Oregon Spirit Straight American Bourbon

A rich, Straight Small Batch Bourbon from Oregon made using only fresh mountain water, locally grown grain & aged four years. It has an aromatic birth with notes of vanilla & oak; while a rich life adds notes of grain & caramel; that led to a long finish with a hint of mint. March 2018 / March 2018 / October 2020 / August 2022

The nose was interesting. Both uncommentable and curious. The feel was kinda runny and watery. The taste went from sweet to a slight taste of Scope in less than 10 seconds. The aftertaste was grainy, seaside with a hint of ethanol. While certainly unique, this one ain't my jam. I gave it away (minus 1.5 oz) to my nephew to dilute with a brown carbonated refreshment.

Oak, mint, caramel, vanilla, long finish

I found extremely little information about the mash bill. I only found one place which gave percentages, and I discounted it because it omitted entirely one of the four grains. The other place I found information on the mash bill was Oregon Spirit's own site, which didn't give any percentages, but said that it contains corn, rye, wheat, and sprouted barley. I had expected to find wheat in the mash bill, because this whisky gives me notes that recent experience has associated in my mind with wheat whisky or a high wheat bourbon. The bottle cost me $44.99 at Total Wine. It's 94 proof, has a four year age statement, and in the glass is a dark copper color. NOSE: When I nosed the whisky I immediately got honey and mint mixed. There was a faint butter note sliding underneath, and then as I continued to nose the whisky I got notes of mint chocolate chip ice cream, a pine forest, and a warmth that spread over anything. Everything I got on the nose, I got before I took the first sip; this is unusual, because normally after I have a sip or two I can get a little more from the nose. MOUTHFEEL: Buttery. TASTE: It began with a light honey note, then a light cinnamon, and then peppermint, black pepper, and brown sugar. Both the nose and the palate are unique in my experience - while they resemble both Oregon Spirit wheat whisky and Redemption wheated bourbon, they're not identical. FINISH: The finish is medium long, though the length is merely the slow fading of the last note. I got first a generalized spice, then mint, eucalyptus, and black pepper. SUMMARY: This is a fantastic whisky. It's a four grain bourbon, with characteristics of bourbon, rye, and wheat whisky. It's worth every penny of the 45 bucks I paid, and I highly recommend it. RATING: My hick scale has eight levels, counting from the bottom, and this comes in at 7, Right Fine. This equates to 4.375 stars, 87.5/100, or 8.75/10. I think the only thing that it would take to move this up to the highest level would be more age or more proof (and there is a bottled in bond expression, which I've not tried, but I expect to be excellent).

Nose is hot. Raisin, butter, vanilla, pine. Could use a little more age but I like it. Great value.