It’s hard to believe it’s been 6 months. But time absolutely flies. It’s snowing outside and absolutely the time of year to start drinking whiskey again. Not that I haven’t been for most of the summer. It’s been a fruitful month for the liquor cabinet and I have plenty to drink/write about.
For my birthday, I received both a bottle of Johnnie Walker Green (yum. will review later) and a whiskey I’d never heard of: High West Whiskey Bourye. It’s one of the first blended American whiskeys that I’ve heard of, being comprised of 3 whiskeys: a 10 year old bourbon, a 12 year old rye and another 16 year old rye.
Before I dig into the whiskey, High West is a really interesting distillery. In 2007 they became the first legal distillery in the state of Utah since 1870. In addition to their ryes, they have a bottled Manhattan, which I would kinda kill to try. And lastly, their bottles are pretty bad ass. Glass with bubbles and imperfections galore. Proud to be on my shelf.
So the taste. First, which I found interesting, these are really old for American whiskeys, most bourbons are aged 2-5 years. It lends itself to a pretty pungent flavor. They also recommend you don’t drink it with ice, but water is OK (So I did.). It’s 92 proof, so it’s a little strong to drink neat, especially if you want to really taste the flavors, at least for me (maybe you’re tougher than me).
The taste. I really like the juxtaposition of a rye next to a bourbon. It’s almost like mixing spicy and sweet. You have a bold flavor of the rye hit you, cinnamony (to me), sharp, but then as I held it on my tongue, more of a smooth flavor emerging, caramel sweet. The finish was back to crisp/sharp. Almost refreshing. (well, all whiskey is refreshing to me). Clean is a good word.
It’s a whiskey I’d absolutely recommend to anyone, especially fans of rye. I look forward to trying some of their other bottles, especially their Barreled Manhattan.
