High West High Country American Single Malt (2021 Release)

On the nose, honey, melon, lemon On the palate, lemon, herbal, black tea Short finish, with some malt and smokiness

Nose: sharp cut grass and raisin with chocolate and light tobacco. Taste: sharp hay with figs, chocolate and dense caramel. First bit of water makes the nose syrupy and dense with deep stewed figs and caramel while adding a malty honey note. Taste also becomes thicker and oily with a light hidden floral and citrus note. Next bit of water dampens down the hay notes even more. Adds a strong peachy finish. And a bit of a gingerbread note. Still fairly disappointing. But if you really disliked it try adding (a lot of) water as it opens up some more desirable flavors while hiding the more bitter grassy notes

Not sure where all the low scores are coming from for this American Single Malt that's put out by High West? Opened this last night while i was feeling pretty toasty already and couldn't believe how delicious this smelled. The scent is intoxicating maltiness that gives the vibe of a malty cereal with some fruitiness added in. Oh my love the smell!! The mouthfeel is very soft and really coats my mouth with similar notes that the scent gives off. I swished this one around for awhile on each sip to really enjoy what this single malt has to offer. Finally in the end it goes down easy. The proof really gives this a chance to taste the flavors rather than burn your tongue off like the high proof bourbons and ryes do. Overall if you enjoy American single malts this is a nice one to have a bottle of. The price to me is a bit high for what it is but it's not too far out of line being that it's not a year round bottle on the shelf. If you like Stranahan's then give this one a shot. I was really wishing after i opened it that i still had some of my last stranahan store pic lying around. Oh well guess i need to go find another to compare. 10/14/22