After many years at Islay distillery Laphroaig, including a long stint as distillery manager (the only Islay native to hold that title), last year John Campbell packed his bags and departed for someplace a bit warmer—Southern California. He is now the master distiller and COO at the small Oxnard distillery Sespe Creek, which just released its first whiskey under his direction. Batch 22 of Warbringer Bourbon isn’t just any bourbon, however, it’s a thoroughly unique whiskey made from a mashbill of mesquite-smoked grains.
While this is obviously a completely different category of whiskey than the single malt scotch made at Laphroaig, the smokiness of this bourbon does bring to mind the peated whisky produced at that Islay distillery. Sespe Creek was founded by biochemist David Brandt in 2017 in Oxnard (about 70 miles north of Los Angeles), who was in fact inspired by the flavors of Laphroaig. The key step that defines the bourbon is the use of a smoke box during the production process. It is filled with mesquite wood from Texas that is burned to cold smoke the Bloody Butcher heirloom corn that makes up the majority of the mashbill for about two days. That corn is combined with malted rye and fire-roasted corn to complete the mashbill, and the whiskey is doubled distilled in pot stills before being aged in new charred oak barrels and then finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.
As mentioned before, this new release—Batch 22 of Warbringer—is the first to be blended under Campbell’s supervision (it was obviously distilled before he arrived), and he put his own mark on the whiskey. “The main aim for Batch 22 was to increase the mouthfeel and the way it engaged with the drinker’s palate, and to beef up the flavors at the back end of the taste experience,” he said in a statement. “To do this, we introduced some of the oldest bourbon we have on site, added some red corn bourbon to the recipe and some experimental sour mash bourbon to improve the overall balance of the liquid for the consumer.”
The mesquite smoke is the first thing you notice, both on the nose and when you sip, and it has an almost iodine and seaweed character that you can’t help but associate with Laphroaig, given Campbell’s background. But there’s also a sweet and savory barbecue character to the whiskey, and the sherry cask finish adds big notes of dried fruit, caramel, spice, vanilla, and honey. The smoke lingers on the finish, and there’s a bit of heat at 98 proof. Overall, this is a really unique bourbon that really puts mesquite smoke front and center, which after all is the point.
You can find Batch 22 of Warbringer Bourbon available now at select retailers in a few states, or you can purchase a bottle from Total Wine or directly from the distillery (SRP $55).
Authors
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Jonah Flicker