Collier and McKeel Tennessee Whiskey
Collier and McKeel Tennessee Whiskey — 86 proof (43% ABV), 750mL — is a small-batch, sour mash Tennessee whiskey made in Nashville from 70% corn, 15% rye and 15% malted barley grown on local Tennessee farms. After distillation in a hand-hammered copper pot still, the new make is charcoal-mellowed through several feet of sugar maple charcoal in the Lincoln County Process, then aged in oak and bottled when it tastes right rather than to a fixed schedule. Each bottle is hand-filled and carries founder Mike Williams' ink thumbprint. Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 43% (86 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Mash bill: 70% corn, 15% rye, 15% malted barley (sour mash)
- Process: copper pot distillation; sugar maple charcoal mellowing (Lincoln County Process)
- Water: limestone-filtered, from Big Richland Creek
- Origin: Nashville, Tennessee
- Ratings: 92 points, Wine Enthusiast; 93 points, The Tasting Panel
A Revival Named for Two Early Tennessee Distillers
Collier and McKeel was founded in 2009 by Mike Williams, a former Tennessee state representative who helped pass the 2009 law that reopened legal distilling across Tennessee. Per the brand's account, the name honours his ancestors William Collier and James McKeel, Scots-Irish distillers who brought their sour-mash tradition to Tennessee in the early 1800s. The first distillery stood in Nashville's old Marathon Motor Works auto factory. Collier and McKeel does the Lincoln County Process its own way: instead of letting the whiskey drip slowly down through the charcoal by gravity, it pumps the spirit slowly up through several feet of sugar maple charcoal — trees from local sawmills, burned on the Williams family farm — for the smooth, sweet, smoky character Tennessee whiskey is known for.
Tasting Notes
Smoke and charcoal on the nose with sweet corn. The palate is sweet and smoky with a spicy earthiness, and the finish runs smooth and sweet with vanilla, honey and oak. Wine Enthusiast (92 points) found vanilla and caramel aromas, a first sip of cocoa, espresso and leather, and crème brûlée and butterscotch through a spiced finish.
How to Enjoy
Neat or with a single large cube to let the charcoal-mellowed sweetness open up. It also stands up in a whiskey sour or an old fashioned, where the rye spice and smoky corn sweetness both show.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Collier and McKeel a Tennessee whiskey and not a bourbon? The Lincoln County Process: after distillation, the spirit is filtered through sugar maple charcoal before barreling. That charcoal mellowing is what legally and flavourfully separates Tennessee whiskey from bourbon made to a similar mash bill.
How does Collier and McKeel do the Lincoln County Process differently? Most producers let whiskey drip down through the charcoal vats by gravity. Collier and McKeel pumps its whiskey slowly upward through several feet of sugar maple charcoal, which the brand makes itself from local sawmill trees burned on the family farm.
Who were Collier and McKeel? Per the brand, William Collier and James McKeel were early-1800s Tennessee distillers and ancestors of founder Mike Williams, who named the distillery for them when he founded it in Nashville in 2009.
Taste a Nashville original — order Collier and McKeel online or in store at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.