Whiskey of the Week: First West Explorer

Since father-son team Rick and Ricky Johnson set out to make whiskey seven years ago, the focus has been on heirloom corn. Their shared passion for grains stems from the family’s high-end popcorn business, which gave them experience in working with unusual types of corn, most notably a proprietary black variety named Baby Black. They enlisted Bardstown Bourbon Co. to contract distill these heirloom grains, as well as some more traditional varieties.

As those stocks were maturing, the Johnsons turned to blending ultra-aged sourced whiskeys, which they bottled under the 15 Stars label. These blends were excellent—of the 11 expressions we’ve tasted, most have earned ratings of 92–93 points, with none scoring below 90—but drinkers remained curious about how the brand’s Baby Black bourbons would turn out. Now they’ll get a chance to taste it for themselves, with the Johnsons finally putting their black corn distillate on display with a permanent expression called First West Explorer.

Black Beauty

Explorer is the brand’s first expression to entirely use contract-distilled liquid from Bardstown Bourbon, with previous bottlings always containing some whiskey sourced from elsewhere. It’s a blend of two bourbons: The base is a more traditional wheated bourbon, with a mashbill of 70% yellow dent corn, 18% wheat, and 12% malted barley. The other component is a ryed bourbon with a mashbill of 70% Baby Black corn, 18% rye, and 12% malted barley. It’s age-stated as 5 years old on the back label, but it also contains slightly older liquid, including some of the stocks the Johnsons laid down seven years ago. It was bottled under the First West brand, a sister label to 15 Stars that focuses on heirloom grains, and debuted last August with three permanent expressions.

Baby Black is a very unfamiliar variety of corn, and there’s a good reason for that. This heirloom grain—just like the red, white, and blue corn used for First West—was developed exclusively for the Johnsons. The Johnsons grow some of these grains on their own farms, with the rest cultivated on contract by farmers in Kentucky and Indiana. As the name suggests, Baby Black corn has striking onyx-colored kernels that are surprisingly tiny, measuring about a quarter of the size of their yellow counterparts, with ears that grow 5 or 6 inches long. Flavor-wise, the Johnsons say that Baby Black contributes butter, peppermint, and sweetness. But the defining characteristic is its natural viscosity, boasting a rich, creamy mouthfeel that emerges in the new make, making it an attractive blending component.

With that in mind, the Johnsons plan to continue using Baby Black bourbon as a blending component for other First West expressions. They believe the black corn bourbon is strong enough to stand on its own, but the viscosity and flavors go a long way in elevating the complexity of other whiskeys in a blend. They haven't completely ruled out the possibility of showcasing that distillate on its own. They’re exploring the possibility of eventually bottling it—alongside other heirloom and non-heirloom mashbills—in a single barrel format, with the intention of giving drinkers the ability to taste the individual blend components.

Beyond this specific proprietary variety, black corn is still exceedingly rare in the whiskey world. Other examples include the Mexican Sierra Norte, which produces a single barrel whisky made from native Oaxacan black corn, and Don Michael Distillery in Lima, Peru, which widely uses Andean black corn in its Black Whiskey brand.

How Does First West Explorer Taste?

92 points—First West Explorer Kentucky Straight Bourbon

ABV: 47.5%
SRP: $50
Availability: Nationwide as a permanent release

The nose offers ginger, dried herbs, generous cinnamon spice, caramel, baked apple, vanilla, and barrel char, leading to a mellow, smooth palate with nutmeg, almond, vanilla coconut ice cream, and a halo of mellowed sweetness. The warm, full finish is loaded with chocolate, spice, and peanuts, plus the flavors of the palate continuing. This one just keeps on coming with an excellent follow-through; it’s well balanced and delicious.—David Fleming