--The Bourbon News (KY), April 1, 1898
The Arizona Daily Star (AZ), June 1, 1880, printed an ad by the agents for J.A. Miller’s Chicken Cock Whiskey in Arizona and New Mexico.
The Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (about $60) is produced from a Mashbill of 70% Corn, 21% Rye, and 9% Malted Barley. It doesn't have an age statement, is bottled at 90 proof, and the bottle itself is a replica of the Prohibition-era bottle. With a pleasing golden-brown color, it has an appealing and complex nose, with notes of caramel, vanilla, spice and more. It's smooth on the palate, with only a touch of heat, and isn't as sweet as many bourbons due to its high rye percentage. The taste possesses a complex melange of caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, dried fruit, and more with a lengthy, spicy finish. It's an excellent sipping Bourbon, and each sip will bring something new and delicious to your mouth. Highly recommended!
The Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (about $70) is produced from a Mashbill of 95% Rye and 5% malted barley. It doesn't have an age statement, is bottled at 90 proof, and the bottle itself is also a replica of the Prohibition-era bottle. It too has a pleasing golden-brown color, and its nose presents more spice notes, with underlying caramel. On the palate, the spice dominates, especially baking spices, with touches of vanilla and caramel, and a hint of chocolate. The finish is long, spicy and satisfying.
Chicken Cock Whiskey was obviously extremely popular in Boston in the 19th century. Now that the brand has returned, how will it be received in Boston, and elsewhere?
In 1856, James A. Miller built a distillery in Paris, Kentucky, starting the Chicken Cock Whiskey brand. Unfortunately, only a few year laters, Miller passed away, and George G. White, his former distillery clerk, purchased the distillery, continuing the brand. In 1880, he renamed the distillery to G.G. White Distillery, but also renamed the whiskey as the Old J.A. Miller Chicken Cock.
The earliest mention I found to Chicken Cock Whiskey in the newspapers was in an advertisement in The Times-Picayune (LA), November 20, 1862. The earliest mentions, for a number of years, were nearly all in Louisiana newspapers. One interesting mention was in The Louisiana Democrat (LA), January 20, 1869, in an ad which stated, “just received a fresh supply of the genuine Miller Chicken Cock Whiskey, an article that every body knows is good, when genuine, as this is.” It appears at this time there might have been counterfeit whiskey being passed off as the real thing.
The Lowell Sun (MA), December 2, 1893, published an ad for the, “celebrated Chicken Cock Whiskey, 4 years old, for 75 cents, for a 1/5th." And the The Bourbon News (KY), March 21, 1899, mentioned, “…John Henry Trigg was sentenced to ten years for stealing a barrel of Chicken Cock whiskey,..”
During the 20th century, Chicken Cock Whiskey was very popular, and even during Prohibition it was still sought after. For example, it was said to have been popular in the Cotton Club, where it was smuggled into the club in tin cans. Unfortunately, the original distillery burned down in the 1950s, so the whiskey wasn't available for a time.
The Chicken Cock brand began its resurrection in 2011, when Matti Anttila, the CEO of Grain and Barrel Spirits, learned about the old brand from his research and decided it deserved to return. In 2018, Grain and Barrel, with master distiller Gregg Snyder, joined with the Bardstown Bourbon Company to create Chicken Cock Whiskey. They now produce a Straight Bourbon, a Straight Rye, and a number of limited releases.
At the recent WhiskyX event held in Boston, where I was a media guest, I had the opportunity to taste both the Chicken Cock Straight Bourbon and Straight Rye. I was most impressed with their Straight Bourbon although I enjoyed the Straight Rye as well. I can see how these whiskies could become very popular in the Boston area, maybe as much as it had been popular in 1898.
The Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (about $70) is produced from a Mashbill of 95% Rye and 5% malted barley. It doesn't have an age statement, is bottled at 90 proof, and the bottle itself is also a replica of the Prohibition-era bottle. It too has a pleasing golden-brown color, and its nose presents more spice notes, with underlying caramel. On the palate, the spice dominates, especially baking spices, with touches of vanilla and caramel, and a hint of chocolate. The finish is long, spicy and satisfying.
Have you tried the new Chicken Cock Whiskey yet?
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