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Whiskey War Double Oaked COWS Pick “D.O. or Die” Review

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Sunday Evening Review

 

There is only one time you can be first and the COWS got that chance and took it. The COWS are the first public barrel pick with the High Bank Distillery. The group got to pick a Whiskey War Double Oak barrel and now it is time to let you know what we picked taste like. Stay tuned until the end with information of when and where you will be able to get yours.

 

Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Double Oak Single Barrel – “D.O. or Die”

 

PROOF – 100

 

AGE – 5+ years (oldest juice to come out of High Bank so far)

 

COLOR – Dark Amber (1.6 mahogany, henna notes on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – The signature Whiskey War ginger note along with vanilla crème, saddle leather, aged oak, butterscotch, raisins and toasted almonds.

 

TASTE – Right away you notice that this whiskey coats your tongue like a thick syrup. The ginger is still there but it climbs into the backseat to let sweet caramel, vanilla bean, raisin and leather drive. The aged oak is still there along with a hint of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, and cinnamon.

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. Sit back for awhile as this finish lingers for a good bit of time. The dark chocolate, caramel and rye spice linger and linger.

 

REVIEW – This is a very good double oaked whiskey that doesn’t get overly sweet like some do from other distilleries. There is enough spice and earthy notes that ride along with the sweet notes to make it very interesting and highly enjoyable. The finish is something to behold on a 100 proof whiskey that isn’t even 6 years old yet. It is long and very enjoyable. In my opinion the best double oaked Whiskey War to come out of High Bank Distillery.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – If this review isn’t enough for you, here is the tasting notes from Adam Hines the Master Distiller of High Bank Distillery:

 

Sweet vanilla caramel nose with notes of leathery oak. Accompanied by a sugary white pepper caramel that ends with a raisin and mint tea finish.

The COWS have been honored and lucky to get some pretty exciting experiences. This is one of the biggest honors when the distillery comes to you and ask you to be the first to do a barrel pick with one of, if not the, hottest distillery in America after winning best blended whiskey at the San Francisco World Spirits competition 2 years in a row. This will absolutely be a bottle that you will want to have in your collection for numerous reasons. The price for the bottle is $69.99 plus tax and the link to purchase this will hit the COWS Facebook group page at 11am on Friday, October 21st. There will be a limit of 1 bottle on the first day to give everyone a chance to get this special bottle. The nice part is you can go to High Bank Distillery right after purchasing online and pick up the bottle. All bottles will need to be picked up at High Bank Distillery and there will not be any special arrangements for pick up or delivery that can be made by High Bank Distillery or the Central Ohio Whiskey Society.

Whiskey War Double Oaked Batch 4 Review

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Sunday Evening Review

 

Locally one of the most popular releases from a local distillery has to be the Whiskey War Double Oaked. Your back in luck as High Bank Distillery is release batch 4 this July 1st. Every single batch has been very unique from any of the others. Let’s see what kind of clothes this whiskey put on this time.

 

Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Double Oaked Batch 4

 

PROOF – 100

 

AGE – non-age stated – Distillery advertised that this is the first one using their 4 year batch and after the double oak process pushed it over 5 years.

 

COLOR – weathered leather (1.6 mahogany, henna notes on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Butterscotch, vanilla and toasted oak leap into your nose at the beginning which are the notes you expect in a double oak. As you continue to explore you get the rye spice from the heavy mash bill, stewed cherries, cinnamon and tobacco

 

TASTE – Rich caramel and toasted oak but the tobacco comes out more in the palate than in the nose. Baking spices, ginger, and some floral notes come out after the initial notes. Almost like drinking 2 different whiskies at once.

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. The cinnamon, aged oak and cinnamon last a pretty long time. At the very end reminds me of the taste and feeling of eating Red Hots.

 

REVIEW – I’ll cut to the chase and let you know I think this is the best Whiskey War Double Oaked that has been released. The interesting “2 whiskies in 1” makes it very unique. The opening on the palate gives you all the traditional double oaked flavors that people that like this style will recognize. Then it transitions and lets you know that this was a Whiskey War to start with. Gives all the flavor profile that you recognize from a Whiskey War Barrel Proof. There is no doubt that the extra age has increased the richness, the complexity and the finish.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – Thanks to High Bank Distillery for providing this sample to review.

 

All bottles will go on sale Friday, July 1st at 11AM. Online purchases only. Limit 2 bottles per person. Pickup at our Grandview location only (1051 Goodale Blvd). Check out the link below for more details.

