Berkshire Mountain Distillers was founded in 2007 and has been producing a large variety of gins, vodkas, rums and other spirits ever since. As many craft distilleries have done across the United States, BMD have looked to the markets and resources around them to help guide their creative process. The New England Corn Whiskey is made from area farms within miles of the distillery, aged using cherry wood and white oak. We note with interest the term “aged over” as opposed to “aged in” and wonder if barrels are used in the aging of this spirit.
Distillery: Berkshire Mountain Distillers
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 43%
Price: $40.00
Maturation: Cherry wood and white oak
Location: Sheffield, MA
Nose: Corn, spice, furniture varnish, cherry wood, cinnamon, banana, pineapple
Palate: Grass, corn, wood
Finish: Oak, tannic, corn
Comments: Adding water dulls everything and doesn’t diminish the burn enough to be worth it.
Adam – The New England Corn Whiskey is such a curious beast. It is a simple, generally one-note whiskey and I’m not even sure at times if I really like it or not. Yet it stays true to its core grain, from nose to palate to finish. This might be a good example of how sometimes simple can still be good. Maybe what I like more about it is where this fits within the larger landscape of corn whiskies in the US. If I were to run a corn whiskey tasting (come on, dare me), I would use this one as the starter, to set everything else against. It is a corn whiskey qua corn whiskey, the baseline. And it’s important to have those bedrock references. Maybe not be a great starter if you don’t like corn whiskey or are expecting bourbon but if you are curious, the price is reasonable and I imagine this could make a few fun cocktails.
Meghan – This whiskey reflects why New England is not known for its corn. Corn whisky is not my favorite and this doesn’t help to change my opinion. It reflects the very close gap between a ketone and acetone. Overall, there’s just a lack of depth. It’s a basic corn whisky. If that’s your thing then you would probably enjoy this one. However, it’s not my dram.
It could do something decent to a regular cocktail.
Michael – The New England Corn Whiskey smells like I just peeled a banana. The sweetness on the palate is sort of like a powdered sugar.
Ben – There’s some definite corn on the nose. And by that, I mean corn! It’s matter of fact. A good, sweet, sipping whiskey.
Kate – It smells smoky, but from the charred barrel with a subtle hint of vanilla. Really woody on the palate. I expected it to be more mealy or sweet. I feel like I would have this on hand if I wasn’t a whisky fan or if I was only a cocktail person. It could do something decent to a regular cocktail.
Henry – Lots of sweetness and, well, corn, on the nose, with a hint of very ripe pineapple. Dryness enters on the mid-palate, with a lovely mix of toast and tannin on the finish. The almond-tinted softness cherry wood influence comes through from nose to finish, and lends complexity.
