Stranahan's Diamond Peak (old recipe)

Nose: Oh wow, this smells great. Cherry Dr Pepper, nougat, plum, spun sugar, and the faintest hint of green oak leaf. Not even a trace of ethanol. Could sit and huff this all night. Palate: vanilla pudding, cola, muffin, and mellow dried fruits (think apple, blueberry, and pear). Round and full, neither being bright nor dark. Finish is more fruit (specifically apple), along cocoa powder, some wood and spice showing up to balance things out. Notes are so rounded as to be hard to define what specific “wood” or “spice” I’m tasting here. Finish is pretty short overall. Mouthfeel soft as a baby’s bottom. Overall very enjoyable but man this thing is MELLOW. The song “Easy” by the Commodores comes to mind. I normally go for much bolder, but this sort spoke to me and what it said was “Hey bud, let’s chill. No need to be brash”. At $66, and 94 proof it’s probably overpriced, but I liked it enough in spite of that to give it a 4.0 anyway. I don’t know if I’m going to buy another bottle soon, but will really miss this one when it’s gone.

This has more of a pear nose than regular stranahan's does, but it still has tomato and American cheese. More minerals come through too, but also so does some more caramel. The tartness gradually speaks up more. There are a lot of minerals and there is a drying finish. There's a decent amount of smoke and the flavor is clean though the alcohol does come through. There's a little vanilla, but not much fruit or floral element. There's plenty of spiciness, which creates a bit of burn. It's kind of mild in terms of richness and it tastes young. There is some stuff going on here, with some charred wood and a bit of smoke coming through. There might be a dash of peat, but it isn't too much. Maybe the tomato and cheese are just oiliness? It's decently rich, but not so much as the regular stranahan's is. Honestly, the regular is a little better. I'd still sip this though. It's solid, but kind of uninteresting. If you're looking for some generic richness, this might pass at a fairly young age.

The nose is barrel char and fruity notes - banana? Rubbing alcohol. On the palate this is very chocolatey, bitter dark chocolate, rubbing alcohol, char, dry oak. The finish is long with bitter chocolate, wood, and grass. Some of the more bitter flavors run a little too wild in the end for my taste, but I can appreciate this in that it's different. Edit: I normally don't add water to stuff below the mid 50s ABV, but I did in this case, and it makes a world of difference- the nose becomes very malty, with hints of spice, and a little bitter chocolate. The change in taste is even more dramatic. The barley malt really jumps forward, and the bitter chocolate notes take a back seat. It has a nice spice, somewhere between ground ginger and white pepper, and develops a sour apple character. The finish is spice, malt, oak, and just a hint of baking chocolate. I would not drink this again without water, but with it, it's almost a different spirit.

Thanks to @The_Rev , I got a generous sample to try this. With my regular trips to Denver, I’ve been meaning to actually visit Stranahan’s, but my schedule generally only involves office to hotel back to office. Till then, this will have to do. I believe that the most noteworthy American single malt distilleries are Westland and Stranahan’s...the others can’t even come close. Products like this will just continue to get better as it ages more in the barrels. This one brings flavors of brown sugar, some mint, marzipan. Well made, but young...can do with some age to take off the roughness and slightly bitter finish. Till this ages, I’m going to instead try their sherry cask, which I’ve heard is better, but what I’d really like to get my hands on is their annual Snowflake, which is reportedly amazing enough to have lines overnight. Thanks @The_Rev for the pour!

Stranahan's hasn't let me down yet. I love their entry-level whiskey, as well as the single barrel incarnation of it that I tried; this, their ostensible step up from the flagship, is every bit as good, if not slightly better. The mint and dark chocolate notes that seem to be hallmarks of the house style come across even more boldly here, especially the mint. There's a deep, dark fruitiness, too - not quite into dried fig territory yet, but definitely raisiny. The finish is lovely, ever so slightly hot, with the minty freshness taking a long ride into a mountain sunset. Excellent whiskey, well worth the $60 I paid for the bottle.

Tasted at room temperature in a glencairn glass. No water added. 94 proof. The nose is subtle, gentle, and pleasant. I'm not trying to say "weak" in any way. I get brown sugar and apple pie. On the palate, single malt steps forward. It's just that profile... you know it when you taste it. Sweet, syrupy, vanilla, butterscotch... with lots of mouth feel. The finish doesn't hang as long as I'd like, but while it is present, it's back to the apple pie for me. Lighter than I'd like, honestly.