My Visit to The Whiskey Biscuit Restaurant and Bar

 

When we were running an errand last week for my Mom, Mrs. Whiskeyfellow and I drove past a place called The Whiskey Biscuit. The fascinating name grabbed our attention. As we continued our business, Mrs. Whiskeyfellow read up on what it was.

 

The Whiskey Biscuit is a whiskey bar that serves food. Something that we honed in on was how gluten-free friendly the menu is. Pretty much anything on it can be made gluten-free, and there were plenty of options from which to choose.

 

Last night, we took the opportunity to visit Whiskey Biscuit and, well, let’s say if we ever moved back to Denver, I might consider direct-depositing my paycheck there.

 

The bar is fully stocked with most of what you’d be interested in, including all the allocated stuff (Pappy, Blanton’s, Weller, etc.). It is primarily American whiskeys, although my eye also caught some of my favorite Scotches. They’ll also make craft cocktails as well as the basics.

I opted for a flight of Colorado-only whiskeys. It included a pour of A.D. Laws Four Grain Bourbon, Distillery 291 Small Batch Rye, and Boulder Spirits Peated American Single Malt. Did I have a favorite? Sure, but the contest was unfair. After all, Boulder Spirits Peated took my 2021 Best American Whiskey of the Year award. My second favorite was the Distillery 291 Rye, followed by the A.D. Laws Bourbon.

With everything on the menu, I was craving a good burger. I selected a mushroom swiss burger and fries. The patty had a Bourbon glaze and didn’t come with any of the annoying stuff I hate (lettuce and tomato); that was a plus. The bacon came from Mrs. Whiskeyfellow’s Chicken Club, which she enjoyed (but doesn’t like bacon – yes, I know, but she’s absolutely a keeper regardless).

Considering everything we had, the bill was reasonable for Denver. We’ll definitely be back. If you’re interested in visiting, The Whiskey Biscuit is at 3299 S. Broadway in Englewood. Cheers!

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

5280 Whiskey Society American Single Malt Whiskey Event

 

When I came out to Denver, I wasn’t expecting to do much that was whiskey-related. However, Mrs. Whiskeyfellow and I were unexpectedly invited by Ryan Negley of Boulder Spirits and the 5280 Whiskey Society to attend an American Single Malt Whiskey tasting event. It was held at Bacon Social House of Littleton (a south Denver suburb). This was a true #DrinkCurious event!

 

First, there was a buffet dinner, including Kobe beef hotdogs, pulled pork sliders, potato and chili bar, and tater tots. That was, of course, to get everyone’s body prepped for the whiskey. Not just a pour or two, but eleven different selections from six distilleries! Each gave some background of their distillery and what makes them unique in the market.

 

From Stranahan’s, we tasted Diamond Peak, a 90° limited-edition whiskey partially aged in former Bushmill’s casks, and a 10-year Mountain Angel, packaged at 94.6°. Then, to surprise everyone, the 2021 edition of Snowflake, a nearly impossible-to-obtain whiskey, was poured. Snowflake is 94° and aged two years before finishing in wine, sherry, tequila, rum, and cognac casks.

From Cedar Ridge Distillery, we had The QuintEssential, which was my runner-up for the Best American Whiskey of 2021. It is a 92° non-age-stated whiskey.

Boulder Spirits offered its flagship Single Malt, then a pour of its Sherry Cask Finish.  I had my fingers crossed the Peated version (the whiskey that beat out The QuintEssential) would be poured, but that didn’t happen. The flagship is aged at least three years and weighed in at 92°, while the Sherry Cask added a nine-month finishing process.

Next up was Deerhammer Distillery, which was likely the most unusual of the bunch. There was a Single Barrel Single Malt, packaged at 86°, and a Port Cask Finish at 100°. The Port added a definitive chocolate note to the expresso flavor of the flagship Single Malt. Neither were age-stated.

Westland Whiskey presented its flagship Single Malt, followed by Colere Edition 2 from its Outpost Range, made from two-row Talisman barley. The flagship was 92° and carried a 40-month age statement, while the Colere, a very limited edition whiskey, has a minimum maturation of four years and 357 days. It weighed in at 100°.

Finally, Old Line Spirits served up its flagship Single Malt and a cask-strength version of that whiskey. The flagship rested in oak for two years and was bottled at 86°, while the cask strength was 124.4°.  

