Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon, 2025

I’d like to thank the Texas Whiskey Festival, Garrison Brothers, and their PR partners for providing this sample with no strings attached.

When you think of great bourbon, who do you think of first? The obvious answer is Kentucky, right? So much so that there are still folks out there who think that it’s the only place that bourbon can be made. But there are folks all over the country these days who are lining up to prove that other states have what it takes as well.

For example, I recently received a couple of samples through the Texas Whiskey Festival. They were promoting the winners of their “Best Texas Whiskey of 2026” competition. I ended up with samples of two of their category winners. We’ll talk about the bourbon today and then hit the rye in a bonus post on Friday, so keep an eye out for that. But before we get into the winner, let’s let the Festival speak for themselves about their contest:

The 2026 Texas Whiskey Festival brought together distilleries from across the state for a night built on discovery, conversation, and shared pours. Through a blind tasting process—removing labels, reputations, and expectations—we set out to identify the bottles that truly stand out in the glass. The goal isn’t just to name the “best,” but to create a clear guide to the must-try Texas whiskeys right now—the ones worth seeking out, sharing with friends, and revisiting long after the festival ends.

So let’s get started with the winner of the category, Bourbon — Must-Try Bottles. The 2025 edition of Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon is a monster at 146.4 proof. It has been aged for six years in the Texas heat and is for sale at the Garrison Brothers website for $249.99. If that name sounds familiar, we last discussed the 2023 edition shortly after it came out, and I enjoyed it, even if it was way too hot to drink neat. This one, being even higher proof, made me excited to take a look at the 2025 edition as well. Let’s see how this one tastes.

Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon, 2025

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided at no charge by the PR team for review purposes. As of the time of writing, it is available at the Garrison Brothers website for $249.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $16.67

Details: 73.2% ABV. Six years old.

Nose: Caramel, wintergreen, maple, and oak.

Mouth: Holy fuckballs, this is hot! If you get past the proof while still being able to taste anything, you will find notes of dried grain, leather, wintergreen, caramel, maple, and cinnamon.

Finish: Warm and long with notes of dried grain, maple, caramel, and cinnamon.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn neutral face denoting that it isn’t for me, but that others will possiblylove it.

Thoughts: I don't usually comment on the color of a bourbon I write about, but this one is gorgeous. Deep, rich mahogany color. The nose initially had a lot of ethanol notes, but they evaporated off after a few minutes. After that, you started to get sweet notes like maple and caramel, with some oak along for the ride.

The mouth? Dude. A small sip started to numb the tongue. Under the heat it is quite sweet. I wasn't expecting the dried grain notes on something this old. If you like a grain-forward bourbon, this is the one for you. Personally, I don't mind them, but don't seek them out either.

The big story on this one, though, is not the flavor but the proof. And it is as hot as you’d expect at over 140 proof. So I added a bit of water to try to tame it. Oddly, the water seemed to accentuate both the heat and the graininess. This bourbon isn't for me—I'm not a fan of overproof or grain-forward bourbons. You get over 110 proof and I start needing to dilute it too much before I can enjoy it. And if the water doesn’t help, as in this case, I tend to move on. But that is a me problem not a problem with the bourbon.

So, at the end of the day, this doesn't align with my palate but it isn't objectively bad either (as evidenced by the awards it wins), so I'm giving it a neutral rating. It is certainly worth trying a pour if you get the opportunity though at $250, a full bottle is certainly outside my price range these days.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Wenzel Distillery Sherry Barrel Finished Bourbon, Batch 2

I’d like to thank Wenzel Distillery and their PR team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Small bottle of Wenzel Distillery Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in sherry casks sitting on a deck railing with bright green trees blurred in the background.

As I am an old man, I know a lot of old songs. And as much as it pains me to realize this, the 1980s were 40 years ago. Which is an objectively long time. There was an old song by a band called Cinderella, that was popular when I was a young lad titled Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone). And we are living that in the BourbonGuy household this week. We recently got new neighbors on one side of our house. We live in a tightly packed neighborhood, but what made it lovely were all the trees in everyone’s yards. It made it easy to pretend that our houses were further apart than they really were.

