Stranahan's Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt

Taste: This is Kenwood Liquors Barrel #12-1171. 1.5 oz neat in tasting glen cairn Nose: (3.5) Dusty corn and cream soda on the nose. There is also some spearmint but a bit artificial like those jellied spearmint leaf candies. There is a sweetness about it but not sickingly so. It does smell like this will be a younger offering but is well assembled, offers me the notion that there will be a bit to unpack here. Palate: (3.25) Thicker viscosity and a waxiness. It is the waxy taste that you get from Vernor's Ginger Ale. It was interesting to me but could really be odd for others. This is a sweet whiskey. Really present is creamed corn or what one might also describe as corn pudding corn. Finish: (3.25) quicker, candy-like finish. Halloween candy corn is the dominant trait that you end on with the artificial spearmint leaf in the background. Overall- First, I am not usually a fan nor do I usually dabble in malted whiskey. Often they are too earthy and grainy for my taste. This one wasn't that way. Although it had some vegetable-like notes it did not give me that that "spilled on a dusty silo floor and hastily put back in the bottle" note that usually chases me off. The sweetness was another matter. This is very thick and candy-corn like! Definately is a dessert offering and will be well received by those with a sweet tooth. The strange jelly candy spearmint throws me off and seems kind of out of place. To me this is an odd-ball. You have to open your mind up to what it is, and what it isn't. It is not a traditional whiskey but it is a sweet, thick, young offering that makes interesting use of malt in the mashbill. It very much reminds me of Greg Metze's Old Elk. I don't hate or love it. It is simply different, but that doesn't make it bad. This piqued my interest.

Stranahan's Single Barrel Cask Strength Barrel #15-757 @ 108.74 Proof (I'm going to assume the 15 in the barrel number is the year, putting this around 5 years old.) After trying and liking the Stranahan's Blue Peak, I saw this one on sale for $50 and decided it was worth a chance... NOSE: Starts off rather simple and Fruit Forward (Pineapple, Pear, Apple, Kiwi) with Leather in the background. After a few minutes of air it becomes much more complex as the Leather moves more to the forefront and the Fruit notes are joined by a general Florality, Dry Barn Wood, Warm Oatmeal with a Strawberry Jam Swirl, and just a hint of Maple. NEAT: Substantial, Rich Mouthfeel leads to Heavy Fruit Sweetness on entry. Again, Pineapple, Pear, and Crisp Red Apple. My first thought is a Smoother Unpeated Highland Park. Mid-palate has Leather and a Slight Nuttiness with just a Hint of Tannins. Heavy Cherry on the Medium Length, Slightly Warming Finish. A nice Silky Coating of Kiwi, Cherry, Leather and Oak remains and increases in layers with each subsequent sip. SPLASH: A few drops of water and the nose gains a "Soapy" note and a Dry Pleasant Sweetness that I can almost, but not quite, place. The mild Tannic note that was present on the Palate is gone. The Fruit notes dominate the entire Palate and it becomes even sweeter. VERDICT: WOW. This is good. I can imagine that this would satisfy the sweetest of Sweet Tooths and still manage to appeal to Scotch, Bourbon, and Rye Lovers of all types. An American Whisky not dominated by Vanilla and Caramel, but equally sweet with notes of Tropical/Jammy/Syrupy Fruits? Sign me up every time.

