The Slightly Yellow Dirty Dog - Mellow Corn

Each year I seem to discover a few spirits that are somehow ‘different’ and really leave their mark in my memory. This year I had this feeling with Eddu buckwheat whisky from Normandy (FR), but also with this old-school Mellow Corn from Kentucky (US). For starters they might get the prize for least attractive labelling. But this screaming yellow bottle does have a nice surprise inside.

Mellow Corn is a Straight Corn Whiskey, which seems to be the predecessor of Bourbon. With this bottle we are absolutely going retro in booze-history.

Mashbill: 80% Corn, 12% Malted Barley and 8% Rye. Bottled at 100-Proof (50% Alcohol). Aged four years in a once-used bourbon barrel. The result is a lighter, straw coloured spirit. Heaven Hill is one of the last distillers that still produces this unique Straight Corn Whiskey.

My followers know I like a good Bourbon, so you can already imagine that I also like this whiskey. With 80% corn it’s pretty sweet, but at the same time it has a lot of spicy influences.

• Nose: Oak and delicate spices
• Taste: Full-bodied and textured, with a softly spiced sweetness.
• Finish: Sweet and chewy like a Barbadian rum.

Americans love to drink Bourbon, chased by a shot of pickle brine. They call this combination the pickleback. This tradition shows that “pickled” matches really good with corn whiskey. That brought me to the idea to use this whiskey for a variation on the Dirty Martini. I know that back in the days of illegal moonshine, they already did this with unaged spirit and called it the ‘Dirty White Dog’.

Slightly Yellow Dirty Dog

Ingredients
50 ml Mellow Corn Whiskey
20 ml Leoncé vermouth
10 ml Olive brine

Method
Add everything to your mixglass with lots of ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Strain in a chilled Martini glass. Add an olive.

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