When you think of where bourbon is made you probably think Bardstown or Louisville and there are certainly all kinds of places but I’m guessing it would take you awhile before you would say Detroit. That’s exactly where this week’s review was made at the Valentine Distilling Company. This week I review Pingree Red Label. Let’s see if they can make a bourbon or should they go back to making cars.

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NAME – Mayor Pingree Red Label Bourbon Batch #27

PROOF – 94

AGE – non-age stated

COLOR –harvest gold (1.4, tawny on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

NOSE – Baked corn bread in cast iron skillet with honey butter, green apple, some vanilla, toasted oak and tinge of citrus.

TASTE – Bitter barrel tannins start this experience, and it isn’t pleasant. Dusty corn, vanilla and bitter walnut.

FINISH – I would call this a medium finish. The finish is the best part of this but that isn’t saying much. There is some cinnamon and some leather.

REVIEW – No flowery language for this review. Did not like this. The bitterness from the barrel tannins puts it on the verge of being offensive. This is a cocktail whiskey for sure. It needs some sweetness added to it to back down that bitterness.

FINAL COMMENTS – Mayor Hazel S. Pingree is who this is named after who based on scholars in 1999 was deemed the fourth best mayor in the history of the United States. Many accomplishments in Detroit during tough times and eventually was voted governor of the state of Michigan. Unlike many whiskies named after historical people there is really no tie to Pingree and whiskey. Instead, he was a cobbler by trade and thus maybe why this bourbon taste like an old shoe. (I couldn’t help myself)