Rod & Hammer's SLO Stills Straight Bourbon

My local grocery had a whisky tasting today, so I walked on over and tried some... These are young bourbons from Rod & Hammers... 2-year age statements for both this Straight Bourbon, as well as their higher proof Cask Strength. I tried both, and wasn't completely knocked out by either. But I wanted to support a "local" distillery ( they're out of San Luis Obispo, CA), and grabbed a bottle of the Straight Bourbon. For such a young whiskey, it's not too bad. The nose is nice with vanilla and floral notes coming through.... A little thin on the palate (no surprise), with some sweetness and spiciness (a relatively high rye % after all) and a slight "warmth" in the chest. I also get a nice "walnut" flavor sneaking in. The finish is short with lingering spice. I asked if they had some longer age statements in the works, and I was told they had some "sitting around" at the moment. Will be interested to see what this distillery has to offer in the not-so-distant future.

The Nose emanates in Butterscotch or Carmelized Vanilla and finishes with Oak and a hint of leather. The Palate melds into the nose with hint of sweet caramel on the front end until it cascades into Spearmint, Leather, and herbal black tea on the back end. This then transitions to the Finish, which maintains the herbal black tea and spearmint from the Back Palate and sits on your tongue with Orange Peel mixing its way into the equation. Overall pretty lengthy finish with the Orange Peel sitting for an extended period of time. Nice whiskey, with similar notes to others readily available on the market.

Nose of caramel and toffee, pleasant mouth feel, caramel and oaked toffee comes through with a smooth, strong, pleasantly lingering finish.

July 2, 2022 Ocean Beach San Diego . Also enjoyed a dip in the ocean.

Great nose. Oaky on the mouth