Lonehand Whiskey

The nose has toffee and nuts (almonds and pecans) mixed with a hint of rye and floral mineral. The palate has a ton of mineral with floral elements, tasting young and like stale bread. There are some vegetal notes that give it a bit of a tequila taste, reminding me somewhat of Herradura. There's fortunately some sweetness from the caramel and it doesn't taste too sickly and fruity, so there's some merit. It kind of tastes like it picked a bad flavor to pull off but it pulled it off respectably. It's very grassy but does have some age to it - it just isn't much age. It tastes markedly inferior to Evan Williams Black, which at least tastes undisputably like aged corn-based whiskey. In comparison, this tastes far younger, but also kind of like tequila, so it could pass as an overly bourbony mixer in a tequila-based cocktail if required. There are hints of banana that suggest strong toasting, but they are not out of control. This is actually not a disaster, but it is most expensive than Evan Williams and not as good. A sip on an untainted palate does expose that this tastes quite young (certainly under 2 years) though and for a whiskey that is a pretty damning taste. The flavor is comparable in quality and aging to that of Jim Beam Original, but it tastes less like bourbon than tequila, so this gets a slightly lower score. The caramel tastes too light and is just kind of masked by the burnt grass flavor.

Overall, a pretty average whiskey. It is very comparable to Jack Daniels No. 7. You can smell the grainy mash on the nose. As the name suggests, it is a sour smell to the mash, but there is also a hint of sweet. Throughout the drink, there is a fairly pleasant vanilla taste. For the price at $28.99 for a 1.75L bottle (compared to $34.99 for a 1.75L bottle of Jack Daniels), it is a great deal. Like Jack, I wouldn’t choose to drink it straight, but not a bad choice for a mixed drink.

The nose pops with super glue or adhesive fumes, then a second chance generously gifts a note of artificial cherry like in the pull apart Twizzlers, The palate begins watery and unpleasant but blessedly improves into the finish, but not by much. The finish is tangy but veiled; it leaves you wanting (specifically, a better whiskey.) I poured the rest of my glass into some eggnog, hopefully that will improve it. *sips* Yes, that did the trick.

It's decent enough for the price, I had read that it was similar to Jack so that's what I was expecting and it's really not similar at all to me. That doesn't make it bad, it's just not what I was expecting. It's pretty smooth for a 12 dollar bottle of whiskey, there's some cinnamon and vanilla to it as well as a strange kind of muddled grainy taste throughout.

A delicate sour mash whiskey made in Tennessee using the Lincoln County Process, Maple charcoal filtered & oak aged. It has a soft birth with notes of vanilla & caramel; while life is rich adding notes of oak; that led to a quick & sweet death. June / November 2018 / February / June 2019 / August 2022

Did not have high expectations. This must be Jack Daniels distillate because the banana laffy taffy is here, but this is a whisper of Tennessee whiskey because of the low proof and super young age. It's got that young bitter finish, but it's not nearly as bad as swill like Old Thompson.