Oh Taste & See: Henry McKenna Sour Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Fact: Henry McKenna is not a top shelf bourbon. It sells for about $18 for a one liter bottle (750mL bottles are hard to find and come in around $15), and it doesn't even get its own website (or Wikipedia entry!), settling for a short blurb on Heaven Hill's corporate site. Judging just by the bottle though, Henry McKenna is intriguing, and given its price it seemed worth trying when I picked up a bottle a while back. My bottle has been almost emptied after much use as a mixer for whiskey sours, Manhattans and bourbon & cokes, so it seems like a straight tasting is in order before it's all gone.



What's intriguing about the Henry McKenna bottle? For one thing it has the moniker "Sour Mash Straight Bourbon Whiskey" as opposed to the more common "Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey." This might lead you to think it's not produced, aged, and/or bottled in Kentucky, but look at the bottle again, it also has the motto "Kentucky's Finest Table Whiskey Since 1855" in gold lettering. What to make of this? Also, the 1855 claim is interesting and implies some sort of history. According to Heaven Hill's website Henry McKenna the man was an Irish immigrant to Kentucky who opened a distillery in Fairfield, KY in 1855. The "Kentucky's Finest Table Whiskey" label was applied to Mr. McKenna's product and has stuck with his name all the way to the present day, even as the label has been passed around among the major spirits brands. I personally think "table whiskey" is a great term that should see more use - similar to the way "table wine" is used to denote inexpensive, but still good quality wines to be consumed on a regular basis. For now though, Henry McKenna is the only whiskey I know of that claims the "table whiskey" title.

So here's how this table whiskey shakes out in terms of taste:

Color: Medium amber/brown - perfectly average bourbon color, not too light, not too dark.

Nose: Sweet maple syrup hints, a bit of alcohol astringency, corn, caramel, and oak. A very pleasant, inviting nose actually, different from but just as enjoyable as some much more expensive bourbons.

Flavor: The flavor of this bourbon is very light and crisp - almost like a blended whiskey. A bit of the maple sweetness comes through and there's a decent amount of oaky taste with vanilla and caramel tones, but nothing too much going on flavor-wise.

Finish: Henry McKenna surprises before and after you drink it - the finish is just as nice as the initial aroma, even though the taste is nothing to write home about. It lingers with you for a while and has a dry, roasted nut character. The charred oak flavors hang around for a good while as well.

Overall this is a decent bourbon for the price. I might not choose it over Ezra Brooks or Ancient Age for an under $15 sipper, but it has a higher curiosity factor than either of those, and it certainly makes a good enough mixer. I can also see it living up to its 'table whiskey' moniker - serving as a go-to bourbon when you need a large quantity of passable whiskey that won't ruffle anyone's feathers. There's also a single-barrel, bottled-in-bond version of Henry McKenna that sounds quite promising. Now that my bottle of table whiskey is almost empty I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for that one.