The Bacon Social House was an eclectic, fun atmosphere, and the food was delicious. The panel made things fun and even interacted with the Stanley Cup game broadcasted on various televisions. The whiskeys were tasty, and no two were alike, even the ones from the same distilleries. Did I have a favorite? Duh! Will I say what it was? Nope. But I’ll say this was an enjoyable evening, and I am grateful for being invited. Thank you again, 5280 Whiskey Society and Boulder Spirits.

 

Cheers!

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

Tinhorn Colorado Straight Blue Corn Bourbon Review & Tasting Notes

A little over two years ago, I reviewed a Colorado Straight Bourbon called Cinder Dick. The little boy in me had a lot of fun with that whiskey’s name, but nothing was childish about how it performed.

 

Durango Craft Spirits has its second Bourbon hitting the market. This one is called Tinhorn. We learned what Cinder Dick meant: it is slang for a railroad detective. What’s a Tinhorn?

 

“Gambling was a popular form of entertainment for miners and railroaders who flocked to southwest Colorado in the latter part of the 19^th century. Professional gamblers were able to make a living gambling and they found it particularly profitable to work in newly-formed mining towns. The term Tinhorn originated from a game of chuck-a-luck, where three dice were rolled down a chute onto a flat area known as the horn. The cone-shaped chute was usually made of leather, but the cheaper chutes used by some unscrupulous and unskilled gamblers were made of tin, hence the name Tinhorn Gambler.” – Michael McCardell, co-owner of Durango Craft Spirits

 

Nowadays, the term implies a contemptible person who pretends to have money, influence, or abilities.

 

Tinhorn is a single barrel four-grain Bourbon. It is 65% non-GMO blue corn from the Ute Mountain Utes, 18% raw Colorado-grown Centennial white wheat, 8.5% raw Colorado-grown San Luis Valley rye, and 8.5% two-row malted barley from Colorado Malting Company. All grains come from within 100 miles of the distillery.

 

Durango Craft Spirits then mashed, distilled, and aged the concoction in new, #4-char 53-gallon white oak barrels for two years. It was bottled on-site at 94°, and a 750ml bottle costs about $62.00.

 

How’s Tinhorn taste? The only way to answer that is to #DrinkCurious, but before I do, I must thank Durango Craft Spirits for providing me a sample in exchange for a no-strings-attached, honest review. Let’s get to it!

 

Appearance: As a neat pour in my Glencairn glass, Tinhorn presented as chestnut with a thicker rim. A mix of sticky droplets and long, wavy legs hugged the wall.

 

Nose: An aroma of field corn flowed from the neck of my glass. Beneath it lay floral rye, caramel, vanilla, and charred oak. When I pulled the vapor into my mouth, vanilla and rye spice crawled across my tongue.

 

Palate:  The first sip was oily, and subsequent ones added additional weight. Kettle corn was the first flavor experienced, followed by vanilla and caramel. I found spiced nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg as it moved to the middle. The back offered a blast of clove, leather, and charred oak.

 

Finish:  A very long, arid finish consisted of kettle corn, charred oak, old leather, and cinnamon Red Hots. When I say long, I’m considering several minutes.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  I’ve never before used kettle corn as a tasting note; it was the first thing I tasted. It was unmistakable. Tinhorn has a lot of bold flavors going for it and reminded me a lot of Cinder Dick (I still have that bottle because it was so unique). If I didn’t know what I know about Tinhorn, I’d have never guessed it was only two years old in standard cooperage – there’s nothing young about it. Finally, it is proofed correctly, likely the reason it doesn’t taste young. At $62.00, it may seem pricey for its stated age, but I don’t believe that you’d consider buyer’s remorse if you purchased a Bottle.  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 do so responsibly.

 

 

Leopold Bros. Three Chamber Rye Whiskey Review & Tasting Notes

 

There exists a gentleman who distills whiskey in a Denver suburb. He’s one of the most highly-respected distillers in the country. He has taught and mentored so many in this industry. His name?  Todd Leopold. His distillery?  Leopold Bros.

 

Leopold Bros. is distinct for several reasons aside from Todd.  Founded in 1999, the distillery has the largest malting floor in the United States. Everything is done in-house. There’s no sourcing of anything, including the botanicals in the garden just outside the open fermentation tanks. Those botanicals create the wild yeast used in, well, everything.

