Tastes

Light color and legs. Apple and grapes on the nose. Toasted cereal and sugar, vanilla oak, and some baking spices in the mouth. Average lingering spice and sweet finish. No off flavors, easy drinking.

Sweet cereal and floral vanilla on the nose. Cereal and dry nuts and spice in the mouth. Thin, not much in the way of mouthfeel. Spice and a little astringent and off-note sour in the finish. Not bad, but not much there there.

See also the reviews for Stranahan's single barrel single malt cask strength whiskey. This is one of two barrels of single malt contracted by the State of Idaho. This Idaho Cut #1 is Barrel no. 15-2377, 100% malted barley, double distilled in limited runs; barreled in 2015 in American white oak, aged 6 years and 2 months, and bottled at 56.64% ABV. Sweet grain, vanilla, and a little ethanol on the nose. Dark golden brown color and good legs in the glass. Burnt sugar and toasted cereal, vanilla oak, and some baking spices in the mouth. Rich, full, and mouth-coating. Warm but not alcohol hot. Spice and sweetness linger in a looong finish. Easy to enjoy neat. With an ice cube the high ABV and spice softens and rounds. Nice. Stranahan's is bottling some really good American malt whiskey, and at single barrel and cask strength you get to see it in its original barreled form.

Nose is light, floral grain and vanilla, with a little peppery spice. Vanilla oak, orange, and light brown sugar. Thin body and not that much rye spiciness in the mouth or finish--surprising given this is 100% rye. Finish is sweet, citrus, dry grassy, and gone quickly. A classic light-body Canadian (rye) whisky profile. Easy to drink neat, with ice it thins quickly, and it will mix without much competition to other cocktail ingredients given that this is 40% ABV. Meh... but the price is easy.

Another in my mini bottle tasting series. Inspired by an Old Fashioned Cocktail? Well, inspiration is like Jell-O---it's squishy and jiggly and you can mold it into any shape you want. But in this case, it also smells like Jell-O. In fact, that perfume travels yards from the glass. But the taste? Nope, tastes more like Tang and vodka. Add ice and the recommended lemonade, and you'll never know what you're drinking. And maybe that's a good thing. Let's just leave it at that.

Beautiful burnt-golden color and light legs in the glass. Tropical fruit, floral vanilla, and light grain on the nose. Toasted cereal and bananas, creamy, with some wine, oak, and spicy grass flavors in the mouth. Rich and full, some iodine astringency, and a spicy and minty finish that lingers. There's a lot going on in this whiskey, especially given how thin it seems coating the glass. The flavor belies that visual--it's rich. Ice flattens it a bit, but shows some bitter and floral orange flavors in the finish. Beautiful to sip, with or without. I'm a Redbreast 12 yr fan, and this is up there--need to taste these together next.

Vanilla and flaky croissant on the nose. Floral and mild ethanol. Light body, floral vanilla, soft cereal, and maple notes in the mouth. Burst of ethanol, oat, and grassy spice in a short finish. Kinda a one note floral Irish whiskey, soft, thin, easy to drink. With an ice cube it flattens even more, and more floral sweetness emerges in the finish. Nice to sip, no struggle there. I can see this making a nice Whiskey Highball, like one made with a Japanese whisky.

Four dollar signs? I think not. This is another in my mini bottle tasting series, clocking in at one dollar. Bird Dog Kentucky straight bourbon, 42 ABV, bottled for Western Spirits by Three Springs Bottling Co. Light grassy floral nose, thin legs in the glass. Sweet cereal, floral grapes, and a little oak and ethanol. Thin mouthfeel. Lingering spice in an average finish. Not much body or complexity.