J.W. Kelly Old Milford Straight Bourbon

J.W. Kelly Old Milford Straight Bourbon is a small-batch Tennessee bourbon distinguished by an unconventional mash bill: 75% corn, 20% malted rye, and 5% barley. Most bourbon uses raw rye as the secondary grain, but Kelly's use of malted rye instead produces a softer texture and a sweeter, more orchard-fruit-driven profile. Each bottle is a marriage of five, six, and eight-year-old whiskey, distilled in 3,000-gallon pot stills and bottled at 94 proof. The J.W. Kelly brand was reborn in 2016 as a tribute to the original Deep Spring Distillery, founded by J.W. Kelly in Chattanooga in 1866 with the goal of making the finest whiskey in the city. The modern incarnation preserves the small-batch, hands-on character of the original — every release is a marriage of specific aged barrels rather than a blended house style, so each bottling carries the particular fingerprint of its component casks. Chattanooga's distilling heritage ran deep in the nineteenth century, and Kelly's operation was among the city's most respected before Prohibition erased the regional industry. The relaunch honors that lineage without resorting to nostalgia: the liquid in the bottle is the argument. On the palate, expect brown sugar, baking spice, and a soft orchard-fruit sweetness up front, with cinnamon, vanilla, and a faint toasted-grain note building through the mid-palate. The malted rye contributes a baking-spice complexity that distinguishes Old Milford from standard high-rye bourbons — think cinnamon roll rather than black pepper. The 94 proof keeps everything approachable without sacrificing depth; water is optional. This is a bourbon built for a rocks glass, an Old Fashioned, or a Manhattan variation that wants brown-sugar character rather than oak heat. Pair with grilled pork, smoked sausage, or a slice of pecan pie. In stock at Off Premise in Lincoln Park.