🥃 TREMOR RESERVE IV Order by 9/11 — Order Details in post #259

[DTX2023Tremor]

Alright, Tremor Nation — it's time to start talking about the next one.

We've covered some good ground with this program. Tremor Reserve I was that legendary 95/5 wheat whiskey single barrel out of MGP — a barrel none of us will ever see the likes of again. Tremor Reserve II took us into a finished bourbon. And Tremor Reserve III was our first crack at a custom cask-strength blend, built right alongside a bunch of you at The Whiskey Blendery.

For Tremor Reserve IV, I'd like to head back to where we started: a single barrel release. We've done wheat, we've done a finish, we've done a blend — so a great rye feels like the natural next chapter for the series.

That said, I want to be straight with you on how I approach the pick: I'm not going to force a mashbill just to check a box. The goal is always to taste through what's available and walk out with the best barrel in the room, whatever it turns out to be. If the standout that day happens to be a knockout rye, fantastic — that's the dream. If something else is clearly the better whiskey, we'll let the barrel do the talking. Either way, you have my word it'll earn its spot in the lineup.
The plan:

Pick the barrel: mid-September
Bottles ship: early October (keeping us out of the summer shipping heat)

Here's where you come in. I've put together a quick survey to gauge interest and, just as importantly, how many bottles folks are thinking about. Total bottle count matters more than headcount here — that number directly shapes which barrel options are even on the table when we go to pick. And to be honest, if the overall demand comes in too light, we may not have enough to make this release happen at all.

So if you'd want in on Reserve IV, let me know by completing the survey above.

No commitment to buy at this stage — just trying to get a read on where we stand before September. Cheers!

 

[MrFancypants]

Of course I have to have one to keep a complete collection, but happy to follow your judgment, Mike. You could also satisfy the gluten-free Tremorites and go for corn. Whatever tastes best on tasting day should always be the goal.

 

[marine_wi]

I'd be down for at least 1 bottle for sure. Reaching out to my brother who's a big whiskey drinker to see if he'd be in for a bottle as well.

*Edit*- I bumped my vote to 2.

 

[DTX2023Tremor]

Of course I have to have one to keep a complete collection, but happy to follow your judgment, Mike. You could also satisfy the gluten-free Tremorites and go for corn. Whatever tastes best on tasting day should always be the goal.

On the Corn Whiskey Idea

Great suggestion about a corn whiskey for a future Reserve — and it ties right into the gluten talk, so let me think out loud here.

The logic checks out: corn is naturally gluten-free, so a true 100% corn whiskey has zero gluten grains in it from the jump — belt and suspenders for anyone in the group who's gluten-sensitive. Worth remembering, though, that distillation already strips the gluten out of a rye or wheat whiskey, so even a single-barrel rye would be considered gluten-free. The corn route is more of a peace-of-mind bonus than a hard requirement.

Here's the catch: genuine 100% corn whiskies are rare, and plenty of them aren't very good. Corn is the sweet, easygoing base grain — most of what we love about bourbon and rye comes from the flavoring grains, the rye spice or the soft wheat, plus the malted barley. Strip all that out and you often land on something one-dimensional. There's a technical hurdle too: you typically lean on malted barley for the enzymes that convert the starch, so making something truly 100% corn takes extra work (part of why most "corn whiskeys" still aren't actually 100% corn). Nearly every other mashbill out there uses rye or wheat alongside malted barley — all gluten grains. You'll occasionally see oats or even rice in the mix, and there are some genuinely tasty rice whiskies out there too (rice being gluten-free as well), but those are the exceptions.

If we DID go the corn route, there's really one clear answer: Ironroot Republic, right up the road in Denison, Texas, about 75 miles north of Dallas, founded by brothers Robert and Jonathan Likarish with their mother Marcia running daily operations. These folks built their whole identity around corn — instead of using rye or wheat for flavor complexity, they lean on heirloom corn varieties like Bloody Butcher, Floriani flint, and Purple corn, so most of the mashbills they use are 100% corn. Their Hubris is a straight 100% corn whiskey bottled at cask strength, their Harbinger was the first non-Kentucky bourbon to win World's Best Bourbon at the 2020 World Whiskey Awards, and their corn whiskeys Hubris and Icarus have brought home World's Best Corn Whiskey a combined seven times. They're the rare outfit that makes 100% corn taste like a million bucks — and being a Texas distillery, it'd make one heck of a home-state story for a Reserve bottle.