Well, this week, the new neighbors to the south took down their three extremely large maples. Which sucked for us since they provided shade and, more importantly, privacy from the neighbors beyond them. It was sad and has us trying to figure out how to replace the effect. But it does provide much more sun for a garden that was shaded most of the morning, which is nice. So it’s a mixed bag for us. But they seem to like it. And the motto around here has always been that there are few objectively bad things, just things that we don’t personally like (this is why there are few “dislike” ratings on the site). How boring would it be if we all liked the same things, including whiskey, the same way? There would be no reason for experimentation or even multiple brands of whiskey. We’d all like the same thing, so that’s what would be produced.

That isn’t to say that all experiments are successful. At least not to every audience. Case in point: tonight’s bourbon. While there are people who love a sherry cask finish, I am not one of them. I don’t mind it now and then. Sometimes it even adds a touch of fruitiness to an otherwise boring bourbon. Other times it seems to overpower the bourbon entirely. Sherry fans may very well love when the latter occurs. Not being a sherry fan, I usually prefer the former.

Tonight’s bourbon is more of the sherry-forward variety. As the producer was purchasing this whiskey from another distillery that was shutting down, the liquid in the barrel spent three years in the ex-Oloroso Sherry finishing barrels instead the months that is a more typical length for a barrel-finish. That liquid became Batch 1 of Wenzel Distillery Sherry Barrel Finished Bourbon. For Batch 2, they ended up blending some of the remaining barrels from Batch 1 with other barrels that were aged longer but finished for a more normal length of time. Batch 2 is made up of 679 bottles. It is bottled at 119.1 proof and is for sale at the distillery in Covington, KY, or on the distillery website for $109.

Wenzel Distillery Sherry Barrel Finished Bourbon, Batch 2

Purchase Info: This sample was sent at no cost by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $109 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $7.27

Details: 59.55% ABV. Batch 2

Nose: Caramel, walnut, baking spice, and leather.

Mouth: Hot and dry in the mouth. Slightly astringent. Notes of toffee, leather, walnut, cinnamon, and oak.

Finish: Hot and long. Notes of toffee, nuts, vanilla sugar cookies, and nutmeg.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn neutral face that denotes that while I personally don’t care for the product, others may well love it.

Thoughts: It turns out that we are not Oloroso sherry fans in the BourbonGuy household. We’ve had some lovely bourbons with a hint of sherry finish, but this has a lot of sherry influence. Not my cup of tea, nor my wife’s. Because I wasn’t a fan of this in a Glencairn glass (I felt that the tasting glass accented the more astringent notes), I tried it how I normally drink my whiskey for pleasure: in a rocks glass with a little piece of ice. The added dilution took away the astringent notes and accented the fruitiness of the sherry finish, but it also brought out a graininess in the whiskey that had previously been obscured by the proof. Which was better, and bumped it from a dislike to a neutral rating.

Bottom line: if you love sherry, you will probably love this. But if not, you may not. However, I love the experimentation and hope more people are willing to do fun things like this. In the old days, over-aged bourbon would have been redistilled to try to “salvage” it into something that would make the producer money. Today we get people trying new things, and that is awesome.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Frey Ranch Farm Strength Uncut Rye

I’d like to thank the folks at Frey Ranch Distillery and their PR team for providing this bottle with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Frey Ranch Cask Strength Straight Rye Whiskey (aged 6 years) bottle on a wooden deck with backyard trees in the background, showing green and black label details and BourbonGuy watermark in the corner

Now, I don’t know about you, but I seldom think of farming and Nevada in the same sentence. Mostly because I’ve really only been to the areas that tourists go to. I’ve been to Vegas, visited nature in the area, and driven through Northern Nevada on I-80 a couple of times. And honestly, I never thought about grain farming as I drove through.

