Widow Jane Distillery was founded by the inventor Daniel Prieto Preston in 2012. In April 2016, the distillery was acquired by Samson & Surrey. Later in February 2022, Heaven Hill acquired Samson & Surrey and its suite of craft brands.

‍‍Widow Jane Distillery is located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The company produces a number of whiskeys that are both sourced from other distilleries and distilled in-house, where they mash, ferment, distill, barrel, age, blend, and bottle. Their name is based on the fact that the company uses water that comes from the Widow Jane Mines in Rosendale, NY.

‍‍Baby Jane is a blend of bourbons distilled by Widow Jane Distillery and sourced from Kentucky. According to the company’s press release, “Baby Jane Bourbon by Widow Jane, the brand’s newest, small-batch, hand-assembled blend of bourbons distilled at Widow Jane’s home in historic Red Hook, Brooklyn and in Kentucky. Made using Widow Jane’s own, unique “Baby Jane” corn, it is thought to be the first nationally-available bourbon made using a proprietary heirloom corn.” This release totals 15,000 cases (90,000 bottles) and is available nationwide.

‍‍Baby Jane is a small batch product, so flavor profile may vary by batch. The bottle in review is from batch 48.

Summer fruits and honey greet you with a gentle intensity. Further hints of green grape and caramel are present, but mild in intensity. Overall, the whiskey is light and airy on the nose, which is pleasant but lacks the intensity needed to elevate it to a more memorable start.

Erring on the sweeter side, honey, caramel, dried apricot, and peach are well-integrated and balanced. Allspice emerges on the backend, bringing a welcomed increase in intensity. It’s agreeable and easy to sip, but like the aroma, it just doesn’t have the presence needed to fully showcase the whiskey’s flavors.

Allspice spills over into the finish, which is joined by apricot and a splash of seasoned oak. An enjoyable fresh pastry notes weaves its way in as it begins to ramp down. The combination of flavors leaves a nice aftertaste. The whiskey finally dials in a satisfying intensity level in the finish, bringing the sip to an enjoyable close.

Widow Jane has been producing whiskey since 2012, however, the majority of their products have been sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. I’ve come across some single barrels in the 10+ year range that were fantastic, and enjoyed the 2023 release of their limited edition The Vaults, which was a blend of straight bourbons from Indiana and Tennessee.

Acquired indirectly by Heaven Hill in 2022, the products being bottled by Widow Jane Distillery will presumably draw down from existing sourced inventory, and slowly be converted to whiskeys distilled by Heaven Hill in Kentucky and by Widow Jane Distillery in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Baby Jane is the first Widow Jane bourbon release that includes whiskey distilled by Widow Jane in Brooklyn, but not their first in-house distilled whiskey release as they introduced Paradigm Rye, a blend of ryes that included one distilled by Widow Jane and ryes originating from Kentucky and Indiana, in August 2023. Both of these whiskeys follow a strategy that is sometimes used when a whiskey producer begins to introduce its in-house whiskey to its portfolio by blending it with sourced whiskeys rather than bottling it as a standalone release. Well known examples of this include High West’s line of whiskeys, with Double Rye! being one of their more popular bottles, and Smooth Ambler’s Contradiction, which was notable when it was introduced to the market nearly a decade ago.

Including their own distillate in this release may be a highlight for fans of the brand, but the company is more focused on the proprietary heirloom corn used in the bourbon’s mashbill. Nicknamed “Baby Jane” corn, as the story goes, head distiller Sienna Jevremov and operations lead Michele Clark first became interested in heirloom corn back in 2013, which is said to have ultimately inspired this release. In the industry, we have been seeing an increasing number of smaller distillers utilize specific and locally-sourced grains not just for convenience and, in some cases, state sponsored incentives, but also in an attempt to define the flavor profile of their line of whiskeys.  As numerous distillers who aren’t located in Kentucky have said to me, they aren’t trying to replicate Kentucky bourbon. Instead, they are focused on making something uniquely their own that is representative of their distilling technique, location, grains, and so on that defines the unique qualities of their particular brand.

In Widow Jane’s case, the bourbon is a blend of whiskeys distilled by them using the heirloom corn and whiskey sourced from Kentucky. The overall percentage of the blend is undisclosed, and as a result, the inclusion of Kentucky sourced whiskey reduces the impact of the in-house distilled bourbon that utilizes the Baby Jane corn in its mashbill. This may change over time to fully convert to being 100% distilled by Widow Jane, which would fully showcase the Baby Jane corn’s influence, but with this initial release, the flavor driven by the Baby Jane corn isn’t given the opportunity to fully pull through. The bourbon does have a soft, fruity essence to it, which may be attributed to the heirloom corn, but the end result isn’t uniquely different tasting as we see with distilleries such as Frey Ranch, Jeptha Creed, New Holland Spirits, and Garrison Brothers, to highlight just a few distilleries that product very unique tasting whiskeys.

It’s nice to see Widow Jane Distillery starting to launch in-house distilled products (even if it’s only part of the overall blend) and take advantage of the attributes unique to their New York location. Priced at $50, Baby Jane is an accessible bourbon that isn’t placed out of reach with an exorbitant price tag. It has a flavor profile that is on the lighter, fruitier side, making it approachable and appealing to a wide consumer base…one who may only think the name is “cute” and bourbon is “easy-to-drink.” But for those looking to get more out of the use of heirloom corn and wanting a more unique flavor profile, it doesn’t quite reach the height I think it’s capable of. Given the increase in prices across the board, and consistently elevated prices for smaller distilleries simply based on their inability to reach an economy of scale like the big distilleries for their Brooklyn distilled component, Baby Jane’s $50 price tag is within reasonable territory.

I’ve been enjoying Widow Jane’s products more and more, and I like seeing the introduction of their own distillate into their product line. Since Senator Chuck Schumer’s infamous gaffe in 2018, I’m sure the people behind Widow Jane’s products have been eager to introduce it as well. However, it is important to note that distilling is one of the earlier steps out of many steps necessary to produce good whiskey. Everything from choosing the barrels to age the distillate, where and how they’re stored, when to dump, which barrels to blend, what to proof to, and so on. All of this solidifies the saying that whiskey making is both an art and a science.

Baby Jane’s marketing speaks to both the whiskey enthusiast and the casual consumer. For the enthusiast, the potential for a unique flavor profile driven by an heirloom grain and including whiskey distilled in-house is interesting. For the casual consumer, it has a fun, approachable name, and light, fruity, and highly drinkable flavor profile. Ultimately, the resulting product ends up speaking more to the casual consumer, and at $50, 91 proof, and 90,000 bottles with national distribution, that seems like the intended market. From the enthusiast's perspective, I would love to see a limited release or single barrel release bottled at barrel proof and using 100% in-house distilled whiskey, but that may be yet to come, and this release just isn’t that. It is, however, a good teaser for the whiskey drinker who might begin to explore deeper into the details that make up the whiskey they are drinking.