I’m reminded as I scroll through reviews that I should not only feature big bottles that we can all get, but showcase some of my local spirits too. I’m relatively new to Louisiana, but they sure like to drink here, and I’ve never had an easier time buying spirits. Bourbon, as you’ll read in a moment, is not the main spirit produced here. There’s local distilleries making it, but something about the (very swampy) climate here isn’t conducive to ageing. Rum, however, is in abundance due to the (admittedly checkered) history of sugarcane production in south Louisiana. More on that later. At a small welcome party one of my new colleagues held for my wife and I, this bottle was brought out. We cracked it open together and both had the same reaction. Noses like a young bourbon. Typical notes. All good so far. Initial sip…tastes like young bourbon. Some sharp notes, but not unpleasant. Then it takes a very alarming turn, much like the New Orleans Saints do in the second half of most games. The taste goes from “ok this isn’t bad” to “oh dear god what’s happening?! Am I dead?”. The finish takes a big left turn into wet dog and sawdust territory. Highly unpleasant. It continues to evolve into a bouquet of sharp ethanol and a metallic note like sucking on a penny. I went back for another sip just to verify, and yes, the flavor is consistent. Down the drain it went. Two things went wrong here I think. One, it was rushed to market. Bottle said aged “at least 12 months”. Now, it is boardline tropical in Louisiana, but even then, I think about all the well-aged Caribbean rums that still have 10-12 year age statements. More time in the barrel (which could be the MO of craft distilling). The other issue I found was that the distillers may have not quite cut their spirit run in the most delicate way. Tastes like they let a little bit of the heads or tails into the final cut resulting in that metallic turn. Perhaps these are less experienced distillers taking their first crack at their preferred spirit. Two stars for now. Looks like I’ll be here for a spell, so we’ll see if things improve in a few years. That was the case for Still Austin when I was out there, so there’s hope for these folks yet. Cheers.