Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon Review [In Depth]
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Details
Distillery: Savage and Cooke
Type & Region: Bourbon, California, USA
Alcohol: 50%
Composition: 93% howling mob corn, 7% malted barley
Aged: 4 years
Color: 1.4/2.0 on the color scale (tawny)
Price: $90-100
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon overview
Howling Mob sounds like a made up and crazy name for a bourbon…but in fact it’s a crazy name someone made up for a type of heirloom corn. That strangely-named corn has been used in this experimental bourbon – Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon. It’s the first time that I’ve ever seen a bourbon made with this grain, and there’s a lot of it in there – 93% of the mashbill is made with this corn.
If you want to learn more about this unique corn, I found a website selling the seeds that has some interesting information.
If you didn’t read go to the link, the generic description I can give is that heirloom corn is usually far lower yield than your usual yellow corn, and tastes different. It’s hard to say how it manifests itself in bourbon until you try it.
Savage and Cooke was founded by Dave Phinney, who apparently is a well known figure in wine. He’s possibly best known for his work with Orin Swift Wineries and The Prisoner brand of wines. The Prisoner may ring some bells because those casks were used to finish Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Prisoner Finished Bourbon and High West’s Prisoner Cask Finished Whiskey
After selling some of those very successful brands, he dove into whiskey for a new challenge, founding Savage and Cooke in 2016. This endeavor marries his extensive wine experience with American whiskey, although this bourbon does not have a wine finish. Some releases do, but it is not allowed with bottled in bond whiskeys.
The distillery is located in Mare Island, California, which is close-ish to San Francisco and Sacramento. It’s close to California’s prime wine-growing regions, which makes sense given Dave’s experience.
Because the company can better describe this bourbon, see below for additional details that are also on Savage and Cooke’s website.
The Land
After research spanning multiple seasons, a particular plot of land was selected in Winters, California (approximately 35-40 miles from the distillery) for its nutrient soil, maximum sun exposure and access to water.
The Grain
An ancient heirloom grain, the Howling Mob corn comprises 93% of the recipe. The balance is 7% malted barley. The Howling Mob corn, notoriously low yielding and susceptible to weather, strikes a balance between decadence and elegance. Malted barley completes the mashbill and provides structure as well as flavor.
The Production
True grain glass. Every element of production from growing the grain to fermentation time to distillation and the barrel regimen was controlled internally. No detail was overlooked. Supreme quality Seguin Moreau char #3 barrels ushered Bourbon from cradle to maturity imparting toasty oak, vanilla, intensity and character along the way.
Tasting Notes
Rich amber hues with bright aromas of fresh orange zest and Madagascar vanilla bean. Smokey charred oak mid palate finishes with cinnamon bark and ground peppercorn. Full bodied and balance.
The Specs
Only 31 barrels produced; singular release that will not repeat due to extreme low yield
I’m glad that distilleries are experimenting with different strains of corn. Corn makes up at least 51% of the mashbill, so changing it can make a huge difference…hopefully for the better. I also always appreciate the attention to detail and the overall craft, although the end result is not always amazing. Nonetheless, I’m always optimistic that it’ll be awesome.
Let’s find out if this special corn is good enough to draw a crowd of bourbon lovers in this Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon review.
Thank you to Savage and Cooke for providing this bottle. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon smell
The scents start with dark honey, fresh apricot, preserved cherries, vanilla, roasted oak, cinnamon, bubblegum, fruit jam, and some dried fruit funk that can be found in raisins or dried cranberries, and a little bit of singe-y kick. Oh that is nice.
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond has an interesting jammy fruit quality that actually reminds me a bit of dusty bourbon from the 80’s and 90’s, although with little to no brooding, mature, and refined oakiness. This is also way younger (in terms of oak maturation) so that’s expected. Nonetheless, the oak is well moderated and in general there’s little to no weird earthiness.
