Bear Fight American Single Malt

BEAR FIGHT AMERICAN SINGLE MALT (NC Made/Aged in First Fill Bourbon Barrels for minimum 3 years and finished in Peated Scotch & Sherry Casks) *APPEARANCE: Straw Colored with fat clingy droplets forming on the sides of the Glencairn. *NOSE: This doesn’t come across as an American Single Malt. Think a mid-level Lightly Peated Single Malt. There is a Foundation of Peat layered with Tart Apple, Malted Grain, Fresh Butter, Hay, Wood Spice, Light Honey Sweetness, and a Rabbit Punch of Stinging Heat. The empty glass smelled just like my Brother in Law’s “bee room” where he keeps his Apiary supplies and bee smoker. A mixture of beeswax and smoke. *NEAT: Sweet Notes of Vanilla and Honey lead off followed by Barrel Spice, Malted Grain, Dried Fruit, and Raw Almond. The Back of the Palate gets Barrel Spice, Black Pepper, and a Light Bitterness (think Lemon Peel or Green Pineapple). There is a very un-Scotch like heat on the Finish that glows all the way down into the chest… and “where’s the Peat” you ask? It shows up Right at the End and layers the Palate with a Clingy Ashy Aftertaste. *SPLASH: A little water and the Nose gets Lemon Zest. Palate loses some of the Heat from the Finish and gets the Leather and Raw Almond dialed up a bit. *VERDICT: Completely surprised by this one. I had picked this up a few months ago, saw it was produced in NC and assumed it was aged in small barrels, or worse yet, rapid aged with spirals so I set it back down and left with something else. A few days later (tell me Zuckerberg ain’t got satellites trained on us all) an ad for it pops up in my Facebook feed with an endorsement from Seth MacFarlane (and in classic self deprecating MacFarlane fashion). Now, I’m not a sucker for celebrity endorsements, but if one’s going to get me to look into something more, this is it. Finally pulled the trigger the other day and am glad I did. This is quite possibly the most “Scotch-ish” American Whiskey I’ve had and very reasonably priced (proof that MacFarlane wasn’t lying when he said they weren’t paying him enough). Not available everywhere, but if you see it, it’s definitely worth a $40 buy IMHO.

NOSE Woody, dry Malt, cereal grain sweetness, banana chips, orchard fruit, Nilla Wafers, and a slight grassy note. A lackluster aroma that comes through light and is rather weak. PALATE Caramel, grassy malt, cereal sweetness, banana chips, dried orchard fruit, vanilla cake, and baking spice. More robust than the aroma, but still quite… meh. It’s missing depth and comes through flat and lifeless. FINISH Medium-short -> Caramel, banana chips, and some spice.

There’s hay, slight cinnamon/wood spice and apple skin in the beginning, followed by notes of sherry, slight honey and noticeable nuttiness. a tad bit of the sherry sweetness appears near the end but ends with a mild peaty dryness. The finish duration is short to medium. This is a decent single malt. It’s a mild dram and nothing too crazy. It’s like a more complex version of monkey shoulder in some ways.

Fruity (orchard fruits), with vanilla wafers and hay on the nose. Palate continues the fruit, sweet with some sherry and white pepper. Finish provides more sherry, a slight bit of smoke, and fades to lingering dry white pepper. Very pleasant dram.

Pleasantly surprised! Sweet and smooth in the same vein as most Irish and Japanese whiskies. It's not often that I nod along with the description on the bottle but they nailed it with the taste of "pecan". Just an easy sipper with no heartburn.

Super disappointed that it was more like a scotch and it was aged in sherry casks. Nowhere on the bottle is that indicated and I can’t stand either. Never would have bought it.