Woodford Reserve’s Distillery Series offers a chance for the distillery team to experiment with different mashbills, production methods, and cask finishes. The latest release is called Red Corn, and this new bourbon was distilled from a mashbill that included a locally grown heirloom corn varietal. We got a chance to sample this limited release, and it’s a good one.

“The Distillery Series was created to push the creative boundaries of whiskey,” said master distiller Elizabeth McCall in a statement. To her point, past releases have included expressions like Tawny Port Finish, Chocolate Whisper Redux, Blended Malt Sherry Cask, and Toasted Bourbon. “Despite the challenges of the season, the red corn we were able to harvest produced a whiskey that is as resilient as it is flavorful,” she continued. “It’s a true testament to the terroir of Woodford County.” Specifically, the red corn was grown at a local farm in Versailles, Kentucky, not far from the distillery. According to the brand, red corn is supposed to bring different flavors to the palate, “robust, savory, and spicy notes” that make it stand out from classic Woodford bourbon.

Also, the red corn used for this release was in short supply. That’s because a storm during the growing season damaged a substantial percentage of the crop, meaning there wasn’t a whole lot of this corn to use. So how does it taste? As I said before, this is indeed a good bourbon, but I have to admit I would be hard pressed to really tell that this was made from a different corn varietal in a blind tasting. (It replaces the corn used in Woodford’s core bourbon.) In a side-by-side comparison to regular Woodford, however, you do pick up some subtle differences. It still has the defining character of the distillery, but it’s less sweet and the caramel and vanilla notes are tamped down in favor of ripe berries, dark chocolate, nutmeg, and licorice flavors.

It should be noted that, while this might be a first for Woodford, red corn has been used before to make bourbon. Some notable examples include Still Austin’s Red Corn Bottled in Bond bourbon, High Wire’s Jimmy Red Straight Bourbon (made from 100 percent Jimmy Red Corn), and Jeptha Creed’s Bloody Butchers Creed Bourbon (made from 90 percent Bloody Butcher Corn). The new Distillery Series: Red Corn bourbon is a much more limited release than some of these examples, but you can find 375 ml bottles (SRP $65) available to purchase now at the distillery and select retailers throughout Kentucky.