But apparently I should have. Just over the southern horizon (poetically speaking) from I-80 lives a small town named Fallon. And when you look for Fallon on a satellite view, you notice one thing quite clearly: there is a lot of green on that image. More than my brief visits to the state would have ever led me to believe. I must not be the only one with those thoughts, as the press release spends a few words explaining just that:

Using his own slow-grown grains that take Northern Nevada’s climate, topography, and terroir into account provides Colby with almost unlimited freedom to experiment with different grain varieties and blends. Valuing a common-sense approach to sustainable farming, Colby, along with Master Distiller Russell Wedlake, built a distillery born from a desire to create a distinctive, long-lasting product from the quality grains that the Frey family has been growing and perfecting for generations. The new Frey Ranch Farm Strength Uncut Rye is another prime example of Frey Ranch’s commitment to centering its whiskey enterprise around their grains and farming background first and foremost. 

The Frey family values a common-sense approach to sustainable farming, with Colby’s inspiration to build a distillery born from a desire to create a distinctive, long-lasting product from the quality grains his family has been growing and perfecting for generations. The family has long abided by the motto, “Be good to the land and the land will be good to you,” which is embossed on the bottom of each bottle of Frey Ranch Whiskey.

Now I don’t know about you, but I love having my perspective on the world widened. It’s why I travel so much and end up taking a lot of road trips when I do. I love seeing for myself just what this country has to offer.

But we are here to talk about whiskey. So let’s see what this whiskey has to offer. Right off the bat, it isn’t offering you any water. This is a cask strength whiskey, uncut with water—which I actually like. Why bother shipping water across the country when I have plenty here at home? Plus, I get to find my preferred dilution point. Frey Ranch Uncut Rye is six years old, bottled at 124.52 proof, and has a mash bill of 100% Canadian winter rye, grown by the Frey family. So now onto the most important part—how does it taste?

Frey Ranch Farm Strength Uncut Rye

Purchase Info: This bottle was provided for review purposes at no charge. The suggested retail price is $79.99 and it is available for the time being at the Frey Ranch Distillery website.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.33

Details: 6 years old. 62.26% ABV. 100% rye mash bill.

Nose: Caramel, honey, mint, black pepper, oak.

Mouth: Very hot and thick in the mouth. Notes of cinnamon, honey, cola, and oak.

Finish: Warm and long. Notes of cinnamon, mint, cocoa, black pepper, caramel, and oak linger.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn Smiley face which denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: Rich, sweet, and very spicy when neat. This is a release that is begging for water—which I am totally fine with. As I said earlier, it doesn't make much sense to ship water across the country when there is plenty here at the house. Water tames some of the heat and brings out cedar notes, as well as a hint of citrus. This also makes a killer Sazerac, the cocktail I test all ryes with. Overall, this is very good. I really like it.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Revisited: Woodinville Straight Bourbon

I’d like to thank Woodinville Whiskey for sending this review sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey bottle (aged 6 years) on a sunlit wooden deck with backyard in the background; large “REVISITED” text overlays the bottom with a BourbonGuy watermark in the corner

It has been thirteen hundred, thirty-nine days since I last look a look at Woodinville Whiskey. It was the first time that I’d had one of their whiskeys, and it certainly wasn’t the last. Since that time, we’ve looked at a number of their products and liked most of them quite a bit. However, I hadn’t picked up the original bourbon again for a while. So I was very excited when they sent me this bottle in order to promote their recent bottle redesign and new 6-year age statement. God, I love age statements showing up. And it really is a lovely bottle. And since that new bottle was the entire reason I got to take another look at it, I should probably let them tell you a little about it.

Woodinville's updated bottle pays homage to the traditional shape that has become synonymous with Woodinville but has been refined to reflect the ultra-premium liquid they produce. The bottle features two different textures of glass, the clear and refined upper part representing the purity and terroir of Woodinville where the whiskey is distilled, and the rugged lower half representing the dramatic climates of Quincy where the whiskey is matured. All four flagship whiskeys feature the fresh look and will also feature an updated 6 year age statement on the bottle. The whiskeys are: Woodinville Straight Bourbon Aged 6 Years (90 proof $39.99 MSRP), Woodinville Straight 100% Rye Aged 6 Years (90 proof $39.99 MSRP) Woodinville Port Finish Bourbon (90 proof $44.99 MSRP), and Woodinville Applewood Finish Bourbon (90 proof $44.99 MSRP).