 

Now I have an action item for all that read this. Whiskey War Double Oaked needs to be a bottle that you can get at your liquor store instead of just the time it is released. I want you to call, email, DM, send a letter or even smoke signals to High Bank Distillery and demand that they make this a “shelfer.” It is un-American (maybe too far but let’s go with it) for this not to be on every shelf in Ohio. So maybe we need to call our congressman (yes, I have gone to far) to demand that this product be on the shelf for every (liquor) tax paying American. Let it be so.

To find out more you can check it out here – Whiskey War Double Oaked

You can look at all the past Sunday Evenings Reviews and I would still love to hear what your personal reviews are from each of the whiskies reviewed.

High Bank Distillery June Barrel Select Releases Reviews

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Sunday Evening Review

 

“Twice as nice” is something we have all heard. This week I get to see if that holds true in a couple different ways as I review 2 different whiskies from High Bank for an upcoming release. High Bank is doing a limited release of Whiskey War Barrel Select Spanish Madeira Wine Barrel Finished and 2nd Aged Sangiovese Wine Barrel Finished. Let get into it and see what this is all about.

 

Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Barrel Select Spanish Madeira Wine Barrel Finished

 

PROOF – 113.5

 

AGE – non-age stated but was told 3 years in the original whiskey barrel and 18 months in the wine barrel for a total of 4 ½ years

 

COLOR – Beef Bourguignon (1.8 old oak on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Balsamic reduction, dark cherries, vanilla extract, pipe tobacco, toasted oak, and cinnamon sticks. Very luxurious nose with deep and dark notes. One of those pours you could just nose for hours.

 

TASTE – The same balsamic reduction note to start but as it lingers changes over to a grape jelly. Other than that, the nose doesn’t lie. You still get the dark cherries, vanilla extract, pipe tobacco, toasted oak, and cinnamon sticks. The Madeira barrel has a pretty big influence with both the wine notes but the sweetness that you get is coming from the Madeira barrel.

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. I hadn’t mentioned it but this whiskey coats the mouth and the finish lingers with the grape jelly note as well as aged oak and dried tobacco.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Barrel Select Second Fill Sangiovese Wine Barrel Finish

 

PROOF – 120.5

 

AGE – non-age stated but was told aged 27 months in the wine barrel for a total of 5 years of aging

 

COLOR – Autumn Straw (1.2 chestnut, oloroso sherry on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Ginger, cooked honey, vanilla wafers, apple pie spice, there is a wine note but is so faint I can’t distinguish what style I am smelling.

 

TASTE – This has all the traditional Whiskey War Barrel Proof notes of a gingersnap cookie which not only includes the ginger but the vanilla, Brulé sugars, baking spices but there is this whisper of a wine note that swirls though that adds a slight complexity and holds the 120.5 proof at bay. Not to say there isn’t a Kentucky hug at the end but with a high rye mash bill along with 120+ proof, if not done right, could absolutely torch your palate and this does not.

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. Certainly not as long as the Medeira finished but certainly hangs around a good bit. Ginger, cinnamon and rye spice stay until the end.

 

REVIEW – First want to thank High Bank Distillery for providing these samples to review.

 

The Madeira finished is really something special but I would say that if you don’t like sweet red wines along with whiskey then this may not be a fit. If you got the chance to taste or get High Bank’s Midnight Cask Barrel Proof then this is that on steroids both in over all experience and flavor. The flavors are deeper and richer and then the mouth feel along with a nose that should be made into a candle, you have something that you want on your shelf. This would pair extremely well with a steak when everyone heads for the red wine, pull this out instead.

 

The 2nd Fill Sangiovese finished is for those whiskey drinkers that appreciate the subtly of a finished whiskey where the finishing barrel doesn’t have to punch you in the face with the flavor profile that it is trying to be installed into the original whiskey.  If you are a lover of the Whiskey War Barrel Proof and want additional aging and wine nuance added into the juice, then this is for you.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – From High Bank Distillery about the releases:

Our Barrel Select program is one of my creative outlets as a distiller. It’s an awesome opportunity to experiment with unique barrels and various aging techniques to achieve flavor profiles outside of our typical Whiskey War line.

The limited releases are fun for our distillery team and fans of High Bank. We really enjoy hearing feedback on which batches are fan favorites and the unique notes and flavor profiles each bottle offers.

– Co-founder and Master Distiller Adam Hines

All bottles will go on sale Friday, June 10th at 11AM. Online purchases only. Limit 1 bottle of each product per person. Pickup at our Grandview location only (1051 Goodale Blvd.).

