiskey from starting to finish. The oak stays in verify all through, permitting the brighter components related to Indiana 95/5 rye to stay clearly seen whereas tannic notes present distinction.
Having just lately tasted a number of 13-year-old rye whiskeys sourced from Templeton throughout a number of manufacturers, I’ve discovered a constant distinction between barrels that spent years maturing in Iowa and people who remained nearly completely in Lawrenceburg. The Iowa-aged barrels are inclined to current with a rounder profile and fewer depth than their Indiana-aged counterparts. This is a wonderful rye whiskey and one I totally loved, although I in the end discover myself drawn extra towards the profile delivered by barrels that spent their maturation years at MGP in Indiana. 117 proof. A- / $130
Silverthorn Reserve The Blender’s Artwork: The Bourbon Mix 10 Years Previous Overview
Batch 1 consists of eight barrels and constructed from three separate whiskey elements, every matured for no less than ten years. All barrels have been dumped for mixing on April 29, 2026.
Ten p.c of the mix comes from a single barrel distilled in Mount Ethereal, Georgia, by the now-mothballed Ivy Mountain Distillery. The bourbon was produced from a mashbill of 80% yellow corn, 10% rye, 5% white corn, and 5% malted barley. It entered an Impartial Stave Co. barrel with a #4 char on February 16, 2012, reaching 14 years, 2 months, and 13 days of maturation. The primary eight years have been spent ageing in northern Georgia, adopted by 5 years in Bardstown, Kentucky, and a last six months in Maryland.
Sixty-six p.c of the mix is sourced from 5 barrels of Kentucky bourbon distilled from a mashbill of 74% corn, 18% rye, and eight% malted barley. Whereas Thorn declined to establish the producer as a consequence of a non-disclosure settlement, the whiskey was most probably distilled by Barton 1792 Distillery. These barrels have been stuffed on April 28, 2016, leading to precisely ten years of maturation.
The remaining 22% consists of two barrels distilled by MGP in Indiana from a mashbill of 51% corn, 15% rye, and 34% malted barley. Initially produced on behalf of Previous Elk, the whiskey entered Seguin Moreau barrels on October 24, 2015, and matured for 10 years, 6 months, and 5 days.
All eight barrels have been dumped and blended on April 29, 2026. The ensuing mix was then returned to 5 of the unique casks for a number of weeks earlier than bottling on Could 13, 2026. Pure harvest proof got here in at 115.6 proof, with the ultimate bottling adjusted barely to 115 proof.
Baked pears and melted French vanilla ice cream lead the nostril. With extra time within the glass, toasted coconut develops alongside a contact of tea tree oil. From the outset, this presents an aroma profile in contrast to any bourbon I’ve encountered earlier than. It instructions consideration instantly.
The palate continues the orchard fruit theme by way of notes of Dutch apple pie, whereas over-baked sugar cookies present a bakery-driven counterpoint. Mid-palate, delicate prune juice and floor ginger arrive alongside a notably dense mouthfeel. Because the whiskey strikes into the end, the ginger develops into gingerbread cookie, joined by an Andes Mint notice that rounds out the expertise.
This is without doubt one of the most uncommon and rewarding bourbon profiles I’ve encountered in fairly a while, which is hardly stunning given the make-up of the mix. Two of the three elements come from sources that not often discover their means into initiatives like this. When unconventional components are introduced along with goal, the end result will be one thing genuinely memorable.
Drew Thorn took a substantial threat in constructing a bourbon round these whiskey shares, and the gamble paid off. Moderately than chasing conference, he assembled a mix that stands aside by way of originality and execution, delivering a profile that continues to be participating from the primary nosing by way of the ultimate sip. 115 proof. A / $100
Silverthorn Reserve The Blender’s Artwork: The Bourbon Mix 10 Years Previous
USD100
