Harkening back to my first review on this page, I’m here this week with a review of another single barrel bourbon, easily one of my favourite forms of whiskey! This bottle hails not from Kentucky, like most bourbons do, but instead from the great state of Colorado, produced by the lovely folks at Elkins Distilling. I’m certainly excited to dive into this one!
Bottled at 46.5% ABV, I got this bottle as a gift from a family member who visited the USA a few weeks ago, and just from looking at the bottle it’s exactly the sort of visual I love in bourbon. The label has a lovely matte finish and the black, red and white colour scheme with a hint of bronze is simply striking! The liquid’s colour is also a lovely mahogany/burnt umber, darker than most of the spirits I tend to review!
The smell is powerful and unusual, but not in a bad way. Hickory smoke envelops a rural aroma of corn and straw, with a side note of vanilla that lingers on the nose quite nicely, which rounds out the earthy core nicely. Initial flavours continue the earthy flavours of corn, though now with an undertone charred oak.
The main body is quite simple, building on the notes of corn and oak presented in the front by adding hints of vanilla and brown sugar to sweeten the medley. The aftertaste is quite a change of pace to the main flavour, becoming rather dry with notes of tobacco and that iconic hickory smoke once more, both of which cling to the mouth nicely thanks to a slight oiliness in the dram.
One thing I personally very much enjoy about this is that it’s such a Swiss Army knife of a whiskey; it works beauty neat, as I just described, but it also works well with a simple mixer, keeping the same flavour with a more mild touch, and finally works great in cocktails too! That last one of course needs a bit of nuance, as this is an admittedly powerful whiskey, but it can absolutely work well in both long and short cocktails that rely on strong flavours!
Diluted, the smoke in the nosing comes out far stronger. The flavour changes quite drastically as well, becoming sweeter in some ways, but more earthy in others. Notes of brown sugar and even chocolate make themselves known in the body, but the oak and tobacco in the aftertaste have a more pronounced role. I also feel in the front there is even the tiniest hit of ginger, which for me was very apparent on first sip, but slipped away the more I drank. Perhaps I just imagined it?
This is a surprisingly diverse single barrel! This can be enjoyed neat, diluted with water, or even with something like cola, and still maintain a strong, consistent flavour that is lovely to drink. The palette is quite mild and approachable, helping to make it even smoother than it already was! The slight oiliness is welcome and allows for a more vivid and relaxing warming sensation in the afterglow, which is very enjoyable!
This is a beautiful single barrel and is so different from many of the other bourbons I’ve tried, feeling far more like a rural country bourbon than what I’m used to. But by no means do I dislike it! Sipping this whiskey while listening to some delicate folk music is truly bliss; I can attest as that’s what I did when trying this for the first time! If you get a chance to try this bourbon it’s truly worth it, especially if you’re a fan of typically drier whiskies like scotch, as I feel this may appeal more to your tastes than the bourbon many people know and drink daily!
(Also for those who wish to know, my bottle is Barrel-22/Bottle-27)
This post’s recommended song is: “River” – Yonder Mountain String Band
