Hi Bourbon enthusiast
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You must be 21 or over to enter this website. If you're not old enough to drink, then you're not old enough to read Breaking Bourbon.
Please read and drink responsibly.
Classification: Whiskey
Company: American Mash & Grain
Distillery: Sourced from Watershed Distillery, Wigle Whiskey, Spirits of French Lick, and Whiskey Del Bac
Release Date: July 2022
Proof: 116.88
Age: NAS (Aged at least 4 years based on TTB regulations)
Mashbill: Blend of 4 mashbills:
-34% Watershed Distillery Straight Bourbon: 72% Corn, 21% Rye, 7% Malted Barley
-32% Wigle Whiskey Pennsylvania Straight Rye: 70% Rye, 17% Wheat, 13% Malted Barley
-24% Spirits of French Lick Lee Sinclair Bourbon: 60% Corn, 17% Wheat, 13% Oats, 10% Malted Barley
-10% Whiskey Del Bac Mesquite Smoked Single Malt: Blend of 25% Mesquite Smoked Single Malt and 75% Classic Single Malt
Color: Bronze
MSRP: $75 (2022)
Cinnamon bark | Orange zest | Faint berries | Sweet syrup | Muddled aromas
Rye spice | Syrup | Maple candy | Peppercorn spice blend | Leather | Tobacco leaf | Dry cinnamon stick | Predominantly spice forward
Syrup-soaked oak | Rye spice | Dry cinnamon | Leather | Lingering dry heat
Borrowed Page is meant to push the envelope on what it means to be American whiskey, and it does just that in Volume #1 by blending three types of American whiskey from four different distilleries.
Borrowed Page American Whiskey Volume #1 is produced by American Mash & Grain, which “was established to help expand the profile of the American Craft Whiskey Movement.” The company states that Borrowed Page will be a limited-release series, with each volume representing a collaboration with various American craft whiskey producers. Volume #1 produced just over 700 bottles and features three types of American whiskey from four different distilleries.
American craft whiskey collaboration blends aren’t a new concept, with one of the more long-running ones that come to mind being the annual Four Kings Whiskey Collaboration. This collaboration which started in 2014, is between Corsair Distillery, Few Spirits, Journeyman Distilling, and Mississippi River Distilling Company. However, it’s also not common, and it’s always exciting to see innovation in the American whiskey space. What is unique about Borrowed Page is that it’s a blend of various styles of whiskey and not just a blend of a single classification of whiskey - bourbon or rye for example. The end result is a sip that is a cornucopia of flavors, yet struggles to tame its drier spice notes. Various forms of cinnamon are found throughout along with powerful try spice and sweet syrup notes.
Overall, I found Borrowed Page American Whiskey Volume #1 to be a pour that had the potential to be so much more if it didn’t trip over its own feet. It’s certainly a complex blend that results in a unique pour, however, it’s also overly spice forward and dry at various points and tends to focus too much on cinnamon notes which drown out more interesting flavors. It’s a good first release by American Mash & Grain and shows the potential that awaits if you’re willing to color outside of the lines. The American whiskey space needs more collaboration blends so I look forward to seeing what they cook up for Volume 2.
