Milam & Greene was founded in 2017 in Blanco, Texas. According to the company’s website, “Milam & Greene was created by founder Marsha Milam, whiskey expert and Master Blender Heather Greene, and Kentucky veteran Master Distiller Marlene Holmes.” The company currently takes a multifaceted “all of the above” approach to creating their products, which includes sourcing, distilling whiskey using their 300 gallon copper pot still, and distilling whiskey on a classic column still in Bardstown, Kentucky (Bardstown Bourbon Company). They use a proprietary yeast strain and mature and finish whiskeys in Blanco, Texas. Releases range from 100% sourced, to 100% distilled in-house, to blends of both sourced and in-house distilled along with blends of whiskeys sourced from multiple states.

‍‍According to the company’s press release, Very Small Batch is the newest ongoing release from Milam & Greene. It’s noteworthy because as the company informed us, it includes bourbon distilled in Kentucky (at Bardstown Bourbon Company) by Milam & Greene’s Master Distiller Marlene Holmes. The bourbon was distilled using Milam & Greene’s custom mashbill, which includes 22% malted rye. After aging in barrels for “just shy of four years,” the barrels were blended in multiple 1,000 gallon tanks where they were finished with French oak staves for approximately 5 months according to Heather Greene. The brand states that they use staves from “French oak casks that once held both tawny port wine and then Milam & Greene’s award-winning rye whiskey are broken down, then “cooked” in the 100-degree Texan summer sun, and finally house-charred to a crisp on the outside only.”

‍‍Batch 01 totals 1,500 9L cases, which translates to 18,000 bottles. Future batches are expected to be released approximately twice per year.

‍‍The bottle in review is marked batch #1.1. Notably, other bottles included in batch 01 are marked batch #1.2 (and there may be further sub-batch numbers), however the reason for the distinction is not clear.

A bouquet of bakery scents, toasted pecans, and indulgent creme brulee opens the nose. Dark fruits emerge in the background, followed by a slight herbal note adding depth. Hints of marshmallow and orange blossom add a layer of complexity. The scents come forward with a mild intensity, and are more dry than sweet overall.

The whiskey unfolds with an opening of baking spices, full-bodied tobacco, leather, and a hint of marshmallow. Graham cracker and tart raspberry jam join in, providing a punchy fruitiness that adds a delicious contrast to the otherwise savory, slightly dry mix. All of this is carried by an earthy undertone, which grounds the whiskey to a satisfying result.

Baking spices reappear, along with an intriguing dance of leather and cigar box. Their strong, slightly tannic presence adds a mature depth to the whiskey. Like the rest of the sip, the finish is dry, savory, and long, making for an enjoyable ending.

Milam & Greene Very Small Batch is a blend of Kentucky and Tennessee distilled bourbons. The Kentucky distilled bourbon has a mashbill that includes malted rye, which is not very common. The final blend of the bourbons is 20% Kentucky distilled and 80% Tennessee distilled, and finished with French oak staves that were curated by Milam & Greene. The barrels were aged in Texas, but according to Heather Greene that was only a brief period of time as they were primarily aged in Kentucky and Tennessee.

On the technical side, the whiskey is labeled as “straight bourbon whiskey finished with charred French oak staves,” but it is actually a “blend of straight bourbon whiskeys” as the bourbons originate from two different states. Blending often makes for a more interesting whiskey, and it’s not a fact that’s hidden with this release. Additionally, the charred French oak stave finishing took place after the whiskey was blended and put into 1,000 gallon vats, which is interesting because there was no further interaction with the whiskey and the surrounding air at that point - like there is with barrels - makes for a different finishing process than Maker’s 46, for example. This finishing process is more consistent with the finishing process used by Broken Barrel, by which whiskeys are dumped into steel tanks where they are then met with a mixture of finishing barrel staves the company refers to as the “Oak Bill.”

The details of this whiskey are slightly unique, but what’s most notable is the flavor profile. It’s a very savory whiskey, with leather, cigar box, and some underlying earthiness. It doesn’t taste under four years old, and if anything it tastes quite a bit older. Heather Greene talked about focusing on a classic, traditional, and grounded feel when it came to the bottle’s label, and it’s serendipitous that the whiskey itself zeroes in on that feel so well.

The technical details of this whiskey pull in multiple directions when it comes to value. The bourbons were aged in barrels just shy of 4 years before being blended, which isn’t the level of detail I would like and the age really should be stated as what it is - is it 3 years and 6 months, 3 years and 9 months, or 3 years and 11 months? This of course leaves guesswork to the consumer with the “just shy of” reference. Despite this, the end result tastes quite a bit older than even a typical 4 year old bourbon. From a curation standpoint, Milam & Greene blends whiskeys from multiple distilleries, including one with less common malted rye in the mashbill, and adds the additional step of French oak stave finishing. At $70 it’s certainly priced at a premium, and considering its more nuanced curation and relatively small production yield, it feels like it’s intended to be a boutique bourbon product. Compared to Milam & Greene’s single barrel expression, which comes in at $55, Very Small Batch adds enough value to justify the increase in price, of which its higher 108 proof point is a welcome enhancement. It walks the line between being priced fairly (in today’s market) and being slightly overpriced, with consideration given to its more complicated than average creation process to help bring it into fair territory.

Milam & Greene is just starting to get their feet off the ground, utilizing a strategy that involves distilling with their own copper pot still in Texas, with a traditional column still in Kentucky (at Bardstown Bourbon Company), and by sourcing whiskeys from a number of sources across the country. This is the first batch that blends in bourbon the company’s master distiller Marlene Holmes, distilled at Bardstown Bourbon Company using Milam & Greene’s recipe. While the Milam & Greene Kentucky distilled component represents only 20% of the blend, combining with a Tennessee bourbon and finishing with French oak staves yields a whiskey that tastes more mature than its age suggests. My curiosity to try their Kentucky distilled bourbon on its own is piqued, and I also like the fact that Milam & Greene continues to expand their range of releases.