One caveat is that Ironroot Republic generally does not sell private barrels. That said, I might be able to pull some strings to get them to make an exception for us. If we did that we would have to have enough orders to sell the entire barrel, which could be as many as 200 bottles (something this program has yet to demonstrate demand for that volume).

Sorry for the long reply. I wanted to provide a detailed response as this is an important question and a good idea.

 

[mrmag00]

I voted for 3 again.

 

[Oktoberfest]

I’m good for 2. But voted 3 bc I would probably pick one up for my brother in-law

 

[MrFancypants]

On the Corn Whiskey Idea

As always you dazzle me with your knowledge of all things whiskey.

Ironroot Republic sounds amazing and is making me thirsty. Hubris is a badass name and if you manage to pull off a barrel I am definitely in for 2.

Despite the science on distilled alcohol containing no gluten, there was a period of time when my wife reacted to any alcohol (including whiskey) made from wheat. That was when we discovered Balcones Baby Blue, which we both could enjoy. Fortunately for her the intolerance disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared after a few years. In any case, with or without the GF crowd, I’m excited as you about a rare corn mash option, now or for a future release.

 

[gmbpilot757]

On the Corn Whiskey Idea

Great suggestion about a corn whiskey for a future Reserve — and it ties right into the gluten talk, so let me think out loud here.

The logic checks out: corn is naturally gluten-free, so a true 100% corn whiskey has zero gluten grains in it from the jump — belt and suspenders for anyone in the group who's gluten-sensitive. Worth remembering, though, that distillation already strips the gluten out of a rye or wheat whiskey, so even a single-barrel rye would be considered gluten-free. The corn route is more of a peace-of-mind bonus than a hard requirement.

Here's the catch: genuine 100% corn whiskies are rare, and plenty of them aren't very good. Corn is the sweet, easygoing base grain — most of what we love about bourbon and rye comes from the flavoring grains, the rye spice or the soft wheat, plus the malted barley. Strip all that out and you often land on something one-dimensional. There's a technical hurdle too: you typically lean on malted barley for the enzymes that convert the starch, so making something truly 100% corn takes extra work (part of why most "corn whiskeys" still aren't actually 100% corn). Nearly every other mashbill out there uses rye or wheat alongside malted barley — all gluten grains. You'll occasionally see oats or even rice in the mix, and there are some genuinely tasty rice whiskies out there too (rice being gluten-free as well), but those are the exceptions.

If we DID go the corn route, there's really one clear answer: Ironroot Republic, right up the road in Denison, Texas, about 75 miles north of Dallas, founded by brothers Robert and Jonathan Likarish with their mother Marcia running daily operations. These folks built their whole identity around corn — instead of using rye or wheat for flavor complexity, they lean on heirloom corn varieties like Bloody Butcher, Floriani flint, and Purple corn, so most of the mashbills they use are 100% corn. Their Hubris is a straight 100% corn whiskey bottled at cask strength, their Harbinger was the first non-Kentucky bourbon to win World's Best Bourbon at the 2020 World Whiskey Awards, and their corn whiskeys Hubris and Icarus have brought home World's Best Corn Whiskey a combined seven times. They're the rare outfit that makes 100% corn taste like a million bucks — and being a Texas distillery, it'd make one heck of a home-state story for a Reserve bottle.

One caveat is that Ironroot Republic generally does not sell private barrels. That said, I might be able to pull some strings to get them to make an exception for us. If we did that we would have to have enough orders to sell the entire barrel, which could be as many as 200 bottles (something this program has yet to demonstrate demand for that volume).

Sorry for the long reply. I wanted to provide a detailed response as this is an important question and a good idea.

Mike, what about Jeptha Creed up here in Louisville? They pride themselves on their Bloody Butcher mash. Could be worth looking into it if you go that route?

 

[DTX2023Tremor]

As always you dazzle me with your knowledge of all things whiskey.

Ironroot Republic sounds amazing and is making me thirsty. Hubris is a badass name and if you manage to pull off a barrel I am definitely in for 2.

Despite the science on distilled alcohol containing no gluten, there was a period of time when my wife reacted to any alcohol (including whiskey) made from wheat. That was when we discovered Balcones Baby Blue, which we both could enjoy. Fortunately for her the intolerance disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared after a few years. In any case, with or without the GF crowd, I’m excited as you about a rare corn mash option, now or for a future release.

