GregSVT
I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch.
Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey Snowflake #1 Hungarian White Oak Wine Cask Finish, 94 proof, 750 ml, no packaging, $70, limited edition available only at the distillery.
Neat
Nose: Minty with an overwhelming alcohol aroma. After sitting for 10 minutes it lost a lot of the alcohol and had a minty sweet smell.
Taste: Tasting confirms the mint from the nosing along with a sweet almost molasses taste.
Finish: The finish has the mint with a brown sugar flavor and drying on the sides of the tounge. It's long and drawn out as the whiskey flavors sit on your tounge mingling and mixing.
With water and a small ice cube
Nose: Very minty with a spicey rye sort of smell. The alcohol harshness was all but gone now.
Taste: The mint is subdued a bit but still there and now there's a dark chocolate taste.
Finish: With some water the finish is shorter and not as in your face. The mint and chocolate taste swirl around until they fade out pretty quickly.
I fired up a VR Unico with the rest of the glass and noticed the mint was masked by the cigar flavor and all that came through was a bourbon sweetness.
This is very much like a scotch that has been aged in Port without the Peat flavor. The old Glenmorangie 12 Port Wood Finish came to mind as soon as I smelled it and was confirmed when I tasted it. This just goes to show what a secondary finishing of a whisk(e)y can do to the flavors. Having read AVB's review of the regular production version I can tell this has undergone a big transformation in the short time it was in the 2nd cask.
I'm not a huge fan of anything minty so I don't see this being a favorite in the bar but it is definitely smooth. It is exceptionally flavorul as well...especially without water/ice. Not having tried the regular version I have no notes of my own to compare it to but I'm hoping it has more of a bourbon flavor than this. I'll be looking to buy the regular bottle very soon as I've heard/read it's fantastic. Thanks to Matt (mmburtch) for the opportunity to try this.
Neat
Nose: Minty with an overwhelming alcohol aroma. After sitting for 10 minutes it lost a lot of the alcohol and had a minty sweet smell.
Taste: Tasting confirms the mint from the nosing along with a sweet almost molasses taste.
Finish: The finish has the mint with a brown sugar flavor and drying on the sides of the tounge. It's long and drawn out as the whiskey flavors sit on your tounge mingling and mixing.
With water and a small ice cube
Nose: Very minty with a spicey rye sort of smell. The alcohol harshness was all but gone now.
Taste: The mint is subdued a bit but still there and now there's a dark chocolate taste.
Finish: With some water the finish is shorter and not as in your face. The mint and chocolate taste swirl around until they fade out pretty quickly.
I fired up a VR Unico with the rest of the glass and noticed the mint was masked by the cigar flavor and all that came through was a bourbon sweetness.
This is very much like a scotch that has been aged in Port without the Peat flavor. The old Glenmorangie 12 Port Wood Finish came to mind as soon as I smelled it and was confirmed when I tasted it. This just goes to show what a secondary finishing of a whisk(e)y can do to the flavors. Having read AVB's review of the regular production version I can tell this has undergone a big transformation in the short time it was in the 2nd cask.
I'm not a huge fan of anything minty so I don't see this being a favorite in the bar but it is definitely smooth. It is exceptionally flavorul as well...especially without water/ice. Not having tried the regular version I have no notes of my own to compare it to but I'm hoping it has more of a bourbon flavor than this. I'll be looking to buy the regular bottle very soon as I've heard/read it's fantastic. Thanks to Matt (mmburtch) for the opportunity to try this.