 

It also houses the only working three-chamber still in the country, the kind that was super-popular among American distillers…

 

“For over a hundred years, American rye whiskey was commonly produced in what was called a Three Chamber Still to extract not only distillate, but also oils and aromas hidden in the grains. The resulting spirit was marketed as “heavy-bodied” whiskey, but production stopped just after World War II and the still in which it was made became a lost American tradition.

​

Leopold Bros. painstakingly re-engineered a Three Chamber Still from old manuscripts and grew the heritage grain Abruzzi rye that was favored by Pre-Prohibition distillers to resurrect this one-of-a-kind whiskey.” – Leopold Bros.

 

That one-of-a-kind whiskey is aptly named Three Chamber Rye Whiskey.  It starts with a mash of 80% Abruzzi rye and 20% malt from the malting floor. It was (obviously) run through that still, then aged four years in new, charred oak barrels. As a bonus, it is Bottled-in-Bond, which means, aside from other things, it is bottled at 100°. There were 5280 bottles made, and that wasn’t by accident. That’s the famous elevation of Denver. If you can find a bottle (and I’ve seen one very recently at a Binny’s in Vernon Hills, Illinois), you can expect to pay about $250.00 for it.

 

I’d like to thank Leopold Bros. for providing me a sample of the Three Chamber Rye Whiskey in exchange for a no-strings-attached, honest review. The only way to see if this is worth all the trouble Todd and his team have gone through is to #DrinkCurious.

 

Appearance: Poured neat in my Glencairn glass, this Rye presented as the color of rich topaz. It formed a thicker rim that generated fat, slow legs that crawled back to the pool of liquid sunshine.

 

Nose: To suggest this whiskey was fragrant would be unfair to the term. It filled the room with aromas of orange peel, vanilla, peach, nutmeg, and toasted oak. It even smelled oily! When I took the air into my mouth, I experienced dill. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was there.

 

Palate:  The mouthfeel was heavy and oily. It slid down my throat, almost anticipating my desire to swallow. The first things I tasted were vanilla, dark chocolate, and toasted oak. Next up were rye spice, orange citrus, and peach. The back featured leather, tobacco, nutmeg, and white pepper.

 

Finish:  You’d never guess this one was 100° because there wasn’t even a hint of burn.  Rye spice, leather, tobacco, cocoa powder, oak, nutmeg, peach, and, finally, vanilla, gave this a spicy-to-sweet, medium-length finish.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  The Three-Chamber Rye is one of those dangerous whiskeys. It goes down way too easily. After several sips, the proof is like the Kool-Aid Man as he busts through a wall. Before you even know what happened, you’re feeling it in your head. There was absolutely nothing not to love, except perhaps the cost.

 

I realize that the Three-Chamber Rye is an absolutely unique whiskey. That’s always a turn-on for me. But with American whiskeys, and even Scotches, $250.00 is a big hit to my wallet. Can I see myself spending that on this Rye?  No.  Do I think you need to experience this for yourself? Absolutely! If you can find it, try it. You’ll fall in love, and you’ll then have to decide if this is worth the purchase. Due to the price and only the price, this one takes a Bar rating. 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 do so responsibly.

Lost Lantern 2021 Fall Release #3 (Boulder Spirits) Bourbon Review & Tasting Notes

 

One of the more interesting US-based independent bottlers is Lost Lantern. It finds unique barrels, bottles them at cask strength, and when what is packaged is gone, it is gone forever.

 

One of the more interesting American distilleries is Boulder Spirits out of Boulder, Colorado. I’ve reviewed several of its whiskeys before. They’re made in a Scottish tradition with their American Single Malts and what isn’t ASM still relies heavily on Scottish malt in the mash.

 

Lost Lantern just released its Fall Single Casks, and one of those is Single Cask #3, which comes from (you guessed it) Boulder Spirits. In this case, it is a Bourbon. It starts with a mash of 51% corn, 44% Scottish malted barley, and 5% rye. It aged five years in 53-gallon new, charred oak barrels from Kelvin Cooperage. It is non-chill filtered and came out of the barrel at a whopping 138.1°. The yield was only 181 750ml bottles, which Lost Lantern priced at $100.00 each.

 

“We are proud to have this unique straight Bourbon whiskey as our first selection from Colorado, one of the hotbeds of the whiskey renaissance taking shape all over the country. And this whiskey captures just why we’re so excited about Boulder Spirits, and about Colorado whiskey in general:  it does something new.” – Lost Lantern

 

Before I #DrinkCurious, I’d like to thank Lost Lantern for providing me a sample of Single Cask #3 in exchange for a no-strings-attached, honest review. Let’s get to it, shall we?

