Our Bourbon

Backus Distillery Bourbon is the product of its time. Grains grow differently each year. Wood grows with unique rings. The heat of every day drives our whiskey into the wood of the barrel before the cool of the night draws it back out. No two days are the same. Each year puts its fingerprint on the aging process.

We distill our bourbon with a 60/30/10 Corn/Rye/Barley mash bill to emphasize the balance between the lively, spicy rye and the sweet, round corn. The grains are meticulously milled and cooked before we add a high-end bourbon yeast to initiate fermentation. The 1,000 gallon mash is distilled, grain-in, through a one foot wide column still before a second distillation with an inline doubler. The clear whiskey is barreled at a low entry proof to aid in sugar acquisition and the rejection of unwanted tannins over the years. We use new, standard 53 gallon, white American oak barrels made with wood that has been seasoned for a minimum of 18 months. While each barrel’s whiskey is endowed with the unique qualities of that season’s grain, meticulous production ensures a common level of quality and uniformity among barrels.

Our goal is to send the best spirits we can into the bays of our barrel house. The years spent there, breathing in and out with the fluctuating temperature, are what finally marry all of the elements together. Sugars are absorbed from the cured wood of the new barrels. Unwanted alcohols evaporate. Color, aroma, proof, and flavor all shift, change, and develop based on the interaction between wood, whiskey, air, and time. What finally comes out of the barrel is a new take on our recipe… an individual expression from a common starting point. Some distilleries strive to even out and flatten their product into a predetermined flavor profile through blending. We want to offer you the chance to experience the variety that each barrel from each vintage has to offer. All you have to do is choose what barrel to sample.