Borrowed Page Vol. 2 American Whiskey
Last year, Devin and Chase - co-founders of and writers for American Mash & Grain - did something cool: they worked with four distilleries making whiskey they liked and created their own, proprietary blend: Borrowed Page Volume 1 American Whiskey.
With Borrowed Page Volume 1 came a promise: no two “volumes” would be the same. Volume 1 included whiskies from Spirits of French Lick, Watershed, Wigle, and Whiskey Del Bac. Volume 2 duplicates neither distillery nor state, containing whiskies from Virginia Distillery, Talnua in Colorado, and Mammoth out of Michigan.
For Volume 1, I was also fortunate to have interviewed all four of the distilleries in the blend. With Volume 2, I’ve chatted with two of three (Talnua and Mammoth), with Virginia Distillery one on my list.
A quick note on Virginia Distillery - when I started this site, I used the same rating scale you’ll see at the end of this writeup. To make things clearer, I also included reference points based on my own palate. For example, what do I consider a 6, a whiskey that is good, solid, an easy buy at MSRP and a classic, perhaps elevated, house bourbon choice.
Lower scores is where things got complicated. I had tried Virginia Distilling Co.’s Cider Cask-Finished Single Malt several years ago, and my notes were unfavorable to put it mildly. I ranked it as an example of a 2 on my scale. I’ve been meaning to re-taste it, hearing great things about the direction in which the company is going as well as knowing there are new and more mature products out there.
Around a year and a half ago, I removed the examples from the scoring, keeping only the adjective I thought fit the score best. That being said, posts before that point retain the comparisons, and it simply would take too long to go back and change the pages one-by-one. All of this is simply to say that I would understand if Virginia Distillery wouldn’t be interested in chatting with me, but also that the invitation is there if they want. With rare exception, I believe in re-tasting every so often, particularly things you didn’t like the first time around. I know my palate has changed drastically since I first tasted that Cider Cask-Finished product, and who knows, I might be a huge fan today.
Anyway, back to Borrowed Page Volume 2.
38% of the blend is from Virginia Distillery, but it might be easier to look at it this way: 27% of Volume 2 is made from Virginia Distillery Cuvee Cask Single Malt and 11% from Virginia Distillery Sherry Cask Single Malt, together constituting 38%. These two cask finishes are the only finishes in the overall blend, and both come through quite nicely in nose and palate with red berries and a light, fruity malt. With many of their own releases using finishing casks, Virginia Distillery is proud of their whiskey’s “diversity and adaptability,” and that versatility adds mouthwatering notes to Volume 2’s profile.
37% of the blend is from Mammoth Distilling. Their Woolly Rye uses Wheeler rye grown locally to the distillery, as described in my writeup for the Limited Release Northern Rye Whiskey No. 1. The Woolly Rye is made from 88% Wheeler rye and 12% malted barley, divided into 10% 2-row barley and 2% caramel malt, giving the rye a nutty, roasted edge. The rye is surprisingly restrained in the Borrowed Page Vol. 2 blend, adding maple tones, backbone, and body without being overly spicy until a punch lands on the tip of your tongue towards the end. Mammoth’s use of rye has always been masterful, and despite it being more than ⅓ of the total blend it never comes close to overtaking the other players.
Finally, the last 25% comes from Talnua Distillery in Colorado. Their single pot still whiskey in the traditional Irish style brings peppery malt and green apple, though I worried before tasting that it might get lost as a lighter spirit. Instead, it plays off the malts from Virginia Distillery quite well, transforming those apple notes into a cooked pie with cinnamon and maple syrup.
Taken together, the maple flavor with just a bit of smoke or barrel char becomes the predominant character for Volume 2. I struggled to identify it at first despite its familiarity - malt and maple don’t often come together in my mind - but by the finish it crystallized.
With Borrowed Page Vol. 2 American Whiskey, Devin and Chase - assisted by Ryan Mills a.k.a. @thatoneduderyan - have once again struck gold. This blend is every bit as tasty as was Volume 1, with a completely different point to make and no bourbon in sight.
I’m happily sipping it neat, but I can see it also working well in an Old Fashioned with some maple or walnut bitters or a Manhattan using the same. After Volume 1 I hoped the brand would continue to surprise me - boy am I glad they did.
Thank you to American Mash & Grain for providing a bottle of this product at no cost and free of editorial constraint.
Borrowed Page Vol. 2 American Whiskey: Specs
Classification: American Whisky
Origin: Talnua Distillery, Virginia Distillery, and Mammoth Distilling, Blended by American Mash & Grain
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley (Virginia Distillery), 88% Rye and 12% Malted Barley (Mammoth Distilling), and 50% Malted Barley and 50% Unmalted Barley (Talnua Distillery)
Proof: 110 (55% ABV)
Age: NAS
Location: United States (Colorado, Virginia, and Michigan)
Borrowed Page Vol. 2 American Whiskey Price: $75.50
Borrowed Page Vol. 2 American Whiskey: Tasting Notes
Eye: Maple syrup. Very thin rims, barest legs.
Nose: Earthy and sweet, I’d almost say very lightly peated if I didn’t know better. The sweet single pot still from Talnua and the baking spice heat from Mammoth are evident and delicious. Rich red fruits from the Virginia Distillery cask finishes float above for brightness.
Palate: Intriguing…what is that flavor? The finishing casks come out swinging on the front palate with red berries and spicy oak. Light smoke reaches back on the palate. Mouthfeel is piquant with spice on the tip of my tongue, a warming cinnamon and clove coating the whole tongue. The palate is coating and medium-bodied with maple growing.
Finish: Medium-to-long, the maple smokiness and sweetness crystallizing on my palate in an elegant way.
Overall: I quite enjoyed this. Despite there being no bourbon in this volume, I find it a bit sweeter than Volume 1, closer to a classic American whiskey profile of maple-tinged rye and smoky barrel char than a malt bomb. A quintessential example of when the whole is better than the sum of the parts and an easy recommendation.
Final Rating: 7.2
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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