🥃 Visit Chattanooga Whiskey Company - Distillery Tour and Tasting

Chattanooga Whiskey - Downtown Experimental Distillery 

Chattanooga Whiskey Company History

Founded in 2011 with the goal of bringing whiskey distillation back to Hamilton County Tennessee, Chattanooga Whiskey Company started with sourced whiskey from Lawrenceburg Distillers of Indiana (LDI, now Midwest Grain Products or commonly "MGP") and became a grassroots spark point a year later under Tim Piersant and Joe Ledbetter with the "Vote Whiskey" movement.   Their efforts bore fruit in May of 2013 when Tennessee House Bill 102, “The Whiskey Bill”, passed with 57 House members in favor and 31 opposed. Governor Bill Haslam signs the bill  into law on May 16, 2013, making it legal to distill whiskey in all wet Tennessee counites. In 2015, Chattanooga Whiskey opened their currently functioning experimental location in the hip and happening part of downtown Chattanooga. The facility also hosts a generously sized tasting bar, basement barrel aging facility, and a small batch production apparatus. With early success in hand, they opened a 46,000sq ft. near the riverfront where they dump around 40-50 barrels per week with around 5,000 aging at any given time. In the years since, they've focused on refining their "high malt" style to the extent that they won the “Icons of Whisky - Craft Producer of the Year” (both America & Global) at Whisky Magazine's 2023 World Whiskies Awards.

chattanoogawhiskey.com

"High Malt" - The Chattanooga Whiskey Style

Chattanooga Whiskey Company's malt-forward approach to whiskey relies on each mash bill consisting of at least  25% specialty malted grains. They source their corn from Catesa Farms, a local company outside of Nashville, and are constantly pushing the bounds of whiskey with nontraditional grains. Chattanooga Whiskey uses a prolonged primary fermentation period of 7 days at lower temperatures as opposed to a typical 3 days at higher heat. The main production facility utilizes a massive column still, though some lots come off of the experimental facility's hybrid still which allows for some of the more traditional pot still "funk" flavors. They didn't tell me their barreling proof but it is purported to be on the low end. Cooperage is typically around the #3 char level, though #1 and toast chars are also frequently used outside of the main-line offerings.  The basement is home to a huge oloroso sherry cask for finishing as well. I was surprised to learn that most of their offerings are relatively young, with the #91 flagship being two years old and most of the special releases being around four years age-stated. Barrels aged in the downtown facility have the benefit of some expedited thermal aging in the form of copper exhaust pipes from the still which serve to fluctuate the temperature artificially, but I would imagine the river facility is actually a good deal more temperate than most rickhouses due to the moderating effects of the water. Between the low entry proof, moderate temperatures, lower char, and adventurous mash bills, I am not surprised that the malted grain flavors are front and center with the wood taking a backseat. 

An Oloroso Sherry cask from pre-WWII

Let's get to Drinking - The Tour

With bookings seven days a week and leaving every hour throughout the afternoon, you can easily get right into the action for the low entry price of $18. Non-drinking tours can be purchased for $10 by calling the distillery directly, and walk-ins are theoretically possible. You can also go right to the bar for a "pour" style tour and a la carte drinks. For your coin, you get a forty minute narrative tour of the experimental production facility and basement barrel storage, ending with a full flight of tasting goodness at their bar. For my part, I got to talking while I was tasting and it ended up being closer to 90 minutes before the samples were gone.

The flight consists of six half ounce pours of whiskey with an optional two extra to taste a new experimental batch or the delicate whiskey silver (4oz. total). Only the first three staple selections are constant, so you may want to stop back in on future trips as the menu will have changed. 

My flight contained:

1. Chattanooga 91 - Flagship made from 4 grains, including 3 select specialty malts, aged for two years and finished in an enormous solera barrel,  chill filtered
2. Cask 111 - Up proofed and nonfiltered version of the flagship recipe, hand selected. Ran a bit hot for the proof but I was surprised by how different the fruit and dessert flavors were from the regular 91 in a good way
3. 99 Rye - Pale Malted Rye, Yellow Corn, Caramel Malted Rye, Chocolate Malted Rye mashed and aged for at least three years
4. Founder's 12th Anniversary Blend - This Solera-style expression is blended from 3 one-of-a-kind charred oak solera barrels at 100 proof. It is themed on a past, present, and future blend of varying aged barrels.
5. Bottled-in-Bond - We love Bottled-in-Bond, four years, one season, 100 proof, very good
6. Whiskey Mule w/ Chattanooga Silver and WithCo mix + Ginger  - Downright delicious, I would take a gallon of this
7. Whiskey Silver - A 100 proof version of their white dog, it has touched a barrel for no less than one hour just to pick up the whiskey moniker. It is quite balanced and tastes of candy corn with a malty oatmeal sweetness. Is it bad that I prefer this version to the 91? 
8. Experiment #39 Harvest Bourbon - 7-grain high malt bourbon explores the wide array of flavors imparted by non-traditional whiskey grains - including malted rice, oats, and triticale. Six barrel batch with various char levels. Five year age statement.

Tasting notes were pretty true to the manufacturer's specifications. The malty flavor profile is apparent in all expressions and rather comforting, almost beery. I purchased a bottle of the Founder's to-go though the Experiment #39 was my favorite of the group, followed by the Bottled-in-Bond and then the Whiskey Silver. All were above average pours. I will do a long form review of those for which I can obtain a full bottle, but I try not to do single session reviews as their numerical values tend to be highly volatile. 

The Bottom Line

If you're in Chattanooga, this tour is worth your time. The site is only a mile or so from the aquarium and less from downtown hotels. I enjoyed the tour greatly and will keenly watch for more of their experimental releases. They have a very solid contender in the Bottled-in-Bond that I may pick up on the regular. We got a few cases of the Founder's at my neighborhood Costco, and I'll be checking for them from now on every June! Read the review of the 2024 Founder's Edition here.