High West A Midwinter Night's Dram

Probably one of the most complex bourbons I have ever tasted. An experience worth every drop.

Nose of rich raisin and prune enveloping spearmint and leather Palate of rye spice and deep fig Finish is long filled with rye and lingering barrel spice An excellent deep rich unique rye

To finish up my High West series, I have three samples of their A Midwinter Nights Dram from three different acts. First up is Act 5 Scene 6 that @Scott_E was very generous to provide. The nose starts with a mix of powdered sugar coated balsamic strawberries, cola and dusty oak then a mild pipe tobacco smoke and chocolate covered cherries followed by star anise spiced baked pears that transitions to dill, spearmint and cloves with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy and lightly sweetened red berries with a mild tangy sourness that quickly veers towards a moderate bitter spice that slowly fades to pipe tobacco, leather and mocha followed by star anise spiced baked pears that transitions to cloves, dill, and light spearmint with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with a mild rye and pepper spice, dark chocolate covered cherries, espresso, ginger, dill and charred pine cones. A very delicious rye that the port finish manages to enhance those base rye notes with sweet and sour red berries, but the taste and finish have a higher spice than I prefer. Final score: 3.75 Next up is Act 8 Scene 1 that @ctbeck11 was very generous to provide. The nose starts with a mix of powdered sugar covered brandy soaked cherries, cola and light pipe smoke then dark chocolate covered hazelnuts and freeze dried strawberries followed by cinnamon apple pie and orange zest that transitions to dill, cloves and fresh picked wintergreen leaves with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with brandy soaked cherries that quickly veers towards a moderate bitter spice that slowly fades to pipe tobacco, leather and chocolate covered hazelnuts followed by sour apple and orange zest that transitions to dill, ginger, cloves and charred pine cones with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with a moderate rye and pepper spice, brandy soaked cherries, cocoa nibs, ginger, dill and burnt pine cone ash. This one isn't as refined as the Act 5 Scene 6 and has flavors of brandy soaked fruits that brings about more sour and bitter flavors along with higher ashy notes. It's still a very tasty rye with those port flavors, but fails to keep up with the Act 5 Scene 6. Final score: 3.5 Last up is Act 9 Scene 4 that @soonershrink was very generous to provide. The nose starts with soft and lightly sweetened raspberries, Angel food cake and cola then milk chocolate covered raisins, toasted hazelnuts and light floral notes followed by baked pears and maraschino cherries that transitions to dill, spearmint and lightly toasted pumpernickel bread with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with soft and creamy red berries and cola that then veers into a mild bitter spice that fades to a mild pipe tobacco smoke and cherries jubilee followed by chocolate covered toasted marshmallow, baked pears and orange zest that transitions to cloves, ginger, dill, spearmint and lightly toasted pumpernickel bread with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with a mild pepper spice, dark chocolate covered cherries, toasted marshmallow, light florals, cloves and charred pumpernickel bread. Side by side with the other acts, this one comes out the victor with a better balance of those sweet red fruits and rye flavors with some light floral notes that I didn't detect in the other acts that still has a bitter spice on the taste and finish, but is much more restrained allowing for more flavors to come through. Final score: 4.0 Conclusion: This was a lot of fun to side by side and rate 3 different batches of MWND and each one was a tasty rye but batch variation is clearly a factor on how they turn out. If I was able to find one of these at $100, I'd likely buy a bottle, but I'd easily pass on any price above that. Overall score for all: 3.75

Spicey, yummy cinnamon, good stuff

Sample for KHW. Neat. Very complex and woody. The port barrel influence on the back of the palate is definitely obvious. Initial sweet taste. Moderate to long finish with some alcohol burn. Quite nice.