All right, all right, all right. It’s time for some Longbranch.
When Wild Turkey named Matthew McConaughey their Creative Director back in 2016, we were…well uninterested. The position felt nominal with McConaughey starring in commercials, but the movie star apparently wanted “in” on the bourbon process. Two years later – Longbranch was born.
Longbranch bourbon is said to be a flavor partnership between McConaughey’s Texas homestate and Wild Turkey’s Kentucky roots. To achieve this blend, the distillery used a process of two different charcoal filtrations: The first using American White Oak and the second using Texas Mesquite wood. The whole thing might sound a bit gimmicky, but it actually does create a pretty interesting bourbon.
Longbranch lures you in with a deeply sweet vanilla flavor, followed by a thick mouthfeel with a decent amount of peppery spice. Just as you start to think the show is over, the white oak and mesquite really shine through. The final finish continues with the spicy notes and brings in a rich, wood and smoke flavor, leaving you feeling like you’ve just left a bonfire.
It would have been easy to go way overboard with the wood and smoke flavors, but Longbranch nailed the perfect balance. The bourbon managed to be unique enough to stand out, without straying too far from the classic bourbon qualities. Plus, it feels uniquely different from Wild Turkey itself. Since Wild Turkey is known for using one mash bill for their bourbons, Longbranch could have gone too far in one direction and felt more like a copycat than a true original. Instead, Longbranch Bourbon is a fun and solidly enjoyable bottle that we would recommend to both bourbon newcomers and enthusiasts.
We never would have thought a Texas movie star could pull off a good bourbon, but we’ll tip our cowboy hats to him and Wild Turkey for a job well done.
STATS: Longbranch Bourbon
- Price for us: $36 for 750 mL
- Proof: 86
- Aged: NAS
- Distillery: Wild Turkey
- Recommendation: Neat
