Sips & Sites & Bites

This whiskey story should seem familiar. It’s about the Reverend Daniel Houston Call, a 19th-century preacher, farmer, grocer, and distiller. 

His story is being told through the lens of a new whiskey that bears his name. You see, as a young man, Call worked with two younger boys, Jasper “Jack” Newton Daniel and Nathan “Nearest” Green, at his family distillery in the hills above Lynchburg, Tennessee. 

All three would go on to help define the category of Tennessee whiskey, and American whiskey to be sure. So, what do we know of the Reverend?

Fast forward to today, and the Call Family Distillers brings to life a whiskey story that acknowledges the Call family ancestor, whom they call a man of contradictions … distilling and drinking whiskey on Saturday, then into the pulpit on Sunday.

They call it The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey.

Aged more than four years in new, charred oak and first-fill bourbon casks, the whiskey undergoes the maple charcoal filtration process first developed in Lincoln County, Tennessee, to refine and enhance the spirit after it leaves the barrel.

The distiller’s notes show this sour mash whiskey to have a medium amber color with a hint of dark red. It clocks in at 90 proof. It has aromas of red apples, cinnamon buns, cardamom, raisin cake, and fresh ginger. There’s also notes of tart cherries, charred orange peel, honey butter, and roasted pecans. It finishes with brown sugar-glazed peaches, rye spice, cured tobacco leaves, toffee, and light-toast American oak.

Nick Scarff, master blender of The Reverend, said, “The recipe for The Reverend is a nod to its place in American whiskey history. Reverend Daniel Call was making whiskey before bourbon was a recognized category, so our spirit is a blend of high quality sour mashes that drink like a robust, full-flavored bourbon. The maple-charcoal filtration — also known as the Lincoln County Process — changed the way whiskey was made in Tennessee, starting in the 19th-century. Utilizing this technique yields a clean, complex, and approachable whiskey, making The Reverend a go-to for smooth, neat pours, with a high percentage of rye that helps it stand out in a cocktail.”

And as the story goes, Reverend Call eventually made the decision to leave the spirits business as a result of the growing Temperance movement, but not before he co-founded Daniel & Call Distillery No. 7, District #4, and inspired a line of descendants who would carry on his whiskey-making legacy. It’s produced and bottled by the direct descendants of Reverend Call at the Call Family Distillers near “Hell’s Half Acre,” North Carolina.

The Reverend is now available on- and off-premise in seven states, and on track to be distributed in 25 states by May of this year. It sells for $35.99 a bottle.

For more information, check out reverendwhiskey.com and on Instagram @thereverendwhiskey.