 

Appearance:  Poured neat in my Glencairn glass, this Bourbon presented as the color of mahogany. It formed a very thin rim that made fat, slow, sticky legs.

 

Nose:  Single Cask #3 had a bouquet that wouldn’t quit. I expected and prepared myself for the big ethanol blast. Instead, it started with plum, then chocolate-covered cherry, light oak, and orange peel. When I drew the air in my mouth, the cherry became more pronounced.

 

Palate:  An almost weightless mouthfeel became oily as it traveled down my throat. The front of the palate featured deep, dark chocolate, almond, and maple syrup. Cherry, nutmeg, and English toffee took over the middle. The back offered flavors of coconut macaroon, oak, and dry leather.

 

Finish:  The tastes of nutmeg, dry leather, oak, cherry, coconut macaroon all morphed into dark chocolate and maple syrup in a medium-long finish.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  This was a very interesting pour. As close as it is to Haz-Mat, it was shockingly easy to drink after getting past the first sip. It needs no water added. Single Cask #3 was just lovely from the nosing to the finish. The lack of the ethanol punch on either the nose or mouth was surprising. I’ve had many expressions from Boulder Spirits and this is up near the top. Would I spend $100.00 on it? Without a second thought! This is a Bottle rating that you won’t regret. 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 do so responsibly.

 

Copper Sky Distillery Wheat Whiskey Honey Barrel Finish Review & Tasting Notes

 

This summer I took a trip back "home" to Colorado. I lived there for over twenty years. My family is still there, and I try to come back at least annually.

When I lived in the Denver area, there were breweries. That’s what folks were interested in. Colorado distilling was more along the lines of vodka, gin, and fruit whiskeys. Sure, there was more traditional whiskey, but that wasn’t on the forefront.

Every time I go home, I try to take in a few distillery tours. There are so many Colorado distilleries now it is crazy. There exists a Colorado Whiskey Trail. The good news is I can probably visit Colorado enough times and always find something new each time I’m there.

One of the distilleries I visited this last time was Copper Sky Distillery. It is owned by Mike Root, someone I’ve known for a few years but never met in person. Copper Sky is off the beaten path, easily missed if you don’t know what you’re looking for. It has a great outdoor patio, there are events all the time, perfect for the surrounding Longmont neighborhood.

Mike gave me a bottle of his Wheat Whiskey Honey Barrel Finish, which is part of his Experimental Series. This was the first experimental whiskey for this distillery.

“We start with honey from a local beekeeper and regular at the distillery, Bill, from Bill’s Bees, and boil the honey down to a soft liquid. Next, we fill a barrel just enough to coat the sides, rolling it every day to ensure it gets in every nook and cranny. After we feel like the barrel is ready, the honey is removed and our 5-year old wheated bourbon is added. Once it hits that sweet spot of ‘whiskey with a little honey on the side,’ we pull it and get it ready for its new home with you.” – Mike Root

What’s in the wheated Bourbon? The actual distiller is undisclosed, but it is from a mash of 51% corn, 45% wheat, and 4% malted barley. It aged for five and a half years before it was ready. Then the contents were transferred into that honey barrel for finishing. Batch 1 is packaged at 107.5°. It is sold out, but the retail price was $74.99 for a 375ml bottle.

The above is nice and all, but is it any good? The only way to find out for sure is to #DrinkCurious. Thank you, Mike, for providing me a bottle in exchange for a no-strings-attached, honest review.

Appearance: Poured neat in my Glencairn glass, this whiskey was the color of, strangely enough, copper. It formed a medium-thick, sticky rim that just stuck to the wall. It eventually let loose fat legs that fell back to the pool.

Nose: Toasted oak was the first thing I picked out. Then came corn, caramel, and molasses. When I took the aroma into my mouth, I found vanilla mint.

Palate: The mouthfeel was medium-bodied and a bit oily. Considering the barrel it was in, that was unexpected. The front of the palate featured fresh sweet corn, vanilla, and Bit O’ Honey candy. The middle offered caramel and cinnamon. On the back, flavors of toasted oak, Cocoa Krispies cereal (I swear I could almost taste the cocoa powder on it before it flavored the milk), and a hint of mint.

