High West A Midwinter Night's Dram Act 11 (All Scenes)

I have to say that luck has been on my side in regards to certain aquisitions. A few months back I was able to find a bottle of the previous batch (Act10) of this High West liquid gold. I never would have thought I'd score another bottle of the current batch (Act11) both in the same year. So it's no surprise I dug right in to see what differences there may be between the two. The nose was a bit light having perhaps an essence of rye, ethanol, and fruit of some sort. The flavor is where I noticed more separation. Instead of the cinnamon and fruit I got more of an herbal and earth combo amongst the rye spice kick. Hints of baking spices also resided within flavor environment yet more towards the finish which was less sweet and a touch drier. A very solid batch indeed, but I feel Act 10 edged 11 out slightly. That being said, I'm still going to thoroughly enjoy every pour of this till the end.

A compact nose bomb of sweet and spicy in equal measure. Exactly what we had hoped for. On the palate, the flavors burst forth with a rush of sweet port, lively rye and and warming, near dessert-like joviality. None of the high rye kick has been lost, but rather has been wed to the inherent depth of the ex-Porto barrels. A clean, round and only slightly woody mouthfeel, leads to a spectacular finish which takes several minutes to complete. Truly exceptional and the epitome of distilling and creative aging. A classic for a good reason.

Agree with pro reviewer that nose is light and the fruit is there but light on the palate. However. Let it sit 15 minutes and the nose evolves into brown sugar and rye spice with the red fruit jumping out on the palate. The finish lingers nicely so this one gets high marks. Great finish and no burn whatsoever makes this an easy one to enjoy. Compared it to a brandy finished double rye thats excellent but it has more heat and less of a finish than this one. Nice to see the MWND stand out so well.

This is an easy drinking pour that reminds me of sitting next to a campfire while eating a holiday spice cake. The flavors are balanced that drink less than the stated ABV. No one flavor seems to stand out more pronounced than others (which may be why some reviews are more punitive). I personally like to have flavors develop as I continue sipping. The layers of holiday spices keep coming with each sip and results in dram that never gets boring or one dimensional to me.

Very dark, fruity, and spicy. Nose: Raisins, Honey, Luxardo Cherries, Plums, Dates, Smoke, Mocha, Dark Chocolate, Morello Cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, French Toast Palate: Toffee Apples, Raisins, Strawberries, Morello Cherries, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Licorice, Zesty Lemon Peels, Grapefruit Finish: Vanilla, Luxardo Cherries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Pineapples, Passion Fruit, Dark Chocolate, Oranges, Makuna Honey

First bottle of this I've had now that's it's primarily High West's own rye, and I'm not a fan. I don't know if it's the malted rye or if the whiskey is just too young, but I tasted craft funk and cereal grains more than rye spice. Extremely disappointing, and the last bottle of MWND I'll be buying. We still had a little of an Act 6 bottle left to compare with, and the difference was night and day. The older bottlings win by a landslide.