The Last Drop No.28 Drew Mayville Signature Blend (60.7% abv)

Drew Mayville is the Master Blender & Director of Quality at Sazerac. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of sampling A Pappy Van Winkle or anything from the Buffalo Trace Antiques range then you are familiar with Drew’s work.

To bring his vision for The Last Drop to life Drew blended vintage whiskeys that he had been saving since he first joined the Buffalo Trace Distillery team. He tasted more than 40 different vintage bourbon and rye whiskeys, creating multiple combinations of these spirits before arriving at the final masterpiece that bears his signature.

 

Using his decades of skill and experience, and his matchless palate, and a veritable treasure trove of vintage whiskeys from the Buffalo Trace Distillery, Drew has created a unique and irreplaceable blend of Kentucky Straight Whiskeys including bourbons and straight ryes from the archives. He says “my aim was to use these exceptional whiskeys, each magnificent in its own right, to create a blend which is somehow greater than the sum of its parts.”

To bring his vision for The Last Drop to life Drew blended vintage whiskeys that he had been saving since he joined the Buffalo Trace Distillery team. He tasted more than 40 different vintage bourbon and rye whiskeys, creating multiple combinations of these spirits before arriving at the final masterpiece that bears his signature. Bottled at 121.4 proof, Drew left this high-proof blend uncut and unfiltered to maximize its flavor and complexity.

The resulting liquid is a celebration of the art of blending, allowing the individual components to shine while creating a majestic whole that is truly remarkable and impossible to replicate. Drew uses the analogy of an orchestra to explain his intention:

“As a master blender, I wholeheartedly believe that one can take individual components that are already exceptional to create an extraordinarily-beautiful end product,” says Drew. “As with music, a clarinet can be beautiful in its own right. However, when you combine it with other instruments in an orchestra you create a symphony – a masterpiece. This blend fully epitomizes this notion, and it’s been a dream come true to create this truly one-of-a-kind spirit for my friends at The Last Drop.”

The Last Drop Release N0. 28 Tasting Notes:
Color: A rich, golden amber hue speaks of the wood, the age and the maturation these whiskeys have been through. The high proof can be seen in the long legs which linger on the glass.

Aroma: This reminds me of walking into one of Buffalo Trace’s most famous warehouses, built all those years ago: the atmosphere, the history and the provenance – it packs an evocative punch. Deep, dark fruit, figs, and dates on the nose, some raisins, and an aromatic spiciness, with citrus zest. There is some spiciness from the straight rye, and a creamy, vanilla from the bourbons, yielding a complex and layered flavor.

Palate: To begin with, there are dark fruits, candy and orange peel upfront. From there, we begin a journey through a veritable spice merchant’s storeroom, and into a saddle room full of worn leather and wax. The ages of the whiskeys in this blend, and the magnificent impact of the American oak are here in perfect balance with the individual elements of the blend. A crescendo of rich and raw spiciness transitions across your palate: that balance is pure magic.

Conclusion: The spiciness is challenging the dark fruit, the chocolate notes, and the sweet vanilla. This is the balance and sophistication that arises only rarely when the tangy spice of the rye and the creamy chocolate of the bourbon whiskeys – combined with the sublime influence of the oak – all collide in perfect harmony.

 

The bottle package was hand-signed in person by Drew Mayville during his recent trip to our shop.

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