Welcome to the Cult of Mellow Corn. We have memes. Bearing the same chintzy label it did at its release in 1945, Mellow Corn can be found buried on Heaven Hill Distillery’s brand page — and somewhere near the bottom of your local liquor store’s whiskey shelf.
Mellow Corn is not rye whiskey, bourbon whiskey, wheat whiskey or moonshine. No, it’s straight corn whiskey, thanks to a staggering 90 percent corn mashbill.
According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB), corn whiskey can be matured in used oak barrels, whereas bourbon must age in new charred oak barrels. Heaven Hill takes advantage of this by dumping the new-make corn spirit into its own used barrels and letting it mature for at least four years. Then it bottles the stuff at 100 proof (per the Bottled-in-Bond requirement).
The kicker? A bottle costs $20. That’s right: a minimum 4-year-old, 100-proof whiskey from one of America’s best whiskey makers for less than a pair of burritos at Chipotle.
Thanks to its goofy label and the color of the whiskey inside, it enjoys some popularity in the deep-cut whiskey nerd crowd. Plus, its low-price, high-proof has made it a bartender-favorite.
Look past the label, the color and the name and you’ll find an undervalued whiskey that’s cheap enough to make a punch out of, sturdy enough for a stiff drink and delicate enough to drink on the rocks, where you’ll be assaulted by dried fruit and vanilla.
Heaven Hill Distillery