On yet another stop to visit Hudson Valley distilleries this summer is Hillrock Estate Distillery located in rural Ancram NY. Hillrock Estate was founded in 2010 by husband and wife team Jeffery Baker and Cathy Franklin. Hillrock is a “field-to-glass” whiskey producer that grow all their corn, rye and barley on the estate. To turn their dream distillery into a reality, they hired the services of former Maker’s Mark master distiller, Dave Pickerell. As for who’s idea it was that Hillrock use a Solera system, depends on who you ask. Nonetheless, the inspiration was threefold. First, it would separate Hillrock from the herd creating something unique with “uncommon depth and character”. Second, the solera process had ties to historical roots (like the restored 1806 Gregorian house that sits on their land) and third, to tie into the background and love of wine from owner Jeff Baker.
Dave PickerallKnown as the “Johnny Appleseed of American whiskey”, Dave Pickerall was a consultant to many other craft distilleries all over the country helping them set up shop with various degrees of involvement. Including WhistlePig, Catoctin Creek, Nelson’s Green Brier, Garrison Brothers and Woodinville to name a few. In November of 2018 Dave Pickering passed away after helping to create the Blackend Whiskey brand for Metallica. On the Hillrock distillery tour I learned that Hillrock sold their previous Vendome still to Blackend after Hillrock upgraded to their new 250 gallon Vendome, which were some of the last designed by Pickerell.
The solera process is known in Europe for wine production dating back centuries. Hillrock uses a 4-tiered solera which starts with the nursery. Here the distillate is aged in new charred #3 American oak barrels for at least 4 years before entering the solera. When mature enough, the nursery barrels are added to the existing bourbon barrels in tier 2. A portion of tier 2 is then added to the existing bourbon barrels in tier 3. A portion of tier 3 is added to the existing bourbon in the Oloroso Sherry barrels in tier 4. Barrels in tiers 2 to 4 are never fully emptied to create a never ending solera cycle. Hillrocks’ solera was started over 10 years ago and contains bourbon aged from 4 to 12 years old. The average age of bourbon in the solera increases as it slowly moves through the tiers, with the youngest in tier 2 to the oldest in tier 4. The (tier 4) Oloroso Sherry barrels are used as the base for all Hillrock bourbons. All additional wine barrels used for other finishes such as Napa Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Cognac and Sauternes are filled from the tier 4 Oloroso Sherry casks.
The Distillery Tour I chose the barrel proof tour which includes a cheese and charcuterie plate. It’s expensive, but it does offer the best Hudson Valley distillery tour that I’ve experienced. The tour begins from the solera rickhouse where you get to sample cask strength bourbon straight from the barrel. The tour continues to all of the buildings Hillrock uses to create their whiskeys, including the malt room and the distillery where we tried a sample fresh distillate from a run being made that day. After playing with the Hillrock mascot pups (Whiskey and Spirit), we were ushered into the tasting room. There we sampled a variety of 8 Hillrock cask strength whiskeys. My favorite sample of the day was the cast strength Owners Special Reserve Sauternes finished bourbon, a distillery only release. Let’s get to it!
Nose
Up front is a complex mix of sweet and herbal notes of butterscotch, sage, green tea, mint and a hint of fennel. Continuing with vanilla bean, red berries, apricot, figs, a hint of banana, orange blossom, hazelnut, cinnamon spice and rich oak. The high rye herbal influence gives this profile a great foundation, which balances out the sweet butterscotch, cinnamon spice and fruit that comes from the wine barrel finishing. Which by the way, is perfectly done. This nose is excellent and well balanced.Palate
Moving from the nose to the palate are butterscotch, green tea, sage, vanilla, berries, apricot, figs, hazelnut, orange peel and a good balance of oak. A bold but balanced cinnamon spice enters mid sip with a very good medium rich mouthfeel. The overall balance is excellent. The proof point is spot on allowing these flavors to shine without any heat getting in the way. What’s also impressive is how much flavor and complexity the Oloroso and Sauternes finishings contribute to this profile, while still not overpowering the bourbon base.Finish
Cinnamon spice stays on the palate with green tea, vanilla and stone fruit lingering for a long time. Tannins of sweet leather and subtle tobacco slowly join in to create a very enjoyable and long finish.Conclusion
Despite not typically being a fan of wine finished whiskeys, this bottle was my pick of the day. Prior to buying this, I didn’t know anything about Sauternes wine which I later learned is made from grapes that are affected by a fungus called botrytis cinerea, also known “noble rot”. Though it looks as bad as it sounds, this condition causes the grape to become partially raisined, which in turn creates a profile that is typically described as “nutty, with peach, apricot and honey”. Stuff like this always makes me wonder how someone long ago looked at something this disgusting and thought, “This would be a great in my wine!”. Nonetheless, I can see why a Sauternes finish works very well in a whiskey previously finished in an Oloroso barrel. Interestingly, the solera process is also used in Spain to make Oloroso Sherry which is known to add dark fruits such as figs, raisins and nuttiness. Together Oloroso and Sauternes finishings added more stone fruit and nuttiness, which complement this bourbon very well. Hillrock did a great job of not letting these wine finishes overpower the profile the way I’ve found in many other wine finished bourbons. It took some time and a lot of questions for me to fully understand the details how Hillrock uses the Solera. I think the most misunderstood part is that the nursery barrels are treated just like any other conventionally aged bourbon. So essentially the Solera itself is like one big finishing process used to create additional characteristics in the bourbon, before being finished in Oloroso Sherry casks. Hillrock Sauternes Owners Reserve is an excellent and unique bourbon that improved after letting it open up for about a week. Being a true “field-to-glass” whiskey producer gives Hillrock the benefit of having complete control of what goes into each bottle. The downside is it requires a lot of overhead which is reflected in the price of what Hillrock charges for its lineup. Which in turn leads to price being the main complaint I see the most about Hillrock. Overall, Hillrock Owners Special Reserve Sauternes is an excellent bottle that has constantly impressed me with its flavor profile, balance and complexity.Rating
8.3/10
Hillrock Vendome Still
Hillrock Mash Bins
Hillrock Solera Rickhouse.
