Daddy Rack – the new Tennessee craft whiskey created by leading spirits specialist James Rackham – has been brought to the UK after its successful launch in the US last year.
Made in Tennessee with locally farmed corn, it is a straight small-batch whiskey blending spirits that have been twice filtered through maple charcoal for extra smoothness.
All stages of the process have been devised by Rackham, also known as J Arthur Rackham (pictured below) – or “Daddy Rack” to his daughter, Grace. J Arthur Rackham is depicted as an illustration on the bottle label.
He is a master blender with over 30 years’ experience working with distillers and cellar masters across Europe and was founder of leading spirits company Emporia Brands.
Daddy Rack was one of the most successful whiskey launches in the US last year. After arriving in Scotland in February through Royal Mile Whiskies, it is being rolled out across the UK this month, distributed by Emporia Brands.
Like bourbon, Tennessee whiskey must be made with at least 51% corn but, while bourbon can be made anywhere in the US, Tennessee whiskey must be produced in Tennessee.
All of Daddy Rack’s corn is high-grade quality and sourced from local farmers within 50 miles of the distillery. It is made with 80% corn which is milled with 10% rye and 10% malted barley.
It undergoes a 72-hour sour mash and lightly rectified copper double distillation. It is then filtered through a dense layer of sugar maple charcoal using the Lincoln County slow filtration process that is required for all Tennessee whiskeys.
The spirit is then matured in new, charred American oak barrels. Rackham selected 20 barrels for a “Master Batch Blend” which, before blending, go through a light second maple charcoal filtration to add a final smoothness.
The filtered spirits are then batch-blended using an original recipe, with no colouring, caramel or additional flavours added. It is bottled at 40% ABV.
According to the tasting notes, Daddy Rack is light gold amber in appearance, with aromas of maple, honey, light oak and caramelised banana. It has a smooth and buttery mouthfeel, with flavours of roasted apple and banana, leading on to vanilla and a hint of nutmeg. The finish is rich and warm with subtle notes of salted popcorn.
Signature serves include the Rackhouse Lemonade (pictured below), mixing Daddy Rack with peach liqueur, lemon juice and soda over ice in a Collins glass – a recipe created by Rackham with cocktail expert Simon Difford.
The whiskey has a recommended retail price of £35.95 per 70cl bottle.
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