About two thirds of this fascinating story has been told. The Reverend Daniel Houston Call was a 19th-century preacher, farmer, grocer, and distiller. As a young man, Call worked with two younger boys—Jasper “Jack” Newton Daniel and Nathan “Nearest” Green—at his family distillery in the hills above Lynchburg, Tennessee.

All three would go on to help develop and define the category of Tennessee whiskey, and with it, the very trajectory of American whiskey. One of those boys would become the most ubiquitous name in American whiskey. The other is now memorialized with an award-winning whiskey that bears his name.

And what of The Reverend?

Call Family Distillers now completes the trio with a whiskey that acknowledges this Call family ancestor, a man of contradictions—distilling and drinking whiskey on Saturday, then sweating it out in the pulpit on Sunday—with the launch of The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey.

Aged over four years in new, charred oak and first-fill bourbon casks, the liquid then undergoes the maple charcoal filtration process first developed in Lincoln County, Tennessee, to refine and enhance the spirit after it leaves the barrel. 

“The recipe for The Reverend is a nod to its place in American whiskey history,” Nick Scarff, Chief Innovation Officer B.A.R. Brands and Master Blender of The Reverend, said in a news release. “Reverend Daniel Call was making whiskey before bourbon was a recognized category, so our spirit is a blend of high quality sour mashes that drink like a robust, full-flavored bourbon. The maple-charcoal filtration — also known as the Lincoln County Process — changed the way whiskey was made in Tennessee, starting in the 19th-century.

“Utilizing this technique yields a clean, complex, and approachable whiskey, making The Reverend a go-to for smooth, neat pours, with a high percentage of rye that helps it stand out in a cocktail.”

Reverend Call eventually made the difficult decision to leave the spirits business as a result of the growing Temperance movement, but not before he co-founded Daniel & Call Distillery No. 7, District #4, and inspired a line of descendants who would carry on his legacy of fine whiskey making.

The Reverend Sour Mash Whiskey is a new recipe and package for an old story, and is crafted to inspire the next generation of rebellious whiskey drinkers full of contradictions of their own. It’s produced and bottled by the direct descendants of Reverend Call at the award-winning Call Family Distillers near “Hell’s Half Acre,” North Carolina.

The Reverend is now available on- and off-premise in seven states, and on track to be distributed in 25 states by May 2024, and distributed nationwide by the end of 2024. SRP is $35.99. Current Distribution includes NC, TN, GA, NH, OR, MI, and MA.