Bourbon Whiskey, 'Benton's Smoked Jimmy Red'

• Small batch flavored bourbon whiskey produced by High Wire Distilling Co. in Charleston, South Carolina
• Produced in association with Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Madisonville, Tennessee
• Distilled from 100% Jimmy Red heirloom red dent corn (Zea mays indentata) currently sourced from 4 (and historically sourced from as many as 8) local and regional farms
• Harvested corn is cold smoked (90°F) for 5–7 days with hickory wood in the Benton’s smokehouse
• Corn is milled at the distillery with a hammer mill and fed directly into the mash tun
• Water is sourced from the Edisto River Basin (filtered for chloramines for fermentation and distillation; deionized for proofing)
• Sweet mash fermented for 6–7 days in temperature-controlled, closed-top stainless steel tanks with barley enzymes and top-fermenting pitched yeast
• Distilled on the grain in a single pass on a CARL hybrid copper pot still (a dephlegmator on the column is set to minimize reflux)
• Aged a minimum of 2 years in 53-gallon char #3 new American oak barrels that have been air seasoned for 18–36 months (primarily from Charlois and Kelvin cooperages); non-age statement
• Produced in batches of 3–5 barrels
• On the nose, savory sensations of campfire smoke and lightly roasted corn blend with currents of white flowers and fresh sappy orchard fruit. Befitting the culinary bent of expression, the palate is broad and sensuous, and modest proof extends the texture of the palate into a long, more-ish finish.
• Non-chill filtered; 45% ABV

Produced in conjunction with kindred spirit (and fellow Southern Foodways Alliance member) Allen Benton of Benton’s Country Hams fame, High Wire produces its signature Jimmy Red bourbon “seasoned” with up to 7 days of cold smoking in one of Benton’s famous smokehouses. By marrying the distinctive sweetness of hickory smoke with the rich flavor profile of Jimmy Red corn prior to fermentation (think peated barley), High Wire creates a delicious smoke-flavored sipping whiskey that’s unique to the category.