Serving as CEO and CFO, Drew Thorn spent a decade shaping Sagamore Spirit right into a nationally acknowledged identify. In February 2026, he stepped away from that platform to pursue one thing deliberately smaller and extra hands-on: Silverthorn Reserve. The brand new enterprise focuses on single barrel curation, customized ending, and nano-blending tasks starting from 2 to 10 barrels, an strategy constructed on precision somewhat than scale.
Thorn shared a pattern of Silverthorn Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon 13 Years Outdated with Drinkhacker for overview. Batch 12A18 was crammed into an Unbiased Stave Co. cask with a #4 char on January 18, 2012, and bottled in mid-November 2025, reaching 13 years and 10 months of maturation. Age alone warrants consideration, but the origin deepens the intrigue. The bourbon was distilled in Mt. Ethereal, Georgia, by Ivy Mountain Distillery.
In late 2022, World Whiskey Society launched an 8-year-old bourbon beneath the Doc Holliday label that traced again to Georgia distillate. Quickly after, Bardstown Bourbon Firm started incorporating equally aged Georgia bourbon into home blends and consumer applications. On the time, a lot of the American whiskey neighborhood was caught off guard. Few have been conscious {that a} Georgia distillery had been working lengthy sufficient to assist age statements of that size.
Ivy Mountain started distilling in 2011, continued by way of 2019, and closed its doorways in 2021. Its remaining barrels have been quietly bought to brokers earlier than many fanatics even knew the distillery existed. My very own introduction got here by way of Judith Garrison and her e book North Georgia Moonshine: A Historical past of the Lovells & Different Liquor Makers. Whereas the e book chronicles the legacy of illicit distilling in North Georgia, with specific give attention to the Lovell household, it additionally particulars Carlos Lovell’s choice to determine Ivy Mountain as a authorized operation rooted in household custom.
At Ivy Mountain, bitter mash fermentation ran 4-5 days in stainless-steel tanks. Batch 12A18 carries a mashbill of 80% corn, 10% rye, 5% wheat, and 5% malted barley. The barrel matured for 8 years in Georgia earlier than spending its remaining 5 years in Kentucky. When Ivy Mountain’s stock entered the dealer market, Bardstown Bourbon Firm acquired a considerable portion, with different barrels dispersing to places together with Houston. Bardstown confirmed its shares by no means aged in Texas, sidestepping the extreme maturation related to the Texas-aged Doc Holliday launch from World Whiskey Society.
Drew Thorn arrives with a single barrel outlined by noteworthy age and a scarcely documented supply. The narrative is fascinating. The lineage is uncommon. The journey from North Georgia to Kentucky provides to it. Does the whiskey within the glass rise to satisfy the story behind it?
Silverthorn Reserve Single Barrel Straight Bourbon 13 Years Outdated Evaluate
The nostril opens with a nuttier, much less candy tackle Grade A Darkish maple syrup that shortly shifts into praline. Because the nutty sweetness recedes, burnt orange peel and chai tea come ahead. The aromatics are properly balanced, with candy, nutty, and spice notes in clear concord. Regardless of its preliminary 8 years of maturation in North Georgia, there isn’t a signal of extreme oak affect.
On the palate, blondie brownies lead, adopted by a punch of black jellybeans. The mid-palate delivers concentrated cola syrup and a subdued lemon zest. The mouthfeel is medium-thick. The end leans extra towards spice and tannin, expressed as chai tea. That tannic character shortly provides approach to a brighter lemon zest notice, extra pronounced than it was on the preliminary palate. Very late within the end, Nutella and a gentle tobacco notice tie all of it collectively.
After my expertise with the Doc Holliday, aged for 8 years with its remaining stretch in Texas warmth, I approached this pour with some apprehension. I anticipated a heavy-handed oak presence. As a substitute, after practically 14 years of growing old, together with the primary 8 in North Georgia, this bourbon exhibits spectacular steadiness. Nothing about it reads as over-oaked, making for a completely pleasant pour.
Drew Thorn famous that 5 barrels of this Georgia-distilled bourbon will probably be launched as single barrels at cask power, starting from 104 to 107 proof, all bottled with out chill filtration. The comparatively low cask power is fascinating, particularly when in comparison with the World Whiskey Society’s 8-year-old launch aged between Georgia and Texas, which was bottled at 131 proof. It raises questions on elements corresponding to barrel entry proof or warehouse placement. Whereas the precise growing old circumstances stay undisclosed, variations in local weather and storage location might have performed a job. Whatever the proof variation, the whiskey itself is high-quality, balanced, and properly price searching for out. The standard actually matches the backstory.
104 proof.
A / $130
Silverthorn Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon 13 Years Outdated
USD130
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