So now that I’ve let them have their say, let’s see what I had to say about this bourbon the last time. I gave it a “Like” rating and said: “This is pretty darn tasty. If you like hot honey, this should be one to pick up. I look forward to trying a few more from their product line.” Now let’s see how a current bottle tastes, shall we?

Woodinville Straight Bourbon, Aged 6 Years

Purchase Info: This bottle was sent to me at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $39.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.67

Details: 6 years old. 45% ABV.

Nose: Hay, cherry, vanilla, oak.

Mouth: Cinnamon, honey, vanilla, oak, and almond.

Finish: Medium in length and warmth. Notes of cinnamon, honey, and almond.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like this product.

Thoughts: This is still really tasty. It has a lovely, viscous mouthfeel, which just adds to the honey notes. The almond/cherry notes are nice throughout. There is good warmth. And as mentioned above, it now comes in a bottle that is pretty enough that I might throw some solar lights in it and put it out on the deck for decoration. This remains a Like. It’s quite tasty.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

My Wandering Eye: Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy, 7-year-old

I’d like to thank Tamworth Distilling and their PR team for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Tamworth Garden VSOP Apple Brandy bottle, 7-year Napoleon, 50% ABV, made with NH Cortland heirloom apples, Calvados style, on an outdoor wooden surface.

It has been quite a while since we last did a My Wandering Eye post so I thought that I might start with a reminder of what we are doing in this series. My Wandering Eye is an ongoing series reacting to the continually rising prices in the bourbon world. We’ve reached a place where even average products have hit the range where they compete price-wise with other types of aged spirits. If I’m going to be asked to drop $40 to $75 on a mid-range bourbon, I might as well see what else I can get for that money. I hope to see if another spirits category offers something downright tasty in that price range. The goal isn’t to find cheap spirits but to maximize the quality I’m getting at a particular price point. The reviews in this series will all be written through a bourbon drinker’s lens.

I used to make hard cider every year. I've been traveling during apple season for the past few years, but it really is a fun project to do at home with friends or family. I got really into it too. I'd travel to rural Wisconsin and pick up apples straight from the orchards (the more rural you get, the less expensive the apples get). I had my own blend of apples that I liked to use. I'd calculated over the years which apples yielded the most juice per bushel, how each affected the flavor I wanted, all of that. Like I said, I was into it.

Because of my interest in both distilling and cider making, it wasn't surprising when I discovered that I really enjoyed apple brandy. It's just hard cider all grown up. And so when the PR folks for Tamworth Distilling reached out to see if I was interested in taking a look at their apple brandy, my answer was something along the lines of "yes please!" And when the bottle showed up, I was ecstatic to see that the variety of apple used to create it was one of the cornerstones of my own cider experiments: the Cortland apple. This was one of my family favorites growing up. I'd travel with my grandparents to the orchard (coincidentally in the same area I went to as an adult) and we'd pick apples. I don't remember all of the varieties, but I remember Grandma getting McIntosh and Cortland for sure. Cortland would last in the cellar for a decent amount of time, so we'd get to have one every now and then when going down for something else.

So that made me just a little predisposed to be happy to taste the product. Of course, the other thing is who made it. I'll quote the PR email for this bit:

Tamworth Distilling founder, booze baron Steven Grasse (AKA the father of craft gin), is known for creating brands including Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Narragansett and more – but he is also a historian and author whose passion for American history underscores the craft-forward approach of his distillery and his spirited books, including Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History.

So now that we know the pedigree and why I was excited to give this a taste, let's get on with the tasting, shall we?

Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P. Apple Brandy, 7-year-old

Purchase Info: This item was sent at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $75 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.00

Details: 50% ABV. 7 years old.

Nose: Cinnamon, oak, apple, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Mouth: Juicy apple, almond, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Lingering notes of juicy apple and vanilla.

IMAGE: A hand drawn smiley face. This denotes that I like the product.

Thoughts: Yum, yum, yum. Yumyum. Yum, yum, yum.

