Milam & Greene Continues Wildlife Collection with New Mockingbird Release

Posted on by Scott Dilley

The Wildlife Collection explores how extreme weather in the Texas Hill Country influences flavor development of aging bourbon and brings awareness to Texas Parks and Wildlife causes.

Fast Facts about Mockingbird Single Barrel:

  • Style: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
  • Mashbill: 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley
  • Proof: 128.21
  • Age: 7 Years and 11 months
  • Distilled in Tennessee
  • Price: $149.99
  • Availability: 173 Bottles Available on April 16th online.

Full Details on the Release:

Milam & Greene Whiskey is introducing the second release of the 2024 Wildlife Collection: Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon, a limited-edition, cask-strength spirit. The Wildlife series explores how extreme weather in the Texas Hill Country influences flavor development of aging bourbon and brings awareness to Texas Parks and Wildlife causes. It will be available exclusively on the Milam & Greene Whiskey website and in the distillery tasting room beginning at 3:00 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

Milam & Greene Whiskey is introducing the second release of the 2024 Wildlife Collection: Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon, a limited-edition, cask-strength spirit. The trailblazing Wildlife series explores how extreme weather in the Texas Hill Country influences flavor development of aging bourbon and brings awareness to Texas Parks and Wildlife causes. Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon is part of this year’s collector theme which highlights the beautiful and intriguing birds of Texas. It will be available exclusively on the Milam & Greene Whiskey website and in the distillery tasting room beginning at 3:00 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The Wildlife Single Barrel Bourbon Collection continuously sells out online.

Milam & Greene Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon is named for the state bird of Texas which is medium sized with a big personality. Northern Mockingbirds, found throughout Texas year-round, are slender and gray with a long tail and a bold white stripe on each wing. Its signature trait is its ability to mimic the songs of other birds as well as environmental sounds. Mockingbirds use mimicry as a means of communication to attract mates, establish territory, and ward off potential threats. Mockingbirds are also known for their adaptability to diverse urban and rural habitats and resilience to harsh environmental conditions, like the barrels aging in Milam & Greene rickhouses experience in Texas.

By aging a barrel mostly in another state and then finishing its aging in Texas we’re getting richer, more intense flavor profiles at an earlier phase of its life. That’s what we want in the Wildlife Collection.

Each release of our Wildlife Collection starts with the selection of excellent, young whiskey barrels, then applying my understanding of how the aging process will affect the final taste. By carefully studying the impact of the climate on aging whiskey, we better understand how the sense of place will be reflected in each of our barrels. We are looking for differentiating factors that are harnessed by climate, barrel fill, and age that happen when whiskey is matured in various locations. We’ve compared whiskey that has aged its whole life in other states with whiskey completely aged in Texas. Whiskey aged 100 percent in Texas usually tends to be richer and darker. It’s very robust, very spicy, and you can sink your teeth into it. By aging a barrel mostly in another state and then finishing its aging in Texas we’re getting richer, more intense flavor profiles at an earlier phase of its life. That’s what we want in the Wildlife Collection.

Heather Greene, Milam & Greene Whiskey CEO and 2023 Master Blender of the Year

Details on The Wildlife Collection: Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon

Milam & Greene Wildlife Collection Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon is pulled from cask #519, yielding only 173 bottles of this limited, 128.21 proof cask-strength release. Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon was distilled in Tennessee with a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. It was barreled in Tennessee on March 8, 2016, where it was aged six years and seven months. It was then brought to Texas and aged a further year and four months in extreme drought and a once-in-a-generation ice storm on the north side of the Milam & Greene Rickhouse #2. Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon was bottled on February 6, 2024, at 128.21 proof or 64.1% alcohol by volume after aging for a total of seven years and eleven months.

Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon has a burnt amber color and has delicious aromas of glazed donuts, brown sugar, dark berries, tobacco, and old leather. Mockingbird greets the palate with a full oily mouthfeel, and deep flavors of cherry cola, toffee, sweet cornbread, and tannic oak. This whiskey has a long, dry finish that lingers with hints of caramel candy and cola.

Mockingbirds frequent the distillery year-round. They can be seen chasing other birds off and are sort of the bullies of the bird world out here on the property. They also love to pilfer my perfectly ripe tomatoes seemingly moments before I go to harvest them. They are funny like that.

Rikk Munroe, Distillery Manager

Milam & Greene Mockingbird Single Barrel Bourbon is available for $149.99 only on the Milam & Greene website and in the distillery tasting room. This very limited release of 173 cask-strength bottles is sure to sell out quickly. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each bottle of the Milam & Greene Wildlife Collection will benefit the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation.

About Milam & Greene Whiskey:

Milam & Greene Whiskey believes in using the best people and ingredients to create delicious, award-winning whiskey for whiskey lovers. Milam & Greene Whiskey is made by some of the world’s most experienced whiskey professionals, including CEO, master blender, and author, Heather Greene, and 30-year whiskey veteran and master distiller, Marlene Holmes. 2023 was a stellar year for Milam & Greene, earning recognition as the “2023 Rising Star Spirits Company of the Year” at The Ascot Awards followed by Heather Greene being awarded “Master Blender of the Year.” The Milam & Greene team distills in Blanco, Texas on copper pot stills as well as in Kentucky on classic column stills, using its proprietary yeast recipe and mash bill. Aging takes place in rickhouses located across four states in the most thorough array of casks collected by any craft distiller with an assortment of char levels resulting in a variety of flavors. These casks become the ingredients from which its award-winning American whiskey range is batched to create perfection. For more information visit: milamandgreenewhiskey.com.

About Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation

Conservation is Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s (TPWF) heartbeat, and they invest in projects that literally breathe new life into Texas. Since 1991, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation has raised and invested over $240 million to advance Texas’ proud outdoor traditions and conserve our state’s wildlife, habitat, and natural resources. Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s vision is for all Texans to have access to the wild things and wild places in our state, both now and for generations to come. Learn more about their work at www.tpwf.org.

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