The nice and expressive fruit-forward scents that are definitely unique, but I wouldn’t say that there are a lot of layers to the fruitiness though.
After swirling and rest, I get a lot of the same goodness from the first time around. There’s fragrant honey, apricot, fig, and dried cherry with a little dried fruit varnish / funk, vanilla, lightly toasted oak, cinnamon, and lime.
It’s very fruity with some low-end roundness, which is great, but I’m still missing the fruity pop at the top end. I like it a lot, but the fruitiness has me searching for more layers and complexity because it seems like it should be there. It’s on the way there, but it’s not complete yet.
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon is an intriguing bourbon with a lot to offer. I wish it were more rich and layered, but it’s already in a great place.
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon taste and aftertaste
I taste honey, fresh apricot and cherry, vanilla, orange peel, roasted oak, fennel, mint, and some earthy caraway seed, pine, and wood varnish in the back. Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon is nicely fruit-forward followed by roasted oak, and then some spice and earthiness in the back.
Subsequent sips become more oaky and earthy with more alcohol kick. But after just one sip, I already know that this is the best whiskey I’ve had from Savage and Cooke, and it’s not close.
On first impressions, it’s flavorful but doesn’t yet have any interesting pop, shimmer, or life that seals the deal just yet.
With “chewing” I taste creamy honey, apricot, cherry, and dark fig, then vanilla, roasted oak, caraway seed, cinnamon, lime peel, mint, and some darker caramel nougat.
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon is dark and fruity with a good oak and spice backbone. It doesn’t have a lot of pop, but it has this intriguing give and take between the fruit, oak, and earthiness. It’s a unique, interesting, and tasty bourbon that has my attention.
The finish leaves honey, apricot, cherry, roasted oak, and caraway seed with lingering gentle toastiness, dried cranberry, caraway seed, mint, and toasted coffee.
There are no hints of grainy or earthy youth. Instead, it feels mature and complex with dusty bourbon vibes. That’s right, I went there mentioning a slight connection to the amazing bourbons of old.
It tastes really good and the fruit-forward flavors are noteworthy. This feels like it should be more vibrant and popp-y given how fruity it is, but I’m really happy with it.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Savage and Cooke Howling Mob Bottled in Bond Bourbon Rating
I went back and forth on whether this is a “Top Shelf” bourbon, and I eventually landed on yes. It took a few sips, but it over the top. I just really dig it and highly recommend it. There definitely are moments where I wish that it brought more to my senses, but overall it’s great.
The surprisingly developed and rich fruitiness feels right to me and left an impression. So few bourbons out there today have this level of fresh and dried fruit, especially noticeable amounts of cherry and fig. Any signs of youth are also completely gone. Companies predominantly use red wine finishes to get something like this.
The essence of (emphasis on essence and not full on) dusty bourbon is there…really. I can’t tell if my nose is a little off because I can still smell all the goodness, but the heat is a tad more prevalent than I’d like for 50%. It’s strange, but I can definitely say that I like it.
It just needs some more fullness and roundness to reach its full potential and climb further into “dusty-like” territory. I wonder if another year or two would have made a big difference, and possibly at cask strength. This type of mashbill is so rare that further experimentation and exploration would be incredible. I hope that Savage and Cooke saved some barrels to find out what happens at 6-8 years old, although it’s possible that there’s nothing left in reserve for the future.
I still don’t know much about howling mob corn because there’s no way to compare this version to the version made from some type of regular corn, but I think that it’s safe to say that it does good things based on how this turned out.
Who knew that you don’t actually need a wine finish or rye to create a fruity bourbon.
I can be really harsh at times, but this is so unique and good. Great job Savage and Cooke. I’ve been really harsh on some of your releases, but this is the type of whiskey that gets people’s attention. This is the kind of whiskey that pushes boundaries and deserves praise.
If you get one whiskey from Savage and Cooke, this is definitely it. And if you’re an experienced bourbon drinker looking for something new and different, then this is definitely one to get if you can.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
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