Exploring Old Dominick’s In-House Distilled Small Batch Bourbon Series

Up until last fall, Old Dominick’s main releases have consisted of whiskey sourced from MGP. They began releasing in-house distilled whiskeys in November 2022, however their latest Small Batch Collection features four bottles that share the distillery’s unique 44% rye mashbill. These whiskeys were spearheaded by Alex Castle, the first female master distiller in Tennessee.

Old Dominick Distillery is located in Memphis, Tennessee. The distillery’s operating entity, D. Canale & Co., dates back to 1866 when original founder Domenico Canale formed it at the age of 23, just seven years after emigrating from Italy to the United States. D. Canale & Co. operated as a food wholesaler at the time, and one of their offerings was a whiskey sold in ceramic jars and bottles known as Old Dominick. In 2013, Domenico’s great great grandsons Chris and Alex Canale decided to reinstate the storied spirit brand by building a distillery in downtown Memphis. It opened in 2017 and distilling was underway, the first time whiskey was legally distilled in Memphis since Prohibition.
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Old Dominick used a barrel entry proof of 110 for the distillate in this collection, with each batch being made up of six barrels, ranging in age from 4 to 5 years old, and the bottled proof ranges from 90 to over 117, with both cask strength batches clocking in over the original 110 barrel entry proof, a rise in proof during aging.

Three of the four batches share similar underlying flavor characteristics, with fruit and floral undertones along with a clear change in intensity as they move through their proofs of 90, to 100, to 117.47. The fourth batch, on the other hand, is savory and leans into flavors of leather, aged oak, and tobacco, with brown sugar and baking spices adding a layer of dimension.

Despite this variation, the flavor profiles across the bourbons in this Small Batch Collection is clearly not that of typical Kentucky bourbons, as Old Dominick specifically set out to pay homage to their Tennessee roots by seeking out a flavor profile that was uniquely their own and deliberately unlike typical Kentucky bourbon. The 44% rye in the mashbill likely accounts for some of this difference, along with the lower 110 barrel entry proof and other factors specific to their distillation and aging process.

The company’s previously sourced MGP whiskeys were good, but it is exciting to see the company beginning to define their own whiskeys’ flavor profile. At 4 and 5 years old, the bourbons are nicely developed, and there aren’t any signs of being underaged. These are some of the earlier batches they distilled and as a result, some of the oldest whiskeys they have aged so far which represents Old Dominick’s current age boundary. They’re well constructed whiskeys that clearly demonstrate the care being put into them. At the same time, I don’t feel these whiskeys represent the distillery’s full potential, though that will likely unfold over time.

You can find tasting notes and ratings for the whiskeys in this collection below: