Laws Whiskey House Four-Pack Tasting Kit Review

 

Just outside of downtown Denver is a fairly nondescript building. It looks like many of the other warehouses in the neighborhood. You could drive right by it and never know that inside one is Laws Whiskey House.

 

Laws Whiskey House (previously known as A.D. Laws) is not a newcomer to the whiskey scene. They've been doing this since 2011. Al Laws mentored under Bill Friel (formally of Barton and a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame). Al's philosophy is to use local grains to create unique whiskeys. He sources all the grains from two family-owned farms:  Colorado Malting Company in Alamosa and the Ohnmacht's in Eastern Colorado. LAWS Whiskey House uses only heirloom lower-yield grains, making mass production difficult. However, mass production isn't a goal.

 

I’m diving deep into the Exploring The Four Mother Grains whiskey package today. It consists of 100ml samples of Four Grain Straight Bourbon, San Luis Valley Straight Rye, Centennial Straight Wheat, and Henry Road Straight Malt whiskeys and has a suggested price of $39.99. It can be purchased directly from the distillery via its website.

 

It is important to note that either the whiskeys inside are made exclusively for this sample pack or they are made from older stocks. The age statements are far lower than their 750ml counterparts listed on the distillery’s website, and the Wheat and Rye whiskeys are available only in Bonded versions.

 

We’ll #DrinkCurious and try each expression one at a time. To avoid repetition in each section, I used a fresh Glencairn glass and sipped each neat.

 

Finally, I must thank Laws Whiskey House for providing me with this opportunity in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review.

 

Four Grain Straight Bourbon

 

• Mashbill: 60% corn, 20% heirloom wheat, 10% heirloom rye, 10% malted barley
• Age: 2+ years in 53-gallon new, charred oak
• Proof: 47.5% ABV (95°)

 

Appearance: This Bourbon possessed a color like raw honey. A thick rim generated even thicker tears that raced back to the pool.

 

Nose: Honey was the first thing I smelled. Incidentally, I observed the color before bringing the glass to my face. Corn and the maltiness you’d find near a bakery were abundant. When I pulled the air through my lips, I found more corn.

 

Palate: The Bourbon’s mouthfeel was weighty and introduced my palate to flavors of corn and vanilla. As it moved to the middle, there was rye spice and oats. The back consisted of charred oak and tobacco.

 

Finish: Honey and oats, sweet tobacco, and rye spice remained. In the end, charred oak lasted the longest. I timed the duration at 1:46, placing it in the long venue.

 

 

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San Luis Valley Straight Rye

 

• Mashbill: 95% heirloom rye, 5% malted barley
• Age: 2+ years in 53-gallon new, charred oak
• Proof: 47.5% ABV (95°)

 

Appearance: The dark gold liquid formed a thick rim and slow, wide tears.

 

Nose: I smelled rye bread, light mint, oak, and caramel. When I inhaled through my lips, there was a slight sensation of nutmeg.

 

Palate: San Luis Valley’s Rye had a thin texture. It wasn’t shy flavor-wise. There was a blast of rye, mint, oak spice, and barrel char. A front, middle, or back was nearly impossible to nail down.  

 

Finish: At only 95°, this whiskey was warming and continued to build. The rye and oak spices dominated over the mint, which struggled to get noticed. As it approached its crescendo, black coffee burst onto the scene. I timed the duration at 1:52, which classifies it as long.

 

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Centennial Straight Wheat Whiskey

 

• Mashbill: 100% soft white Centennial spring wheat
• Age: 2+ years in 53-gallon new, charred oak
• Proof: 47.5% ABV (95°)

 

Appearance: The bright, golden liquid produced a thick rim with lightning-fast, medium-width tears.

 

Nose: The aroma was slightly fruity, with green apples and berries. I also smelled charred oak and, strange as it may sound, malt. As I drew the aroma into my mouth, I encountered nothing. As a point of reference, this has never happened in the nearly 1000 whiskeys I’ve reviewed!

 

Palate: The texture was incredibly thin and just slid across my tongue. It is also the most mild 100% wheat whiskey I’ve tasted to date. The front included toffee and tobacco. Next came oak and grass, followed by anise and bubble gum on the back.

 

Finish: The notes of bubble gum, tobacco, and toffee remained, along with oak spices. Based on my prior experience with 100% wheat whiskeys, it was a softer finish than expected. The duration lasted 1:04, making it a medium finish.

 

 

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Henry Road Straight Malt Whiskey

 

• Mashbill: 100% heirloom malted barley
• Age: 2+ years in 53-gallon new, charred oak
• Proof: 47.5% ABV (95°)

 

Appearance: The malt whiskey was golden, with a thin rim and fast, watery tears.

 

Nose: When I first approached this whiskey, there was some malty, earthy funk in its aroma. As I continued, I discovered fennel and oak. Inside my mouth, the air seemed mossy in nature.

 

Palate: There was an incredibly thin, almost weightless mouthfeel to this whiskey. The front of my palate plucked lemon oil and green apples. Midway through, I tasted eucalyptus and grass. The back featured oak tannins and rye bread, which was interesting considering there’s no rye in the mashbill.

 

Finish: The slightly warming finish enhanced that rye bread sensation. Oak tannins, fennel, eucalyptus, and lemon oil held on for 1:42, hovering on the border between medium and long.  

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: You’ll notice that I’ve not included a rating for each of the individual whiskeys, and there’s a logical reason. These are only sold in the four-pack, so the tasting kit earns the rating.

 

I’ve had each of these whiskeys in their retail format. I previously reviewed the San Luis Valley Rye and Henry Road Malt bonded whiskeys. They were completely different in my experience.

 

For $40.00, this is an interesting experience that gives you a chance to try what each grain category offers, and I appreciate that two of the four are made from 100% of those individual grains. While the whiskeys themselves won’t blow your mind, I believe that experience itself is worth the investment. Hence, it deserves my Bottle rating. Have fun with this. Cheers!

 

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.