I'll be up there for a special bottle release and will see if I can talk to one of the family / owners to see what their thoughts are. If they won't sell is a barrel directly, I might have another way to get it done, but might need more time to work those channels (so maybe the spring 2027 release).

For the purely gluten free crowd, I also recommend J.T. Melleck out of Louisiana as well as SuTi out of Dallas which are both 100% rice whiskey.

 

[DTX2023Tremor]

Mike, what about Jeptha Creed up here in Louisville? They pride themselves on their Bloody Butcher mash. Could be worth looking into it if you go that route?

I've looked at Jeptha Creed, and I've got real feelings about this one, so let me give you the honest rundown.

First off, I genuinely love what they're doing. They're a mother-and-daughter operation, Joyce and Autumn Nethery, down in Shelbyville, growing their own heirloom Bloody Butcher corn on the family farm — true ground-to-glass, about as cool a story as there is in Kentucky. (Fun aside: that's the same heirloom corn the Ironroot folks lean on, for those following the corn thread.) Every time I stop in — and I make a point to swing by every other year or so — the people could not be friendlier, and I always walk out rooting for them. That very first visit, before they even had a bourbon for sale, we tried their white dog and thought it had a ton of promise.

Here's where I have to be straight with you, though: I haven't been wowed by anything I've actually tasted there. Every visit, I want the pours to land, and every time I come away thinking "not quite yet." And I think the reason is simple — age. They only opened in 2016, so the whiskey is still young; their oldest release to date is a 6-year wheated, and most of what they're pouring sits in that 4–6 year range. That's honestly really young for something you want to enjoy neat. Add in the small-craft premium — you're paying top dollar per bottle — and the math just doesn't work for me yet.

And this ties right back to the aging conversation we just had. That 4–6 year window in a temperate Kentucky climate is often still mid-journey — the body hasn't filled in, the edges haven't rounded off, the oak hasn't woven together. It's not a knock on their mash bills or their mission; it's the clock. Give that same Bloody Butcher juice the time to reach that 8+ year sweet spot and I think it could be something special.

Short version: I love the people and the story, I'll keep stopping in to see how they're coming along, and I genuinely hope they age me into a believer. But for a Tremor Reserve bottle, we're chasing that fully-integrated, well-aged profile — and they're just not there for me today. Keep the suggestions coming, though. This is exactly the kind of thing I love kicking around.

 

[Dpsmedic]

Off track a bit, ( and if OP feels it is a hijack happy to delete) this thread reminded me of a cool documentary I have watched several times on bourbon. Provides some interesting background on the use of corn as well. Worth a watch if you have not seen it. Neat: The Story of Bourbon (2018) | Official Trailer HD

 

[Optimus🤖]

Anyone interested in a Bloody Butcher, send me a DM. We will take care of supporting forum members.

 

[DTX2023Tremor]

Off track a bit, ( and if OP feels it is a hijack happy to delete) this thread reminded me of a cool documentary I have watched several times on bourbon. Provides some interesting background on the use of corn as well. Worth a watch if you have not seen it. Neat: The Story of Bourbon (2018) | Official Trailer HD

This is a great one and I highly recommend to anyone looking to learn a bit more about our national spirit. Thanks for sharing!

 

[🇺🇸BoonesRide22🇺🇸]

I’m in for 4 again for sure!

 

[Load]

Mike, I'm in for 2 and the rye blend sounds awesome

 

[DTX2023Tremor]

Update... The team at Ironroot Republic is willing to work with us on a barrel. They don't have a barrel purchase program and historically only sell barrels to charities.

I spoke with them about a straight corn whiskey, and they occasionally release one, but largely use them to blend with other whiskies. They don't have any ready now, and it may be as much as a year before they have one available (as the whiskey is ready when it's ready). But, it's great that they're on board with supporting this project. It will depend of course if we're still going strong with TR V or TR VI.

 

[AchillesKobus]

I am in for 2. I will not make the mistake of only ordering 1 again. I am all in for a rye, corn, and if everyone wants to another single barrel wheat. As others have started @DTX2023Tremor i have not been disappointed yet.

 

[AKDrifter]

Boy, glad I searched I was just going to post in TR3 about TR4. Give me all the bacon and eggs you have! I only have my display bottle of TR3 left.

 

[Optimus🤖]

Man, this TR 5 is insane!

 

[The Evil Twin]

Almost missed this thread! I’m in it to win it!!