Finish: The finish was medium-to-long in length and a bit dry. It started with faint mint, then toasted oak, followed by caramel. Subsequent attempts brought mocha. With each additional sip, that mocha dominated more and more.

Bottle, Bar, or Bust: I wasn’t a fan of the neck pour. I’m not a believer in neck pour quality issues, but it was my first taste. I let it alone on the shelf for a couple of weeks during Bourbon Heritage Month as I concentrated on, well, Bourbon. When I revisited it in October, anything I wasn’t a fan of was long gone. I loved the finish, especially how the mocha kept stealing the show. I sipped it as I composed this review, and each time I did, I had to remind myself that I need to finish writing.

Look, if you can find a bottle of this, just pick it up. And, if you aren’t a fan of the first pour, let it sit in the glass and try it again. I’m betting you’re going to come to the same conclusion as me – this one takes my coveted Bottle rating. 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 do so responsibly.

 

Whiskeysmith Co. Flavored Whiskey Reviews & Tasting Notes

 

 

Flavored whiskey is one of the most polarizing categories of whiskey appreciation. For some, it is sacrilegious. For others, they like the idea of it, either for easy sipping or for the base of a cocktail. As for myself, I’ve had some very good flavored whiskeys and some that were barely tolerable. There was even one or two that weren’t even that.

 

When Whiskeysmith Co. approached me and asked if I’d be interested in reviewing their lineup of flavored whiskeys, I said “absolutely.” It isn’t that the category is a favorite of mine – as I said above, they are very hit-or-miss. But, the opportunity is there to #DrinkCurious and take a chance, or in this case, six chances.

 

What is Whiskeysmith Co.?  It is a subsidiary of Old Elk Distillery out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Its master distiller is Greg Metze, who spent 38 years at MGP while becoming its master distiller in 2002. Greg joined forces with) Melinda Maddox, Old Elk’s Beverage Director.

“Look alike, yes. Act alike, no. One a master distiller, the other a flavorist. Together, they distilled the essence of a sweet treat in such a way that revitalized American whiskey. Some would say for the better, others might scoff. But you know better than to listen to others, you’ll try for yourself, and when you do, you’ll notice something only these two could do.” – Whiskeysmith Co.

 

Today I’m sampling six of its seven flavors:  Chocolate, Banana, Pineapple, Blood Orange, Salted Caramel, and Peach. I was not provided a sample of the seventh, that being Coconut.

 

Each of these is bottled at 30% ABV (60°) which makes these whiskey liqueurs rather than “legal” whiskeys. They’re all made with a wheated base whiskey and infused with natural flavors. Each cost about $24.99 for a 750ml package and can be acquired in about 29 states. Whiskeysmith Co.’s motto is More Flavor, Less Labor.

 

The whiskeys are labeled numerically, and I’ve decided the way I’m going to test these are in numerical order. I used a fresh Glencairn glass each time and refreshed my palate between each flavor. I also drank each of these neat. Yes, you could use any as mixers, and if you visit the Whiskeysmith Co. website, there are a variety of recipes for each.

 

I’d like to thank Whiskeysmith Co. for providing me with these samples in exchange for no-strings-attached, honest reviews.

 

 

No. 1 – Chocolate was first up to bat. This one is made with real chocolate! You can see some sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Give it a gentle swirl and that’s reabsorbed by the whiskey.

 

Appearance: This incarnation presented as deep, dark, and brown. A thicker rim was created, which led to watery legs.

 

Nose: If you stuck your nose in a bottle of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, that’s exactly what it smelled like. Beneath that was a touch of sweet caramel. When I drew the air into my mouth, the cocoa was obvious.

 

Palate:  This whiskey had a very soft mouthfeel. The palate offered dark chocolate, vanilla sugar cookie, and toasted oak.

 

Finish:  Medium in length, flavors of caramel, dark chocolate, and toasted oak remained.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  I enjoyed the Chocolate and got excited about tasting the rest of the lineup. It tasted better than I imagined, and this was easy to sip neat. I’ll toss my Bottle rating at it.

 

 

No. 2 – Banana was up next. It is made with a natural banana flavor.

 

Appearance:  Banana was the color of straw. It formed a thinner rim but fat, slow legs that crawled back to the pool.

 

Nose:  The aroma wasn’t just banana, but it was specifically banana cream pie. When I inhaled through my mouth, the whipped cream from it was even stronger.

