Review: Shortbarrel Four Grain Bourbon
The American whiskey industry is saturated with terminology that carries no formal or legal definition. When this language is used loosely, its meaning often shifts from one producer or drinker to the next, creating confusion when terms are applied without consistency or clarity. One such term is “short barrel.”
The Shortbarrel brand entered the market in early 2021, founded by Adam Dorfman, Clinton Dugan, and Patrick Lemmond. The company uses “short barrel” to describe a whiskey barrel that has lost more than half of its original liquid volume to evaporation. While all barrels experience loss from the angel’s share, a reduction exceeding 50 percent is uncommon and typically reflects a convergence of extreme conditions rather than age alone.
Those conditions can include extended maturation, placement on upper warehouse floors or in areas exposed to frequent heat cycles, high airflow environments, and aggressive barrel construction such as looser grain, heavy toast, or high char. Seasonal temperature swings that favor evaporation further accelerate the process. When these factors align, liquid volume drops sharply while dissolved wood compounds intensify.
That concentration can be a double-edged sword. Short barrels can quickly tip into over-oaked territory, becoming dry, bitter, or dominated by a single woody note. On rare occasions, however, the result is something exceptional, a whiskey of remarkable depth and intensity that feels both indulgent and distinctive.
Shortbarrel does not claim to bottle only barrels that meet its strict evaporation threshold. Instead, the brand aims to capture the same decadent character associated with those rare successes that result from true short barrels.
It is also worth noting that the industry lacks any shared benchmark for how much volume loss qualifies a barrel as “short.” Furthermore, the term is not always applied to high-loss barrels. While visiting the aging room of a small distillery in Louisville. I asked the owner whether he had any short barrels, using the same definition employed by Shortbarrel. He immediately said yes and led me to a cluster of roughly 15 barrels. Each was physically smaller than a standard 53-gallon barrel and noticeably shorter in height. The idea of volume loss due to evaporation had not factored into his understanding of the term at all.
That moment underscored how inconsistently “short barrel” is used across American whiskey, even among industry professionals.
In January 2025, the Atlanta-based brand released Shortbarrel Four Grain Straight Bourbon and provided Drinkhacker with a sample for review. The question now is whether this release delivers the kind of impact and distinction one might associate with a standout short barrel bourbon, or whether it blends quietly into an already crowded shelf.
Shortbarrel Four Grain Straight Bourbon Review
The January 2025 Four Grain release is not distilled from a single mash containing four grains. Instead, it is a blend of two fully matured bourbons: a traditional rye bourbon distilled by Green River and a wheated bourbon distilled by Wilderness Trail. Both components were aged between 4-5 years in a mix of barrels with open-air seasoned staves from Kelvin Cooperage and Independent Stave Co., utilizing #3 and #4 char levels.
The Green River portion is distilled from Owensboro’s flagship mashbill of 70% corn, 21% winter rye, and 9% malted barley. The Danville component uses a mashbill of 64% corn, 24%wheat, and 12% malted barley. Based on the final blend proportions, the Wilderness Trail bourbon accounts for roughly 80% of the finished whiskey.
When combined, the two styles yield a derived mashbill of approximately 65%corn, 20%wheat, 12% malted barley, and 3% rye. While not distilled as a true four-grain mash, the final composition reflects contributions from all four grains through blending rather than co-fermentation.
Initial maturation took place in traditional Kentucky rickhouses. The barrels were later transported to Atlanta, where they were palletized and stacked 4-5 rows in an unregulated environment. With no temperature control, the barrels were left exposed to Georgia’s natural heat and humidity, conditions intended to further influence extraction and maturation during the final phase of aging.
The nose opens with baked peaches that lean more earthy than sweet, joined by the scent of unglazed yeast donuts. The pairing suggests peach cobbler in theory, yet it lacks the sweetness and spice to fully deliver. As the bourbon sits, notes of unsweetened raisins and Nesquik powder come forward. Overall, the aroma offers limited spice or sweetness and trends somewhat bland.
On the palate, sliced Golden Delicious apples lead, accompanied by a modest hint of clove. The mid-palate shifts to blackberries that are less sweet and less plump, highlighting the firmer, more tannic side of wild fruit rather than the juicy berries found at the grocery store. Rye bread develops late in the mid-palate and carries into a mouthfeel akin to chewing dry rye bread. The grain note feels tactile. As with the nose, the opening palate shows little sweetness.
The finish brings slightly more interest. A small note of mint and chocolate joins the returning rye bread, though the grain presence is less chewy than it was earlier. Even so, the added elements do not fully boost the experience.
Overall, Shortbarrel Four Grain is not a personal favorite. I have enjoyed many of Shortbarrel’s releases over the past few years, but this one falls short. The brand aims to bottle whiskey that stands out and pays homage to the profile often associated with short barrels. In this case, however, the result does not stand out in the way I had hoped and feels out of step with what I have come to expect from Shortbarrel.
92 proof.
B- / $40
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