Tonight I'm enjoying a glass of Stranahan's Cask Strength Single Malt. This is a single barrel offering selected for @cheersliquor and is bottled at cask strength, 55.62% ABV. I previously reviewed and enjoyed another single barrel offering of Stranahan's bottled at 47%, so I knew I had tovtry the next step up. Purchased at @cheersliquor while visiting family in Colorado Springs for $54.99 and that seems to be a good price in the cask-strength single-barrel market these days. No information on age, filtering, or coloring is provided on the bottle. My detailed thoughts and rating below: ⠀ ⠀ 🥃 Stranahan's Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt - 55.62% ABV ⠀ Nose: Apples. Brown sugar. Pie crust. Bright spices, like cinammon an peppermint. ⠀ Taste: A complex mix of holiday baking spices, fruity sweetness, a good mix of oak, black pepper, and some heat! Really delicious and bold stuff. Great for a warm night. The palate is much more robust than the nose, which is more nuanced. The oak adds is drying and intense on the palate, but still feels appropriate. The texture is silky and the finish is quite long, leaving your mouth tingling and warm. Compared to the Stranahan's bottle I reviewed previously, this is much spicier and more oak influenced. Additionally, the the texture here is less oily than the previous bottle, but that could be partially due to the ABV. Overall, this is another great single barrel by Stranahan's and it makes more an absolutely delcious wintertime drink (it was 70 deg F here in San Diego today, but still). Cheers to Stranahan's and cheers to Cheers! ⠀ Current rating: 87/100

(#5) Fellow Distiller @WhiskeyLonghorn recently posted his top 5 Whiskeys of 2020 and I thought it was such a great idea that I'm stealing it. To qualify, a whiskey did not need to be new, just new to me in 2020...so there will be some tried and true staples mixed in with the new releases on my list. I was able to narrow my list of 14 possibilities to 7 fairly quickly, but going from 7 to 5 proved a little tougher. Honorable Mentions will make an appearance after Whiskey #1. I won't bore you with a full re-review of each, but will give an overall impression. Should you want to read the full review, you shouldn't have to scroll too deeply in my tastes to find them. So...without further ado, I present my Number 5 Whiskey of 2020... Stranahan's Single Barrel Cask Strength Barrel #15-757 @ 108.74 Proof (I'm going to assume the 15 in the barrel number is the year, putting this around 5 years old.) Ironically, if I hadn't decided to try this one, Stranahan's Blue Peak may very well have occupied the #5 spot. Heavy on the Fruit Notes, I compared this one to a Smoother, Unpeated Highland Park. Lots of Sweetness, Oak & Leather to go with the Fruit. This is one of the best American Single Malts I've had. Their Single Barrel Program is fairly new, but if you see this one, it comes highly recommended. 4.25

Total Wine pick Gilbert AZ, 116.68 proof. Delectable nose of banana bread, mango, custard, drawn butter, apple, almond, and orange slice candy. Kind of a mossy note underneath which becomes more prevalent as it sits in the glass but is not unwelcome. Amazingly low ethanol for nearly 120 proof. Palate is rich and punchy with orange marmalade, vanilla cream, strawberry jam, honey, and cereal grains (oats). Flavors hit the mid part of the tongue and entrench themselves there. Finish does take a rather sharp turn into cinnamon, pepper, and baking spice territory, ending with a oaky, buttery dryness similar to a Chardonnay. Medium length. Quite frankly I’m not sure if the finish matches the palate well; if doesn’t so much develop as it takes a huge left turn. Mouthfeel is grippy and resinous. Big plus. Overall a really solid product that has me a bit enchanted due to its uniqueness. It’s not perfect by any means but if you like bright, fruity whiskies, this could be for you. Plenty of other single barrel store picks of this in my area so I will happily shell out $59 to try another pick. Solidly in the rebuy zone.

VA-ABC 18-0693 Barrel. Golden copper with amber hues. Lots of legs appear very slowly. Nose of golden raisins, toasted white bread, light caramel, faint notes of milk chocolate, and a hint of spice, and vanilla pudding. Reminiscent of a caramel malted milkshake. Soft on the palate, there's a nice note of caramelized pear tart upfront, along with carmel and malted barley syrup. It warms the mouth quickly, resulting in an early peak of spice, dry oak and a bit of heat that pulls away from the initial sweetness. Medium to long finish, it's interesting and easy to drink for a cask strength offering. I like this enough to buy another bottle to stash. It's like a marriage of bourbon and a Speyside Scotch. There's plenty of barrel contribution for a 6 year old, from both the oak and the char, yet it's not short in any way on the subtle delight of malted barley. I wish I could give this a 3.9... still closer to a 4 than a 3.75 though