 

Obviously this is not a gin review nor do I confess to be an expert but I have come to enjoy High Bank’s Statehouse gin on warm summer days as it taste like Sprite. Add a cube and you are good to go. Along with the whiskey releases they are also releasing a Statehouse gin release that used the Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrel from the Barrel Select Whiskey Batch #2. The gin was aged in that barrel for 27 months and comes in at 82 proof. It has all the citrus (Sprite) notes that you know from Statehouse but not as sharp and then adds this pleasant sweet cooked down grape along with a toasted oak note to it. This may be my summer drink for 2022.

 

 

To find out more you can check it out here – High Bank Distillery June Releases

 

You can look at all the past Sunday Evenings Reviews and I would still love to hear what your personal reviews are from each of the whiskies reviewed.

 

Whiskey War DO Batch 2 - Does it stack up

Whiskey War Doubled Oaked Batch 02 Review

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For a couple years whenever, someone said there was no good bourbon coming out of Ohio. First, I would look at them a bit sideways but then I would tell them to go to High Bank and get a pour of the Whiskey War Double Oaked. That ended the discussion. For me it was the bar for all Ohio whiskey to measure to. Now Master Distiller Adam Hines is ready to put out Batch 2 of the Whiskey War Double Oaked. The big question now, will it stack up?

 

I’m going to compare it to Batch 1 Whiskey War Double Oaked (Batch 1) and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition Blended Whiskey of the Year Whiskey War Barrel Proof Batch 12 (BP Batch 12). I know, I have a hard job.

 

Make sure you put in the comments any bottles that you would like me to review.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Doubled Oaked Batch 02

 

PROOF – 100 (Batch 1 – 100 proof and BP Batch 12 – 117 proof)

 

AGE – no age statement – website says 2 1/2 years old in original barrel and then spends another 18 months in a new oak barrel for a total of at least 4 years.

 

COLOR – reddish bronze (1.5 tawny on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart) (Batch 1 is identical color and BP Batch 12 is a shade lighter 1.4 copper)

 

NOSE – This is rye forward on the nose. Caramel drizzled pretzel, Madagascar vanilla bean, toasted oak and Grenadine.  (Batch 1 nose is very different. Butter, caramel, deep oak and even a balsamic note.  BP Batch 12 has more in common than Batch 1 on the nose. Batch 2 has just a bit more oak and overall, slightly deeper notes than BP Batch 12)

 

TASTE – Hello caramel and oak. Big blast of both right up front. Then comes the cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, peanut shell and cigar tobacco (Batch1 has different sweetness. Closer to butterscotch. It is buttery and more of a cherry note. BP Batch 12 again similar notes to Batch 2. Batch 2 just has just a deeper profile and fuller taste profile)

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. The oak stays along with cigar tobacco dipped in simple syrup. Very pleasant finish that leaves no bitterness at the end. (Batch 1 also has a long finish but is more leather, tobacco and caramel.  BP Batch 12 again with a long finish with more of charred oak, tobacco, and some peanut)

 

REVIEW – If you know Hines, you know he doesn’t want to do the same thing and is always tinkering in an effort to find something even better. Its why a 3-year-old distillery won arguably the most prestigious whiskey competition in the world. Its why this Double Oaked product is not a carbon copy of Batch 1. Its different no doubt, Hines knew that and was fine with it. If you have been trying to find, now one of the hardest to find bottles in the game, Barrel Proof Batch 12 and just want the knob turned up to 11 on the flavors and an even longer better finish, this is your jam.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – I appreciate High Bank for giving me this bottle to review. What I also appreciate is what Hines has done for Ohio whiskey. He has forced all Ohio whiskey distilleries to up their game and force them not to be happy with the status quo. I will also tell you another thing, the next batch of Double Oaked won’t taste like the other 2 and to me that is fine. As a consumer if I want the same, I will buy Wild Turkey 101 and know it will taste the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. One of the reasons a lot of people reading this has more than 1 bottle of whiskey on their shelf is because they like variety. That is what Hines has done with all of his different varieties. He has the guts to try things like blending whiskey with port wine, finish whiskey with a wine barrel no one has ever heard of in the Sangiovese finished and, in this case, not put out a facsimile of a previous batch. To me that’s the way I like things to stack up.

 

If you would like this product, it will be released to the public for sale online and in our retail shop starting at 11:00 AM on Thursday, July 22nd. The bottles must be picked up in person at our retail shop located at High Bank Distillery Co. in Grandview at 1051 Goodale Blvd. The price per bottle is $64.99 with a limit of 2 bottles per person in what is an expected high demand. Find out more here Double Oaked Batch #2 Release — High Bank Distillery Co. (highbankco.com) 

To find out more check it out here – High Bank Distillery

You can look at all the past Sunday Evenings Reviews and I would still love to hear what your personal reviews are from each of the whiskies reviewed.