ctbeck11
Ironroot Republic Texas Straight Corn Whiskey 2020 Single Cask #4 (Lost Lantern)
Corn — Texas, USA
Reviewed
March 17, 2021 (edited May 13, 2021)
Nose - rich oak, butterscotch, powdered sugar, vanilla frosting, marshmallow, cocoa, dusty corn, candy corn, fig, plum, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, black cherry, sweet floral notes, fruit punch, moderate to high ethanol burn.
Taste - butterscotch, black cherry, candy corn, vanilla bean, mint, plum, black pepper, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, dark chocolate, spicy rich oak, fruit punch, floral notes, marshmallow, moderate to high ethanol burn, finishing medium long with black cherry, rich oak, butterscotch, and spicy pepper flavors.
Oh good Lord, this is wonderful. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is from Texas. It’s rich and dense with a beautiful mouthfeel. The European oak maturation has done wonders for the simplicity of corn whiskey. I wouldn’t call it complex, but there’s much more going on here than I would have expected. This easily bests the Santa Fe and New York Distilling bottlings from Lost Lantern, and I can see why this is the only one that’s currently sold out. If it wasn’t, there would already be two in the mail for me.
I took Jon’s advice and added a few drops of water to tame the proof a bit. It definitely helps. I think it actually increases the complexity. More of the fruitiness shines through without diminishing the rich caramel and oak backbone. Overall this is excellent, and probably about as good as corn whiskey could ever hope to be. I wish I could buy a bottle for my collection. A huge thank you to @jonwilkinson7309 for providing the sample. This one is special, and a worthy dram to mark the occasion of my 300th review.
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@ctbeck11 Thanks for the heads up! o was just thinking I needed to check for the next set of releases. Del Bac and Balcones! Very exciting.
@jonwilkinson7309 Just a heads up. The new set of single cask releases just went on sale. I ordered #5 and #8. Let me know if you’re planning to pick up any of them.
@ContemplativeFox Thank you! I’ll let it slide this time ;)
Congratulations on 300! Sorry I missed this when you first posted it :(
Heads up, everyone. Lost Lantern just announced their Spring 2021 single cask collection, which goes on sale April 12. It includes five bottlings: three mesquite-smoked single malts from Whiskey Del Bac, one 100% corn bourbon from Balcones, and one straight rye whiskey from New York Distilling Co. Check out their website for more information. These single cask releases are listed as #5 through #9. I’m considering picking up #7 and #8. Let me know which ones interest you the most.
@Ctrexman. Lost Lantern's initial four bottle run was small. I'm not sure how many bottles of each were produced, but they were sold through their website and on Seelbach's. Texas whiskey has indeed become huge. The downside is that some of the up and coming gems (Iron Root, Garrison) are not easy to come by outside of Texas. I was thrilled to get the Lost Lantern Iron Root because I've been looking for a bottle of the Iron Root Harbinger for at least a year without success.
@jdriip Thank you! I enjoy reading yours as well.
@ctbeck11 congrats on 300! Enjoy reading your reviews.
@CKarmios Thank you! I won’t stop unless my wife makes me :)
@Ctrexman Currently, I own very few bottles of Texas whiskey. That will definitely change in the near future.
Congrats! Onwards and upwards to the next 300.
Not sure if we have Lost Lantern here I will have to check. I just tallied my bottle collection and 6 of my 16 are from Texas....Before moving here I had never tried anything but Texas is becoming a player it seems.
@Ctrexman Thanks! It truly was. With only 111 bottles produced from the cask, chances of ever finding it are close to zero unfortunately. Damn that Texas angel’s share!
sounds delish congrats on 300
@jonwilkinson7309 Thanks! Really looking for to tasting the Vatted Malt tomorrow. Lost Lantern is definitely worth following. Even in the cases where I haven’t loved the whiskey, it was something totally unique and likely worth the price of admission just to try it.
Congrats on 300!! This is one of many sitting in my backlog of reviews, but you've captured my sentiments - definitely a stunning whiskey because it goes to levels that I never expected for a corn whiskey. I like your progression with the Lost Lantern releases - it has matched my ranking of Lost Lantern releases, with this one in a tie with the Vatted Malt for first place.
@WhiskeyLonghorn @pkingmartin Thank you! Wasn’t planning on it being my 300th, but it worked out well.
Congrats on a Texas sized number of reviews! A right proper dram to cross the line with!
Wow, sounds incredible! Great review and congrats on hitting 300!