Flaviar Contributes To Growing American Craft Blend Sector

Corn Trooper 2020 United Craft Bourbon, an all-American blend that showcases unity, collaboration, and strength by uniting seven craft bourbons from seven different U.S. states into one tasty blended bourbon.

Instead of taking on the competition, with Corn Trooper 2020 United Craft Bourbon, Flaviar has brought the competition together. Grisa Soba, co-founder of Flaviar and master blender of Corn Trooper, comments:  “Corn Trooper is a union of our favorite craft bourbons from all around the U.S. coming together for the first time. For us, it’s as much an incredible whiskey as it is a map of memories and America itself.

“When we first started this project we were simply looking for great quality juice but it developed into something much bigger than that,” Soba continued.  “It’s a pretty big deal for us to get craft producers to collaborate openly on a project like this, but in the current climate, where times are tougher than ever for craft distillers, it is even more important that the industry unites and we do what we can to shine a light on these incredible liquids and hero these smaller producers.”

The seven craft U.S. bourbon whiskeys included in the 2020 edition of Corn Trooper United Craft Bourbon comprise Breckenridge Distillery (CO), OOLA Distillery (WA), Balcones (TX), Kings County (NY), New Holland Brewing (MI), High Wire Distilling (SC), and Hartfield & Co. (KY).

“Creating our own bourbon has been on our bucket list since the inception of Flaviar, but we wanted to do it right.,” Soba said. “It’s been more than three years in the making, with a vision of creating something unique and very American. Countless hours went into finding the right juice, tweaking the recipe, and coming up with the identity that would represent the spirit.”

Corn Trooper started as an idea for an all-American blend of straight bourbon whiskeys. During their countrywide quest for quality bourbon, Flaviar uncovered some exceptional casks worth treasuring and carefully aged them. Each of the seven craft producers brought into the project then contributed some very special stock to the mix. Flaviar’s master blender combined this motley crew of wildly-different whiskeys into the blend and gave each its own voice in a delicately fine-tuned symphony of characters and notes.

The main stars of the blend come from all over the country, each bringing something unique to the personality of Corn Trooper. OOLA from Seattle brings high corn content, while Hartfield from Kentucky swears by more malted barley. If you ask Kings County, they go all-in with New York corn (80%). Rapid maturation under the hot Texan sun forged Balcones Bourbon, whilst Breckenridge makes their Bourbon at 2 miles above sea level. To round the posse out, we added a Bourbon finished in beer barrels from New Holland Brewing.

What these seven craft distilleries have in common is an intense passion for whiskey making and a genuine love for flavor exploration and corn. As Kirby Kallas-Lewis, from OOLA Distillery attests, “I grew up in the Midwest, the epicenter of all things corn! The corn plant itself is masterful – creating a perfect balance of sweet and savory.”

Gabby Gjonaj from Kings County Distillery adds, “Bourbon has gone from being a very traditional, relatively homogenous product with minor variations brand to brand to having flavors reflective of a wide variety of geographical conditions, ingredients, and distillation methods—merging the variety of scotch with a new energy that reflects all the creativity of committed, small producers. With so many standout small bourbon makers, it was only a matter of time before someone had the idea of bringing the best of these together to create an  all-American blend.”

The idea of uniting craft bourbon producers behind a blended bourbon resonated deeply, as Anna Marie Schanke from Breckenridge Distillery explains: “The concept behind Corn Trooper – the idea of searching the states for the most fantastic bourbons and, instead of competing, uniting them for an ultimate blend is exactly what I love about this industry. We are all passionate about what we do as bourbon producers, and it is exciting to see how the differences and nuances between our products blended together create a unique and harmonious blend.”

Mr Allen from Balcones adds, “We’re thrilled to collaborate on a project so original and authentic. It’s an honor to be part of such a unique union.”

Forging a blend that includes seven diverse straight bourbons demands a lot of wizardry to achieve harmony and fine-tune the union. Corn Trooper exudes a powerful nose with notes of maple syrup, oak, vanilla, banana, and green olive underlined by a spicy character of cinnamon, ginger, orange peel, dark cherry, and apple peel, all translating perfectly to the palate. It’s a sensory grand tour of America.

A portion of the proceeds of Corn Trooper 2020 will be donated to the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling, which offers professional technical training and mentorship to underrepresented groups to provide greater career opportunities within the spirits industry.