The Night Sweats Straight Bourbon
Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats really like whiskey. They also really like being good neighbors.
The Night Sweats Straight Bourbon was created in partnership with the band to benefit The Marigold Project, Nathaniel Rateliff’s nonprofit that supports community and nonprofit organizations working on issues of economic, racial and social justice.
In fact, $10 of every bottle sold goes to The Marigold Project (TMP).
This partnership all began in 2021 with a cocktail, The Marigold Sour. Our version of the classic Whiskey Sour features a tincture infused with marigold petals and a house-made marigold syrup. Using the cocktail to help raise funds for TMP lead us to a discussion about new ways to collaborate and promote TMP’s mission. Now here we are, with two batches of The Night Sweats Straight Bourbon under our belts and thousands donated!
About The Bourbon
In the very early days of The Block Distilling Co., before we even started distilling, we knew that we wanted at least two staple whiskies and we knew one of them had to be bourbon. Our suppliers were already committed to their 2017 corn harvest so we developed our Four Grain Straight Whiskey first. By the middle of 2018, corn was back and we were ready to start creating our version of the United States’ heritage whiskey.
Armed with the knowledge that we had bourbon waiting to be released, we started getting excited about the potential to offer our unique bourbon as a partnership with The Marigold Project.
Luckily for us, the ideas of using “The Night Sweats” as the name for our Straight Bourbon and featuring the Marigold flower on the bottle were a hit with the team!
THE RULES OF BOURBON:
So what makes it bourbon? Doesn’t it have to be made in Kentucky?
First off, bourbon is whiskey. However, whiskey is not bourbon. Remember the whole rectangle and square definition dilemma from geometry class? For a whiskey to be labeled bourbon it must meet strict criteria.
It must be made in the United States.
The mash bill must be made up of at least 51% corn.
It must be aged in new, charred, American White Oak barrels. To be deemed “straight” it must be in the barrel for a minimum of two years.
It must come off the still at less than 160 proof.
It must go into the barrel at no more than 125 proof.
It must go into the bottle at no less than 80 proof.
The Mash Bill
The typical bourbon mash bill is going to be made up of yellow corn, malted barley, and rye or wheat. The Block likes to honor tradition while still adding a unique twist to make it our own. The rye and/or wheat in the usual mash bills are used to add depth to the yellow corn which can come across as sweet but one-dimensional. We implement wheat and rye into our Four Grain Straight Whiskey mash bill so we wanted to push it a bit further. Blue corn in spirit form comes across like a sweet tortilla while red corn comes across with a beautifully complex black pepper note. Then we were looking for a touch of earthiness. Millet is an ancient grain that looks like BB’s out of a Red Ryder. It had just the right amount of complimentary kick. Top all of the yellow, blue, red corn, and millet with malted barley from Troubadour Maltings (out of Fort Collins, CO) and Root Shoot Malting (out of Loveland, CO) and we have our Straight Bourbon mash bill.
The DISTIllation
After developing a grain recipe that edges towards “wild” we wanted to honor tradition on the distillation side. That means distilling through a pot still two times, double distilled. Double distillation leaves the most amount of flavorful oils and acids in the white spirit which makes for a big and bold finished whiskey.
The Barrel
Master distillers estimate around 50-70% of the flavor of bourbon comes from the barrel! The use of the word “Straight” in the name of this bourbon means that the spirit lived in the barrel for a minimum of 2 years. We use the word “lived” because it the bourbon was very much alive and changing while it was inside the barrel. Small changes in ambient temperature cause small pressure and vacuum effects inside the barrel, causing the spirit to pick up color and flavor from the White American Oak barrel it lived in.
For this bourbon, we used Canton Cooperage 52 gallon, 36-month seasoned, Char #3 barrels with toasted heads. We use these barrels exclusively while aging all of our whiskies, seeking the unique flavor contribution acquired from the extra-long seasoning time and selection of best oak possible; think not only vanilla but dark honey and caramel.
Tasting Notes
The earthy sweetness of the millet (a small kernel ancient grain) does the balancing act in this Bourbon. The peppery red corn and sweet tortilla blue corn notes give it that traditional bourbon sweetness. It’s a big whiskey that sips neat but isn’t scared of an ice cube either. Dark caramel and brown sugar compliment the grain notes that remain prominent in this spirit.
SIGNING OFF
Well, that’s it. This is Kraig calling it goodbye for now with a sincere thank you for reading, imbibing, and supporting The Block and The Marigold Project! We appreciate your support for craft spirits in general because if you didn’t like it then we could not make it.
Kraig, Co-Founder & Co-Head Distiller