Old Stubborn Bourbon Batch 1 Review

The brainchild of renowned bourbon barrel picker, blender, and whiskey celebrity Ed Bley, Rising Tide Spirits is the manifestation of a pursuit to become a world-class non-distiller producer. Established in 2018, the name of the company comes from the adage that “a rising tide lifts all the boats” and reflects Ed’s personal philosophy as well as his love for the bourbon industry’s traditions of inclusivity, community, and collaboration. Having quickly risen to fame for his uncanny palate, whiskey blending talent, and skills in picking world-renowned barrels of whiskey, Ed’s Midas touch not only put his previous employer Cork N Bottle on the global map, but drove demand for his picks, blends, and talents to the point where his releases became more sought-after than many limited releases. As such, the logical next step was to break off on his own and start an NDP with a focus on quality, taste, and transparency where he could play a greater role in choosing the stocks coming in, the further ageing of the barrels, handling all aspects of blending, and creating unique and innovative releases.

When the news broke in late November 2023 that Rising Tide Spirits were getting ready to launch their long-awaited first release the bourbon community lost their minds. Since Ed’s retirement from Cork N Bottle in late 2019, the community had waited with bated breath for nearly 5 years to see and taste Ed’s first release. Everybody knew it would be something special, the only question was how special would it be. Ed first teased something big was coming in posts shared across various social media platforms, before finally introducing the world to Old Stubborn, a whiskey described as “a premium hand marriage of 10, 11, and 13-year-old potstill wheated bourbon.” Additional details remained a close-guarded secret initially as rumours about proof, provenance, and possible constituent parts spread like wildfire across many bourbon forums and discussion groups. However, as the weeks went by, more details followed until we were left with the following picture: Old Stubborn is a non-chill filtered (NCF) blend of 10, 11, and 13-year-old potstill wheated bourbon, bottled at 123.8 proof in a bespoke decanter, and coming from an extremely limited cache of whiskey which is no longer being produced by the source distillery. Unfortunately, the source of the whiskey was not disclosed due to Non-Disclosure Agreements, however, the state of distillation on the bottle is listed as West Virginia. This in itself doesn’t reveal the source, but after doing some quick maths there was only one distillery producing a wheated bourbon recipe in West Virginia using a pot still 13 years ago – Smooth Ambler, but this remains officially unconfirmed. The whiskey itself comes in an ornate glass decanter inside a decorative tube that both protects the bottle and gives the drinker the additional information not included on the decanter so as not to block your view of this majestic and dark bourbon. Let’s taste!

Vital Stats:

Name: Old Stubborn
Age: Blend of 10, 11, and 13y.o. whiskies
Proof: 123.8 Proof (61.9% ABV)
Type: Straight Wheated Bourbon
Mashbill: Not Disclosed (minimum 51% corn and containing wheat)
Producer: Rising Tide Spirits
Website: https://www.risingtidespirits.com/
Glassware: Glencairn

Review

Nose: The nose opens thick with black cherries stewed in rich dark caramels, earthy baking spices of clove and cinnamon, warm peanuts, and a touch of leather.As you nose deeper the complexity continues to build as the caramels, fruits, earthy spices, and roasted nut notes all continue to grow in intensity and depth.

Palate: The palate opens with big red and black fruit notes which turn a touch tart as near burnt caramels, roasted peanuts, and dark chocolate wash across the palate bringing a touch of spice that drives the fruit and caramel notes. As the spice fades you’re left with earthy charred oak spices, lingering oily grains from the corn or wheat used in this recipe, rich dark chocolate, and deep caramels edged with red and black fruits.

Finish: The finish is long, opening with lingering peppery earthy charred oak notes, a touch of barrel smoke, dark chocolate, cloves, fire-roasted peanuts, and leading into a faintly herbaceous aftertaste with dark chocolate.

Overall 

After what has felt like a decade of waiting, Ed’s official return to bourbon has rewarded our patience with a stunning example of what he does best. This whiskey is densely layered, deeply complex, and delivers a rich tide of flavours to every part of your palate. From palate to finish you can smell, taste, and experience both the quality of the whiskey and Ed’s talent for putting amazing whiskies into a blend that’s greater than the sum of its parts. When I first opened this bottle, roasted peanuts, dark caramels, and rich dark chocolate notes were the dominant flavours, delivering a dessert-like drinking experience. Two weeks later and the profile has settled to include expanded notes of rich fruits and baking spices with the prominent roasted peanut note converting into a supportive role to help round out the overall flavour profile. This natural fine-tuning of the profile indicates to me how complex this whiskey is and how a barrel-proof whiskey that has not undergone chill filtration benefits from an inch or two of air in the bottle to allow it time to stretch its legs. Being a craft whiskey distilled via a pot still, it also delivers a well-rounded drinking experience even at barrel proof and without filtration, giving a buttery mouthfeel, faintly spicy edges, and flavours ranging from soft and nuanced to bold and robust. Although the source has not been officially confirmed (for legal reasons), every sip of this whiskey reminds you that it is a craft whiskey distilled with care and aged to perfection. With a few drops of water, the caramels become thicker and fruit notes gain a softer, sweeter edge. The fire-roasted peanuts remain in the fray alongside floral notes and faintly grassy grain notes. Personally, I prefer this uncut, but for those unfamiliar with barrel-proof bourbons adding a few drops will only benefit your drinking experience. 

As far as first releases go, Old Stubborn has exceeded even my high expectations and affords drinkers a rare taste at something that is finite by its very nature and cannot be replicated. The fact that Ed managed to source great-tasting whiskey aged into the double digits for the first release from a small NDP is nothing short of the kind of miracle he is known for. This dedication to releasing something unique and of the highest possible quality further reflects Rising Tide’s raison d’être which is stated on the back of Old Stubborn’s ornate tube as being: “Unyielding commitment to quality and character. Uncompromising dedication to tradition and taste. Unrelenting pursuit of the perfect whiskey.” Even the name Old Stubborn was reportedly derived from Ed’s stubborn attitude towards releasing anything before he personally deems it ready, and from packaging to bottle to the whiskey itself it’s clear that every detail has been carefully contemplated by the Rising Tide team. Word on the grapevine is that Old Stubborn is just the start of a very exciting journey for Rising Tide Spirits in 2024 with more releases planned to follow soon and featuring a mix of single barrel bottlings and more bespoke blends curated by Ed. I for one cannot wait for these to land and wish Rising Tide Spirits and Ed all the best in this exciting adventure.

Try or Buy?

The only downside of releasing a limited-release double-digit blend that has been painstakingly pored over for the past 5 years is that the retail price was never going to be in the sub $100 range. MSRP for this release was $250 and (in typical Ed fashion) it has sold out from all retail outlets it was available in as I was writing my review. This means to get a bottle you’ll either be buying at auction or a private collector at a much higher than MSRP price. As such, I have to recommend you try it before you buy it. If, however, you’re already familiar with Ed’s work and you’ve read the reviews that have landed for this, you’ll know it is most definitely worth the investment.