Introduction
Today I’m bringing in a very special guest, for my first attempt at Whiskey & Friends, and hopefully the first of many. This person comes in with a plethora of experience in drinking whiskey over the last decade and I’m sure has spent thousands of dollars on whiskey, if not hundreds. And let’s just say there were many forgotten nights in his endeavors to become an expert whiskey drinker. Some may call him “my brother’s friend,” but fortunately, I have the honor of calling him MY good friend. Tonight, his nose and palate were on point, but unfortunately his words were not: describing a particular whiskey as a “dark sketchy alley.” Maybe, just maybe, he’s the genius we all ought to strive to be, and our comprehension pales to such creative astuteness and wisdom of the whiskey world. Who am I, or we, to judge what one feels, hears, tastes, smells or senses when sniffing and drinking the sweet brown liquid deliciousness that we call whiskey. Save your judgement for the damn bartender that muddles a pound of fucking fruit with a sugar packet for an old fashioned and serves it over small ice cubes! Seriously, what the fuck. Anyway, we sampled five different whiskeys’ from across the region (not blind) in the order listed below. We were already a whiskey or two in prior to start, but all whiskey ratings were relative to each other. And regardless of our state, I believe we were fair.
Without further ado, I present to you: Whiskey & Rye With My Levi
The Whiskeys
- Rolling Standard: Four Grain Whiskey
- 92 Proof. Kansas City. $40
- Jefferson’s Ocean Bourbon: Voyage 23
- 90 proof. Kentucky. $80
- Mythology: Bourbon
- 88 Proof. Denver, CO. $50
- George Dickel: Bottled in Bond
- 100 Proof. Tennessee. $50
- High West: A Midwinter Nights Dram
- 99.4 Proof. Park City, UT. $100
Our Thoughts
- Rolling Standard
- Levi: Very soft and velvety. Unexciting. Enjoyed it at least.
- Kyle: Weird. Very grain. Could definitely tell the uniqueness of the 4 grain, like that of other 4 grains.
- Jefferson’s Ocean
- Levi: Chocolatey finish. Enjoying it more than the 4 grain.
- Coming back to Jefferson’s after a few more tastings- can really taste the salt.
- Kyle: Couldn’t agree more on the salt. Definitely better than the 4 grain. It’s sweeter and fruitier.
- Levi: Chocolatey finish. Enjoying it more than the 4 grain.
- Mythology
- Levi: Dark, sketchy alley, that one shouldn’t walk down without protection. No excuse not to drink this however. It comes with a nutty and woody flavor. Very earthy, and danky like mushroom.
- Kyle: *perplexed, and still attempting to figure out where Levi’s analogies are derived from, but enjoying them nonetheless. I do agree though that it’s quite a good bourbon, not like other Colorado whiskeys, which is a good thing. Vanilla oak definitely comes out in this one.
- George Dickel
- Levi: Little hot, alcohol hits you hard. Needed a little bit of water with this one, which brought his score up a whole point.
- Kyle: Dryer for me. Still get the sweet oaky flavor. But the hotness kicks in a little too much. Agreed with Levi on the slight water down for this one.
- High West Midwinter
- Levi: Very flavorful and velvety with a heavy pepper finish, and a hot breath out. By far the best whiskey tasted so far.
- Kyle: ditto of above. Definitely a little sweet, port barrel finish is obvious. However, they do it better than any other port barrel finish I’ve tried. Flavor finishes a little quickly, but it’s damn complex. And just awesome.
Ratings & Conclusion
Results:
- High West Midwinter Dram – score: 7-7.5
- Mythology Bourbon – score: 6-6.5
- Jefferson’s Ocean 23 – score: 6
- George Dickel BIB – score: 5-5.5
- Rolling Standard – score: 5
Conclusion:
At the end of the day, it’s hard to go wrong with drinking whiskey with one of your best buds. The only thing that could potentially go wrong at my place, is not the type of whiskey drank, but the amount. I didn’t bamboozle Levi with any Malort, yet, and may just save it for my next guest sipper. There were many a whiskey’s tried after the main tasting, but Midwinter Dram was by far the winner. It’s smooth, complex, flavorful and the most unique. The rarity is unfortunate, and hard to find at MSRP of only $100. Hopefully soon I can have my good friend Cayla from High West come guest sip with me and help explain why the hell they don’t bottle more Midwinter!