After two different “Four Grain” releases and a subsequent “Sonoma-Cutrer” wine finish offering, Brown-Forman is about to release their newest Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection whiskey titled “1838 Sweet Mash.”

The press release I received has done an excellent job of explaining what a “sweet mash” is versus the industry-wide practice of ”sour mash” whiskey, so I won’t reinvent the wheel. Here are the main points from the press release:

Woodford Reserve will revive a long-abandoned bourbon production practice in early November with the release of the third whiskey in its award-winning Master’s Collection series, 1838 Sweet Mash. The spirits industry is famous for its sour mash whiskies, and the Woodford Reserve 1838 Sweet Mash is an exception with this revival of a historic technique.

“The present-day Woodford Reserve Distillery is largely known as the site where the sour mash process used to make all American whiskies was defined,” said Woodford Reserve Master Distiller and Spirits Historian Chris Morris. “The sour mash process was innovative at the time and is now common practice. The Woodford Reserve Distillery has taken that innovation ‘a step in reverse’ by bringing the original sweet mash practice back to life.”

All bourbon whiskies are traditionally crafted using a sour mash process in which ingredients – grains, yeast and water — from a prior distillation (referred to as spent mash) are introduced into a new mash mixture. The result is a sour mash which is fermented for several days before being distilled. Sour mash ultimately creates a more consistent product with less variation from batch to batch. Sweet mash, however, was the original production practice established to craft bourbon whiskies, and it consists of using entirely fresh ingredients – grains, yeast and water – to create a mixture which will be fermented for several days and then distilled. This process gives the mash a higher pH level and reveals a layer of aromas and flavors which aren’t commonly found in sour mash bourbons.

“We believe that this is the first bourbon of its kind to be bottled in 150 years,” said Wayne Rose, brand director for Woodford Reserve. “Bottling sweet mash was the original standard for bourbon production until the sour mash process came along, and Woodford Reserve is honored to release 1838 Sweet Mash as a tribute to the industry’s heritage.”

Woodford Reserve 1838 Sweet Mash will be sold in 25 markets: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin. The bourbon is individually hand-numbered and is bottled at 86.4 proof. Available in major metro markets, only 1045 cases are available with a suggested retail price of $89.99 for a 750ml bottle. The Master’s Collection will also be released for the first time in Canada.

I’ll be getting a review sample shortly and will let you know my thoughts at that time.