As you can see, I really like this. Unlike many apple brandies I've had, this tastes less of dried fruit and more like a juicy apple — which, I'll be honest, I really enjoy. There is a whiskey-like amount of heat and spice. This is a warm one, but not overly so. Fruity, baking spice, vanilla. It's delicious! It also makes a wonderfully apple-forward Sidecar with Grand Marnier and lemon juice. Big fan. So big, in fact, that before I even finished the tasting, I was on the company website ordering the XO 10-year-old version and a few other goodies that may or may not make it into future posts. I adore this brandy.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength

I’d like to thank Stoll & Wolfe and their PR partners for providing this sample bottle with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Stoll & Wolfe Distillery Pennsylvania Single Barrel Rye Whiskey, 100% Pure Rye, 107 proof, photographed on a snowy deck with warm amber whiskey glowing in winter light.

Hello my friends. Tonight we have a real treat for you. Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength is described by the distillery as an interpretation on the historic Monongahela-style of Rye Whiskey that was once much more common than it is today. It was a rye whiskey developed along the Monongahela River, which flows through West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania before joining the Allegheny at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River.

Now, being in Lititz, PA, Stoll & Wolfe aren’t necessarily very close to that Monongahela River Valley (being about as close to it as I am to the U.P. of Michigan from here in the Twin Cities of Minnesota), but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a lot of state pride in their regional whiskey style. I know I would.

But, to me as a history nut, the most intriguing thing about this whiskey is the guy who helped start the company—and has his name on the bottle. Dick Stoll was the last distiller at a (now) pretty famous Pennsylvania distillery. It went by many names over the years, but the two that are most well known these days are Bomberger’s Distillery and Michter’s Distillery (this was back before the current owners of the Michter’s name acquired the lapsed trademark and started making their own pretty darn tasty whiskeys under the name). Here is the brief synopsis quoted from the Stoll & Wolfe website:

Dick Stoll’s roots stretch back to his tenure at the historic Pennsylvania Michter’s Distillery. There, under the mentorship of Master distiller C. Everett Beam, Stoll honed his skills and mastered the particular style of Pennsylvania whiskey distillation.

Despite Pennsylvania Michter’s closure in the 1980s, Stoll’s passion for both whiskey and the region has endured. As a capstone to his career, he partnered with Avianna and Erik Wolfe to revive the historic legacy right here in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

I’ve been reading a lot about Mr. Stoll over the course of the last couple of days in preparation for this review. I’d do a hell of a lot worse than these legendary Whiskey writers so I’m just going to point you to them instead. Here is Lew Bryson’s remembrance of Dick Stoll upon the occasion of his death in 2020. And of course, the book that brought my attention to the history of the Pennsylvania Michter’s Distillery and those that worked there Chuck Cowdery’s The Best Bourbon You’ll Never Taste (I also reviewed said book shortly after it was released, in case you wonder what I thought of it back in 2012).

Now, before you go read all those links, let’s get into the reason we are all here. The actual whiskey. Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength was made from a mash bill of 80% Rosen Rye and 20% malted rye. This rye strain was almost lost to history until local farmers worked with the distillery to recover it. The rye is made using a sweet mash process that doesn’t use any “setback” from previous runs to help maintain pH levels. It’s a trickier process, as without the proper pH levels the mash could get infected by undesirable non-yeast organisms. It’s a much older mashing process, but it was the one most often used in Monongahela-style rye. The whiskey is bottled at 107 proof and is available from the distillery website for $78.15 per 750 mL bottle. Now let’s see how it tastes.

Stoll & Wolfe Pure Rye Single Barrel Cask Strength

Purchase Info: This sample was provided to me at no cost for review purposes. This item is available for nationwide shipping on the distillery website for $78.15 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $5.21

Details: Barrel 1225. Aged 34 months. 53.5% ABV. Mashbill: 80% Rosen Rye, 20% malted Rye.

Nose: Butterscotch, cedar, almond, and a faint note of wintergreen.

Mouth: Spicy & hot in the mouth with notes of allspice, cedar, wintergreen, peppermint, and almond.

