DSR – NC – 027: Southern Star Paragon Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Company/Distillery: Southern Distilling Company, LLC
Location: Statesville, North Carolina
Mash Bill: 70% Corn, 16% Wheat, and 14% Malted Barley
Age Statement: No Age Statement; Bottled-In-Bond by law must be at least 4 years old and produced during a single distilling season.
Proof/ABV: 100 Proof/50% ABV
Color & Viscosity: The Southern Star Paragon Bottled-in-Bond bourbon exhibits a light mahogany hue in the bottle, transitioning to a light tawny color when poured into the glass. Tilting the glass reveals a medium-bodied, viscous lip, with legs forming quickly and gliding swiftly down the sides.
**The sample used for this review was provided, no strings attached, by Southern Distilling Company, LLC**
Bottle Label Information:
Front Label
Southern Star Paragon
Bottled-In-Bond
Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Distilled in Statesville, North Carolina
Release No. 2018E
Southern Distilling Co.
Making tasty products for happy people.
Proprietor Pete Barger
Product of the USA
Back Label
Our Paragon wheated bourbon captures the distinct essence of a traditional North Carolina whiskey. From our local grains to your glass, this is something to be savored. Enjoy.
Distilled, Aged & Bottled by Southern Distilling Company, LLC
Statesville, North Carolina | DSP-NC-21052
Distillery Background
Southern Distilling Company, LLC
Southern Distilling Company, LLC, located just 45 miles west of Winston-Salem in Statesville, North Carolina, was founded in 2013 by husband and wife team Pete and Vienna Barger. The town of Statesville seemed like a logical home for a craft distillery as it was formerly known as the “Liquor Capital of the World” in the 1880’s…a time when quality whiskey and brandy wholesalers dominated the Statesville landscape. The Bargers set out to build onto Stateville’s liquor tradition and open up the first distillery since Prohibition.
The Bargers would go on to build one of the largest and most technologically advanced craft distilleries in America. The Statesville distillery is 25,000 square feet in size and the facility houses a 40-foot tall 18″ diameter Vendome Copper & Brass Works continuous column still. The still allows the distillery to produce up to 500,000 proof gallons of spirits per a year. The facility is also home to a 2,500-gallon mash cooker and a small batch copper and stainless steel pot still system.
The size of the distillery lends itself to be shared with Southern Distilling Company, LLC, offering a full range of services to both domestic and international companies including contract distilling using custom mash bills, bottle and packaging services, warehousing, and more. In addition to their contract distilling offerings, Southern Distilling’s in-house product line includes its Southern Star Paragon Wheated Whiskey label, Southern Star Double Rye Whiskey, Southern Star Double Shot Coffee Bourbon Cream Liqueur, Southern Star High-Rye 10-Year Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Southern Star White Whiskey, and Southern Star High-Rye Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Paragon Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Southern Star Paragon Wheated Straight Bourbon Whiskey is the distillery’s brand that was released in late 2021. This is distilled, aged, and bottled on-site at the Statesville, NC distillery using a mash bill of 70% corn, 16% wheat, and 14% malted barley. Aged at least 4 years and distilled in 1 distilling season to hold the Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon designation, Southern Star Paragon Wheated Bottled-In-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey is bottled at 100 proof and is available to buy at NC ABC stores for $59.95. The Paragon series also offers a Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($49.95) and a cask strength bottling ($69.95).
Tasting Notes
Tasting Date/Vessel: July 14, 2024 – Neat in a Glencairn glass
Nose
Christian: In the bottle, Southern Star Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey offers a punch of charred oak barrel char accompanied by brown sugar sweetness. In my Glencairn glass, the aroma of oak and brown sugar are much more subdued. Along with those flavors, I am detecting notes of light honey, a floral note reminiscent of honeysuckle, vanilla, and a yeast roll. A gentle swirl brings forth more cereal grain aromas in the form of oatmeal and a caramel sweetness.
Mike: Nosing this whiskey from the bottle reveals faint hints of oak char and tobacco. However, the presence of the ‘tax’ strip label glue is quite prominent, making it challenging to discern more subtle aromas. In the glass, my first impression is that this whiskey will likely have a dry palate. A rush of ethanol is first detected, followed by light floral aromas transitioning into hints of cinnamon-sweetened sliced pears. Light flavors of plain instant oatmeal from a newly opened package come through, complementing the floral and cinnamon pear notes. As the whiskey settles, earthy notes begin to develop, with aromas of dry wheat grass becoming noticeable.
Mouth
Christian: Southern Star Bottled-In-Bond Whiskey has a smooth soft mouth feel with a medium viscosity that coats the tongue. A quick hard hit of sweetness hits my tongue first. Notes of honey and cinnamon are joined by a touch of butteriness. The palate is rounded out with some powdered sugar sweetness and a heavy dose of earthy notes including oak char bitterness.
Mike: On the palate, this Southern Star Paragon Bottled-in-Bond whiskey is very cinnamon-forward, with an initial rush of raw cinnamon spice. As it develops, the flavor becomes sweeter and more cereal-like, reminiscent of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Soft oak char bitterness emerges on the back end. A second taste reveals softer notes, including canned sweet creamed corn. As I continue sipping, leather becomes prominent, tending to dominate the other flavors. Overall, the flavor profile remains muted from start to finish.
Finish
Christian: This bottled-in-bond offering has a short to medium finish that starts late and wells up from your belly back up through the chest. In the finish, I am getting a dryness that is accompanied by earthly flavors of hay, aged leather, and peanuts or grilled sweet corn. A very subtle touch of sweetness lingers along with oak char.
Mike: The finish starts softly, building heat in the lower throat that intensifies as it rises. A faint sweetness, reminiscent of powdered sugar, lingers on the palate, closing with a touch of dried leather bitterness.
Our Rating
Final Thoughts
Christian: This is Rickhouse Ramblings second run at a Southern Distilling Co. Paragon Bourbon Whiskey. It is clear that the Bottled-In-Bond offering is a major step up from the standard straight Bourbon offering. Noted improvements in aromatics, mouth feel, and finish have developed with more time in the barrel and the higher proofing. Overall, the whiskey seems a little unbalanced to me. The rich sweetness from the nose doesn’t carry over to the palate and is almost completely gone in the finish. As Mike notes, maybe it is a char level situation – I am not entirely sure. I would love to see more flavor development that will carry over from the nose to the palate and beyond. Finally, at a price of $59.95 this is up against so many solid bottled-in-bond competitors that are priced on average $10-$15 cheaper and pack such a great value proposition to the consumer.
Rating: 2.55 Rickhouses
Mike: This Bottled-in-Bond offering from Southern Star doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. While I typically enjoy wheated bourbons and this one does carry some of those qualities, there seems to be something missing. It could benefit from more time in the barrel or a different level of char, as I tend to prefer whiskey aged in #4 or alligator char barrels. However, I believe Southern Star has a promising foundation here that is ripe for improvement. For many, the price tag of $59.95 can be a deterrent.
Rating: 2.75 Rickhouses
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