Milam and Greene Very Small Batch Bourbon Debuts

Aug 12, 2023

Milam and Greene Very Small Batch Whiskey is the latest release from the Texas distillery. (Photo: Milam and Greene)

On Thursday, Texas distillery Milam and Greene announced its latest whiskey, Milam and Greene Very Small Batch Bourbon. The blend includes the first bourbon Milam and Greene has distilled in Kentucky. Very Small Batch is also Milam and Greene's first whiskey finished with French oak staves and the first addition to the brand's core portfolio in more than two years.

Milam and Greene Very Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of bourbon distilled by master Distiller Marlene Holmes in Kentucky and bourbon sourced from Tennessee.

Bottled at 108 proof, Batch 1 is composed of 80% Tennessee bourbon and 20% Kentucky. It is available at select retailers in the U.S. and Alberta, Canada, and from the Milam and Greene website and tasting room. Milam and Greene Very Small Batch Bourbon will sell for a suggested retail price of $69.99.

"At Milam & Greene, everything we do is in limited quantities because of our size, but I know the big whiskey geek question is: exactly how small is this release?" Milam & Greene Whiskey CEO and Master Blender Heather Greene said in a news release. "With 75 bourbon barrels, we can release 1,500 9L cases of Very Small Batch Bourbon. The amount of people who will be able to purchase this bottle is approximately 0.00451% of the entire population based on current U.S. Census numbers, a detail that delights our fans and makes me laugh at the same time."

The Kentucky whiskey was distilled from Milam and Greene's signature mashbill of 70% corn, 22% malted rye and 8% malted barley, while the Tennessee bourbon was made from a mashbill of 10% corn, 10% rye and 10% malted barley.

After maturation, Milam and Greene Very Small Batch Bourbon is finished with staves from French oak casks that once held tawny port wine and then Milam and Greene rye whiskey. After being removed from the barrel, these staves were baked in the summer heat, charred , tied in bundles and steeped in the Very Small Batch Bourbon for about two weeks.

"Using very small batches as the heart of our new whiskey allows for greater control over the final product," Greene said. "It takes much more attention to detail to produce an elegant whiskey using smaller quantities of bourbon and three different climates, but it allows for an incredible amount of artistry in flavor."

Keep your eyes peeled for our official review on Milam and Greene Very Small Batch Bourbon. In the meantime, here are our first-impression tasting notes:

Nose: Nice, sweet nose. Custard, rich cocoa, sweet banana nut bread, orange blossom, cornbread. Lilac, blueberries, vanilla bean, oak, rising bread. The nose betrays youth with a kick of heat and a noticeable corn mash scent.

Taste: Rich, nice mouthfeel. Oak, cinnamon, banana, chocolate caramels, espresso. The heat is more of a gentle warmth on the palate, although it does build after a while. For that reason, this would make for a lovely sipper on the rocks. This pour is a bit tannic but not overly so. After a. while, a fruitier profile begins to emerge, with lots of orange. This would make a delicious Old Fashioned.

Finish: Long and evolving. Barrel char, charcoal, French toast, vanilla, fluffy banana bread, marshmallow.

In March, Milam and Greene completed a multimillion-dollar expansion of its Blanco, Texas distillery.

In April, Milam and Greene released Bobcat, the second single-barrel bourbon in its Wildlife Collection, a series that pays homage to the wildlife that thrives in the hot climate of Texas.

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David Morrow is the managing editor of Whiskey Raiders and has been with the company since September 2021. David has worked in journalism since 2015 and has had bylines at Sports Illustrated, Def Pen, the Des Moines Register and the Quad City Times.David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Saint Louis University and a Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.When he's not tasting the newest exciting whiskey releases, David enjoys spending time with his wife and dog, watching sports and traveling.