Finish: Medium in warmth and length. Notes of butterscotch, cherry, mint, and baking spice.

IMAGE: a hand-drawn smiley face that denotes I like the product.

Thoughts: I'm really digging this one. The nose is super sweet, sweeter than most ryes. The mouth and finish bring more traditional rye notes to the party. Mouth is spicy and hot but the mint on the finish is almost cooling. It' is less than three years old, too young to be called whiskey in many countries, but is still a fully mature product. Young? Yes. Brash? At times. Delicious? Absolutely. I like this one a lot.

If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

High West Cask Strength Bourbon

I’d like to thank High West and their team of PR Professionals for providing this sample with no strings attached.

IMAGE: Close-up of a High West Cask Strength bourbon bottle on a snow-dusted wooden railing, showing the label with barrels illustration and amber whiskey, winter background softly blurred.

Hello friends! It’s been quite the month here in the BourbonGuy household, but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, so let’s dig right in on the latest thing that the Whiskey Fairy has brought me.

Tonight’s whiskey is a new release from High West Distillery. A blend of straight bourbon whiskeys bottled at cask strength, this release was cleverly named Cask Strength. It looks to have been officially released on January 12th. It is listed as “Bottled by High West Distillery,” but as usual with whiskey that High West has sourced, they are as transparent as can be about what is actually in the bottle. Here is the breakdown of the mash bills:

  • 60% Corn, 40% Malted Barley, sourced from a Kentucky distillery

  • 60% Corn, 40% Rye, sourced from a Kentucky distillery

  • 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley, sourced from a Indiana distillery

  • 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley, sourced from a Kentucky distillery

  • 84% Corn, 8% Rye, 8% Malted Barley, sourced from a Tennessee distillery

The product was bottled at 117 proof and will be available as a limited release nationwide at a suggested retail price of $69.99. Here is what Distilling Director Isaac Winter has to say about the release:

"This was a really fun blend to put together. Building on our high-rye blending philosophy, this Cask Strength expression uses our Bourye blending approach to precisely balance rye-driven spice with malted barley richness, resulting in layered complexity and a bold, lasting presence that keeps you coming back.”

Let’s dig in, shall we?

High West Cask Strength Bourbon

Purchase Info: This product was provided at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $69.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.67

Details: Batch 25K14. A blend of seven straight bourbons from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. 58.5% ABV. Non-age stated.

Nose: Cinnamon, clove, caramel, almond, and oak.

Mouth: Drying in the mouth. Black tea, cinnamon and clove, stone fruits, almond, and oak.

Finish: Long and very warm. Notes of oak, almond, chocolate, and cinnamon.

IMAGE: A hand-drawn smiley face denoting that I like the product.

Thoughts: I’m not the biggest fan of this one neat. It’s drier than I’d prefer, very hot, and the alcohol notes are a bit too prominent for me. However, add just the tiniest splash of water or ice and it goes from hot and dry to velvety. It becomes sweeter as the caramel and stone fruit notes start to show. The baking spice notes become more generic, but the oak steps forward a bit. All in all, this is a pour that benefits from a little water—which is how I usually enjoy my bourbon anyway. It’s also delicious in both a sour-style cocktail (I did a Gold Rush) and a spirits-forward cocktail (I did a Boulevardier). I really like it.

Before we finish, I want to apologize for ghosting everyone last week. Between both of my dogs being on hospice care, the assault on my adopted home state of Minnesota by the federal government (it’s been worse than what even the local news has reported), and a long-overdue discussion that led to a Festivus-style airing of grievances—one that nearly had me cutting ties with both of my parents over the holidays—I’m in the middle of quite the mental breakdown. Possibly my biggest in about 15 years.

I’m OK. I’m not a danger to myself or anything like that. But it was all a bit too much for me to try to be witty and creative for most of the month of January. I’m getting the help I need, but if you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis, help is available.

U.S.: Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — free, confidential support available 24/7. You can also visit 988lifeline.org for chat support and additional resources.

Outside the U.S.: Visit findahelpline.com to find local crisis hotlines by country.