Review #79 - Dueling Grounds Linkumpinch Straight Bourbon
The Dueling Grounds Distillery is a small craft bourbon distillery located in Franklin, Kentucky, near the Tennessee border, not far from Nashville. The distillery got its name because of its location: when dueling with pistols was still legal, the Linkumpinch farm was a popular place to settle these scores. The tasting room for the distillery was opened in a barn on the farm which dates back to these times of dueling.
The bourbon we're looking at is a bottled in bond product, so we know that it's aged at least four years and bottled at 50% ABV, or 100 proof. It's still a bit more difficult to come by if you aren't in the Kentucky/Midwest area, but distribution is slowly expanding, so more of us should get a chance to try this spirit.
Dueling Grounds Linkumpinch Straight Bourbon
USA - Bourbon
Current Locally Available Price: USD 59 (2023)
Age Statement: 4 Years
Strength: 50% ABV
Details: Bottled in bond
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 3 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 60% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Decently oaky to start, and there is some solid corn grain here, as well as a bit of maltiness and some oats. That oak is a bit musty, and it's adding mild wood smoke and char, as well as barrel spice. We do get some mild baking spice like brown sugar and the crust of a bread, even a hint of nuts, but the younger spirit character begins to creep through and dominate with heat and a bit of acetone. We end with another dry oak prickle and a bit of ash.
Palate: Warm and a bit oaky, even a slight astringency, but some of the flavors on the palate are a bit mild. We start with vanilla bean and vanilla extract, with some white pepper creeping in later, along with barrel spice and some toasty char. The grainy character of corn and youth is back for a bit, but then we get some nice dark sugar notes of molasses and brown sugar syrup, even a hint of anise. Past all of the flavors, this is walking a fine line between sweet and dry - it's pretty well balanced. The mouthfeel is medium.
Finish: Medium length finish, with some warmth and some oak again; it's a little sweeter now, but there's also lots of grain and young spirit character. Oats, cereal, corn, and even an occasional moonshine note pop in. The oak is toasty and dusty.
Final Note: There's potential here, the flavor development for the age is pretty decent with the baking spices and oak notes. Despite that, this feels a bit young, like it isn't quite ready - a couple more years of aging should tone down the spirit and grain notes a bit, to make it a more rounded, complex, smooth tasting experience. Price seems about par for the course for a lot of these smaller, up and coming distilleries, but when you can get more polished, tasty experiences for cheap from a lot of the big producers, the value isn't quite here yet.
Our Average Rating: 5.2 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.28
