Clermont Steep American Single Malt

If you're like me and you read up on various reviews before deciding where to spend your money, you'll discover that Clermont Steep is a divisive one. Not only did Breaking Bourbon rate it 3.5/5, which in their ranking system is "Well Above Average," their admiration grew throughout the year so that they placed it on their Best Malt Whiskeys of 2023 list. Drinkhacker gave it a B+, not bad. It's got an expert review of 85 here on Distiller, which is also not bad. But if you also comb through the random blog reviews, the main complaint that people who dislike it is that it tastes young. And given it's aged 5 years, they're not wrong. There is a raw sense of graininess to it. But that doesn't necessarily make it bad outright. Maybe I'm giving it a little bit of a pass because I just recently tasted Garrison Brothers Small Batch and that came off as brown moonshine to me. I also recently tasted New Liberty's Bloody Butcher Straight Bourbon, which is better than Garrison but still retains something of a moonshine quality. Then again, both those are bourbons, corn is prominent, and this here is a single malt made with barley, and I've never tasted "white whiskey" (aka moonshine) made entirely from barley, so the youth here isn't as familiar. This is also aged 3 years more than Bloody Butcher and 2 years more than Garrison. But suffice it to say, I've tasted young whisky lately more so than usual, so comparing them, this one comes out on top. Aside from the notes of grain that are on both the nose and palate (not so much the finish), you get a sweet cereal note on the nose, vaguely reminiscent of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the grain itself provides a vegetal note, a little like asparagus, and you get the feeling that when people are curious about what this whisky might be with a bit more time in the barrel, you have the feeling they mean it would lean more toward the former than the later. I won't say the vegetal note is a dealbreaker, but it is something that reminds me I'm glad I got this on clearance for $45 instead of paying the full SRP of $60. The mouthfeel is nice and thick and one of the better aspects of the dram. There's still a bit of grain but the sweetness overwhelms it. There's savory caramel and a bit of spice mingling with the cinnamon that makes it more Red Hots on the palate than Cinnamon Toast Crunch. In fact, this came off to me like a cinnamon bomb on the tongue with a bit of vanilla rounding it out. The finish evolved into a bit of peach and some creamy vanilla notes, and is quite honestly the best part of this whisky. So while I'm not quite as enthused about it as Breaking Bourbon seems to be, the reviews that don't prime expectations but treat it as a drinkable bottle with the potential to be more interesting with more years are onto something. It'll be interesting to see where this goes if Beam continues to manufacture it and decides to add a little age. As it is, not great, but not bad. I wouldn't necessarily recommend a bottle, but if you see it at a bar, give it a shot. That is, if the asking price isn't too steep.

CLERMONT STEEP ASM *NOSE: I'm not sure what was intended by naming this whiskey "Steep", but the first note to jump out of the glass is Freshly Brewed Tea. For me, American Single Malts (ASM's) fall into two camps 1) Tea (ex. Rúa) or 2) Coffee (ex. Westland). This goes squarely in the Tea category. There's also Fruit, Leather, Lumber/Fresh Sawdust, and Cream o' Wheat Hot Cereal. There's a Maple & Brown Sugar Sweetness that builds the longer it sits, but this is definitely not an overly sweet nose. *NEAT: This is one of those Whiskies where the nose transfers almost note for note to the palate. Leathery, Malty, and Woody. Unsweetened Tea, Apple and just a smitch of Honey. Slightly Tannic & Drying with a Little Peppery Tingle. Finally shows it age with Oak Coating and Layering the Palate with a Longish, Slightly Spicy Finish. You're left with and aftertaste similar to what you get when you aggressively chew a toothpick. It eventually gets a Light Mustiness. *SPLASH: A Little Water Sweetens both the nose and palate, Upping the Brown Sugar/Maple and also adding Some Bitter Orange Peel. VERDICT: I wasn't sure of this one at first, but a couple pours in and it is really growing on me. That Musty Note that finally kicked in on the aftertaste definitely helped. I tend to get some off notes from certain ASM's (they do tend to be Craft Distillers), but I think the 5 Year Age Statement helps counteract some of those. ASM is its own animal. It's not Bourbon-y, nor is it Scotch-y. It has its own unique profile that is instantly recognizable and, if the TTB would get off their backside and do it, worthy of a category all its own. I can definitely see this being a repeat buy.

A unique nose, bearing notes of red apple, dried apricot, pecan pie, oak and raisin bread. There's a deep fruitiness to the perfume of this whiskey quite unlike any we've experienced. The tasting follows suit, with a light handed touch of barrel, and an almost ethereal body. The flavor is gathered in the center of the palate, with some similarity to a cinnamon apple pie. The overall effect is of a dessert whiskey. Quite drinkable, yet of its own kind. I would prefer this as a mixing spirit in classics like a Manhattan or Old-Fashioned, as opposed to a sipper on its own.

I love scotch. I love Bourbon. I love this. People might find reasons to poo-poo it but Beam got this right. Notes of toasted grain are chased by a delightful fruitiness. The finish leaves a little to be desired but thats ok because you’ll want to keep sippin.

Aromas of brown sugar. Sweet malty flavor with almost a root beer finish. Nothing extra ordinary about this but definety not bad

A nice single malt. Get spice and apple on the front end with a little maple on the back end.