is one of the best craft distilleries to call Tennessee home, and one of the best in America period based on the quality of its core lineup of high-malt and rye , as well as its weirder experimental releases. The new Founder’s 13th Anniversary Blend falls into the latter category, and there are some interesting components in this year’s blend that make it stand out.
This innovative craft distillery was founded in 2011, becoming the first legal distillery in Chattanooga in over a century. It currently operates two distilleries: The Riverfront Distillery, which is the main production hub, and the smaller Experimental Distillery. Founder’s Anniversary Blend is overseen by founder Tim Piersant, and is meant to bring together the distillery’s past, present, and future from both production sites.
For this year’s release, the 13th, that means blending together three different solera-finished whiskeys—these come from tanks that are consistently refilled with newer whiskey to marry with older liquid instead of being emptied. “For those who’ve been following the evolution of Founder’s over the last four years, this year’s blend should offer a more nostalgia-driven flavor profile highlighting more traditional notes coming from our 1816 solera barrel,” said Piersant in a statement. “For that reason, I wouldn’t be surprised if this release becomes a favorite amongst our most diehard fans.”
The 1816 solera barrel holds the whiskey that was used for the distillery’s first release in 2012. It’s the smallest of the solera barrels and comprises 23 percent of this year’s blend. 1816 is a high-rye bourbon that is aged between four and six years and is supposed to bring “a classic woody, lightly spicy bourbon character” to the final blend. The next component comes from Barrel 91, the largest of the three, and is the majority of the blend at 58 percent. This represents the distillery’s present because it’s the core high malt bourbon made from a mashbill of three custom roasted and toasted malted grains. Lastly, there’s the Infinity Barrel (19 percent of the blend), which is filled with malt and rye malt whiskeys produced at both distilleries. According to a press release, this year’s Founder’s Blend has five new mashbills in the mix, including a malt whiskey made from Italian Adriatic Coastal Barley malt and a different version of the core 99 Rye recipe. We didn’t get to sample the whiskey, but official tasting notes describe red licorice, grilled peaches, brown sugar, cherry cola, and toasted marshmallow on the palate.
The 2025 Founder’s Anniversary Blend is available now (SRP $60) at the Experimental Distillery and at liquor stores in select states. It will also be available to purchase from , and the core lineup can currently be found at .
Authors
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Jonah Flicker
Credit: robbreport.com
