Chicken Cock Rye Whiskey Review

By April Manning

Rating: C+

Chicken Cock Rye Whiskey
(Credit: Grain & Barrel Spirits)

Not all chickens are cocks, but all cocks are chickens…

When you are over 160 years old and known as The Famous Old Brand, you need a worthy back story… and this one has several.  In 1856 James A. Miller set off on the journey of producing a high-quality whiskey in Paris, Kentucky, which, as luck would have it, is in Bourbon County. Just a few years after that the founder passed his distillery clerk, George C. White, took over and finished what Miller began…making noteworthy bourbon for the world.

Chicken Cock has lived to tell many tales including: many name and owner changes, trademark infringement suits, lobbying Congress, production site changes, Prohibition and sealing their bottle in tin cans to be the house whiskey for The Cotton Club, trademarked and sold for medicinal purposes, the post-Prohibition whiskey wane, and just after WWII the original distillery burnt down. For details on this intriguing whiskey-ography visit their site at chickencockwhiskey.com.

For 60 years the label seemed to have given up the ghost, but the story doesn’t end here.

Several cultures believe the cock has the power to revive the dead. The Chicken Cock revival came in 2012, when entrepreneur Matti Anttilla happened upon accounts of the famous Prohibition era whiskey. He teamed up with master distiller Gregg Snyder to bring the spirit back to life. Then he joined forces with Grain and Barrel Spirits and the Bardstown Bourbon Company in an innovative cooperative distilling program. Now the Famous Old Brand is back to being distilled, aged, and bottled in Kentucky and is ready to continue the story.

The Whiskey
Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is 90 proof (45% ABV) with a mash bill of 95% rye, 5% malted barley. Age not specified, but the overall impression I got is not much more than the minimum requirement of 2 years young.

Face to face Chicken Cock is striking, showing off a radiant vivid orange. A simple whiff from the bottle does not give an accurate depiction of the nose that comes out when poured. It smacks of sweetness bordering on extreme with citrus overtones wafting up and stinging around the edges. Clinging to the glass like oil, this rye whiskey shows an extent of viscosity like no other I have encountered.

Upon tasting it is discovered that if one holds their breath before imbibing there is not much flavor to speak of. There is still a burn and due to the aforementioned viscosity, it smolders for some time. However, breathing through the nose just before taking a pull brings out the tang of sweet honey with buttery undertones. Chicken Cock does not have the grating, scratchiness I expect from ryes and finishes dry.

The Price
If you enjoy the sweet buttery aspect of Jameson Irish Whiskey then this will be one for your shopping list. However, at $70/750 mL I think Chicken Cock is trying to ride on the “cock-tail” of its past…