Grain & Barrel Spirits has introduced Chicken Cock Master Distiller’s Pick, a 15-year-old limited-edition Barrel Proof release, just in time for the holiday season. For this special expression, Master Distiller Gregg Snyder handpicked 10 of the brand’s best and oldest barrels, sampling them periodically during the finishing process to evaluate the spectacular transformation. He determined that the flavor combinations reached their peak in the barrel at 114-proof (57% ABV).
Featuring a mash bill of 78.5% corn, 13% rye and 8.5% malted barley, this expression was non-chill filtered and bottled in an original pre-prohibition Chicken Cock replica glass bottle, which includes a metal overcap. Only 1,350 bottles of this Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey are available, which bourbon aficionados can find online or at fine establishments throughout Kentucky. The suggested retail price for a 750ml bottle is $300.00.
“This powerhouse 15-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, which we bottled at barrel proof, displays an amazing array of complex flavors,” said Snyder. “It was well worth the wait.”
Established in 1856 in Paris, Kentucky, Chicken Cock rose to fame as the house whiskey at The Cotton Club, one of Prohibition’s most legendary speakeasies. Known as “The Famous Old Brand” and “The Whiskey in a Tin Can,” Chicken Cock was smuggled into the Club in sealed tin cans, then ceremoniously opened table-side. After Prohibition, the brand enjoyed a resurgent couple of decades before a distillery fire just after World War II put it out of business. In 2012, Matti Anttila, founder of Grain & Barrel Spirits, rediscovered the brand and set out to resurrect it to its Prohibition-era glory.
Master Distiller Gregg Snyder was enlisted to provide the knowledge and experience needed to help achieve that goal. Snyder’s résumé includes distilling, cooperage, and executive positions with Brown-Forman, Austin Nichols, as well as board positions with the Associated Cooperage Industries of America, Kentucky Distillers’ Association, and others.