 

Palate:  I assumed all the whiskeys would have the same mouthfeel. This second one shut that theory down. Slightly heavier than the chocolate, the palate only offered banana pudding.

 

Finish:  Medium-to-long, the finish started with oak spice and continued with the banana pudding. Once the pudding fell off, the spice remained.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  I don’t believe the spice and pudding meshed pleasantly. It wasn’t bad, but it seemed disjointed. As such, I’ll offer Banana my Bar rating.

 

 

No. 3 – Pineapple was honestly the one I was the most excited to try. I adore pineapple. Yes, I even put it on my pizza! It was made with natural pineapple flavoring.

 

Appearance:  Pineapple presented as golden amber in color. A thicker rim yielded watery legs that crashed back to the pool.

 

Nose:  Aromas of… banana? Wait a minute. I already tried the banana!  I took another sniff, and this time it was joined by pineapple. But the banana dominated. When I breathed the aroma in my mouth, a blend of pineapple and vanilla danced across my tongue.

 

Palate:  Pineapple offered a return to the soft mouthfeel. It also tasted just like pineapple juice which then moved to vanilla, whipped cream, and oak.

 

Finish:  Pineapple featured a short finish that brought more banana (what?) and pineapple juice.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  I was left confused with Pineapple. I expected pineapple. I didn’t expect banana. I had to go back to this one a couple of times just to make sure I didn’t mix something up. As it turned out, I didn’t. While I love pineapple and looked forward to this one, it didn’t do anything for me. You’ll want to try this one first before committing to a bottle, which means a Bar rating.

 

No. 4 – Salted Caramel was next up to the plate. Sticking to a theme, this one was made with natural salt and natural caramel flavors.

 

Appearance:  Salted Caramel was the color of gold. It generated a medium rim and caused a slow curtain to fall back to the pool.

 

Nose:  Aromas of sweet caramel and vanilla cream filled the air. When I breathed in through my mouth, the flavor of toffee seemed obvious.

 

Palate:  With a medium body, my tongue was greeted by salted vanilla. As it moved back, that changed to caramel and toasted oak.

 

Finish:  Salted marshmallow cream stuck around for a medium-length finish.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  At this point, Salted Caramel was my favorite. Everything just seemed to fit the way I imagined it would. It didn’t take much thought to convey my Bottle rating for it.

 

 

No. 5 – Blood Orange came next. This was one of two that I wasn’t excited over. While I like orange, the flavor of blood orange is less appealing to me. Yes, a natural blood orange flavor was used.

 

Appearance:  Blood Orange appeared orange (not dark like a blood orange) amber. It formed a medium rim and slow, thick legs.

 

Nose:  A delightful smell of orange zest and vanilla tapped my olfactory sense. And, despite being just those two aromas, I couldn’t call it a Dreamsicle. Orange peel flowed into my mouth as I drew the vapor inside.

 

Palate:  Blood Orange’s mouthfeel was very thin. The tastes of orange, vanilla, and a smidge of clove came together nicely.

 

Finish:  Medium-long in length, orange peel, and toasted oak stuck around.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  Happily, Blood Orange was a tasty treat. I’m glad it didn’t turn out as I anticipated. It didn’t beat out the Salted Caramel, but still snagged my Bottle rating.

 

 

No. 6 – Peach was the final pour. While I like peach as a note in whiskey, like blood oranges, I’m not big on peaches. But, as I was pleased with the Blood Orange, I’m giving it a college try.  As with all of the previous variations, natural peach flavoring was used.

 

Appearance:  Peach came across as the color of gold. It created a thick rim and fat, heavy legs that raced back to the pool.

 

Nose: A fragrant bouquet of fresh peaches wafted from the glass before I brought it to my face. That’s the only note I picked up. However, when I took the aroma into my mouth, the flavors of peaches and cream lollygagged across my palate.

 

Palate:  The mouthfeel was oily, and I experienced peach, oak, and white pepper. The peach seemed artificial, despite the natural flavor.

 

Finish:  The finish was unchanged from the palate, and lasted medium-to-long in length.

 

Bottle, Bar, or Bust:  I didn’t care for the Peach, and not because I don’t care for peach. What I didn’t enjoy was the artificial taste. I tried several times, hoping that the palate shock would end and I could get beyond it, but that never came to be.  Unfortunately, Peach takes a Bust.

 

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 do so responsibly.