High Spirits Mesquite Smoked Whiskey
Added on Sunday, Mar 11, 2012 at 02:54 PM
  Bottler: Arizona High Spirits
  Age: N/A Type: American
  Vintage: N/A Subtype: Single Malt
  ABV: 40.00 % Region: Arizona
  Price: $40 Availability: Specialty Stores
Member Ratings and Notes
Chris
 

N: Fruity, gingery wood spice, hint of peaches.  Wood polish.
P: Big n' fruity, quite punchy at 40%.

F: Gets a bit buttery, with lemon cookies and orange rind.
A very unique profile and quite refreshing.

 
Tim
 

(tasted blind)

 

N: Very distinctive. There's almost a dairy note initially, kind of sei-cheese scented. Slightly peated, or is that just more of what I'm getting with that dairy note? Somewhat creamy on the nose, but then there's a vague mustard note. It's just short of having a medicinal smell. Theres some light malt underneath it all, with some barley. Faintest hints of tropical fruit. Water reduces the strange dairy thing and leaves malt, and a little dusty earthiness.

 

P: Light but rich and creamy; again sitting in that slightly sour, dairy-meets-peat territory. Malty in spades - barley and grains. Water reduces this to malt but there's still a slightly sour tang to it.

 

F: The dairy note is gone and it's more of a super light peat, still slightly sour. Grain and cereal. Malty. With water just a vague hint of the peaty note.

 

Easy drinking. Most unusual nose I've encountered in a while - almost like a deli tray. I'm not sure I'd want to buy this but it's not bad.  

 
Sku
 

Nose:  sweet wood fire smoke (not peat at all).

 

Palate:  Same as the nose, lots of sweet, smoky wood, some leather.  A little bit of a raw, young whiskey flavor underneath the smoke.

 

Finish:  An interesting finish with some floral notes (candied violets), some syrupy notes and none of the smoke that you get on the finish of a peated whiskey.  

 

I thought this was decent.  The smoke is unique and very different from other smoky whiskies, but it still has a rawness to it that makes it taste immature.  If it had more age on it and retained some of the smoke, it could be really great. I would also like to taste it at higher proof as it had a diluted feel to it at 40%.

 

B-/C+

 
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