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Whiskey War Barrel Select #5 and #6 Review

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Aging like a fine wine, High Bank Distillery has two more releases ready to come out in their Barrel Select line. These releases have more twist and turns than a Cedar Point rollercoaster and that’s before you even taste it. Let’s get into Whiskey War Barrel Selects “Left Zinfandel Barrel” and “Right Zinfandel Barrel.” High Bank is also suggesting doing a 50/50 blend of each that will create a completely separate experience. Make sure your hands and feet remain inside of the car at all times as these are sure to be a ride.

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

NAME – Whiskey War Barrel Select Batch #5 Left Zinfandel Barrel Aged

PROOF – 119

AGE – non-age stated but the distillery let me know that is a total of 4.6 years old with 21 months of that in a Zinfandel wind cask

COLOR – chestnut thoroughbred horse (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

NOSE – Sourdough bread toast with grape jelly, musty oak, slight bit of dried apricot, cinnamon and leather.

TASTE – Right at the front of the palate has the taste of a sweet balsamic reduction but immediately transitions into dry oak tannins and cinnamon.

FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. A musty oak and cinnamon lingering until the end.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Barrel Select Batch #6 Right Zinfandel Barrel Aged

PROOF – 118.5

AGE – non-age stated but the distillery let me know that is a total of 4.6 years old with 21 months of that in a Zinfandel wind cask

COLOR – dark Sangria (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

NOSE – Dark caramel with grape jelly along will aged oak. I don’t think you can smell creamy but that is the essence I get. I do get a slight blueberry Greek yogurt if that helps to give you the idea of a creamy smell. Visually it has legs on the glass that linger forever.

TASTE – Dark caramel and then that blueberry yogurt taste comes out. Definite vanilla bean, blackberry, and then later in the palate a rye toast.

FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. A rye toast along with cinnamon and the berry blend of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry continues to hang around.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Barrel Select Batch #5 and #6 50/50 blend

PROOF – 118.75

AGE – non-age stated but the distillery let me know that is a total of 4.6 years old with 21 months of that in a Zinfandel wind cask

COLOR – dark auburn hair (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

NOSE – Dried blueberries, dark caramel, some milk chocolate, aged oak, and a dash of cinnamon.

TASTE – Interesting from the start where it seems the dryness from the Left Barrel hits the roof of you mouth and the back of your throat, but the creamier Right Barrel takes over the tongue. Caramel, aged oak, vanilla, cinnamon, a bit of grape jelly.

FINISH – I would call this a medium to long finish. The grape comes out the most in the finish. Oak tannins, some leather and a bit of the caramel hangs on.

REVIEW – Once going over these you understand why High Bank Distillery and Master Distiller Adam Hines decided to separate these. Even though it was the same juice that went into barrels that held the same wine from the same wine producer, vastly different. It is another example of the power of the barrel and the influence it has. If you like a dry whiskey with a ton of interest, then Left Barrel is for you. If you like a sweeter whiskey with a lot of berry influence then Right Barrel is for you.

FINAL COMMENTS – Would like to thank High Bank Distillery for giving me these samples to review.

This makes the 4th and 5th editions of wine barrel finished whiskey in the Barrel Select line (the other was a Double Double Oaked). In my personal opinion I still think the Cabernet Sauvignon finished from last year is still the king, but Right Barrel is a close second and Left Barrel is right there in third. There is also the interesting dynamic of blending both of them to come up with an entirely different experience. It is an easy 3 pour blind tasting you can put together for friends and watch their heads explode when you explain what they are.

To find out more check it out here – High Bank Barrel Select

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 Barrel Select Batch #3 and #4 Reviews

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This week you will be getting a special two-fer for your Sunday whiskey review enjoyment. This week I go over the 2 whiskies that High Bank Distillery will be releasing this coming Saturday. Barrel Select Batch #3 Pino Noir Barrel Aged and Barrel Select Batch #4 Double Double Oak Barrel Aged whiskies are the latest releases of High Banks Barrel Select series. Let’s find out what are sure to be very interesting additions to the series.

 

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

 

NAME – Whiskey War Barrel Select Batch #3 Pino Noir Barrel Aged

 

PROOF – 116.75

 

AGE – non-age stated (but distillery disclosed that it is a total of 4 years old with 10.5 months of that spent in a Pinot Noir Wine Barrel)

 

COLOR – aged cherry desk (1.5 auburn, polished mahogany on the Whiskey Magazine Color Chart)

 

NOSE – Cherry taffy, honeysuckle, sweet oak and crème brulé

 

TASTE – Grape jelly, aged oak, cinnamon, clove, wine barrel tannins

 

FINISH – I would call this a medium finish. The barrel tannins and cinnamon ride out until the end

 

REVIEW – This hits you with that jelly sweetness right up front and then quickly moves into oak and spices before the wine barrel tannins take over. I did go back and compare this against last years Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Select and the Pinot Noir Barrel Select has less wine influence than the Cab did. This is a spicy whiskey where the wine added both an upfront sweetness but also the unique wine barrel tannins at the end. The whiskey still is the foundation of this pour but the Pinot Noir barrel added the accents.

 

NAME – Whiskey War Barrel Select Batch #4 Bouble Double Oak Barrel Aged

 

PROOF – 115.5

 

AGE – non-age stated (but distillery disclosed that it is a total of 5.2 years old with 21 months of that spent in a second new oak barrel and then another 6 months in a third new oak barrel)

 

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

 

NOSE – Smells instantly like you walked into an old rickhouse. Dark brown sugar, browned butter, aged leather and a touch of pecan.

 

TASTE – Aged oak, caramel, very slight bit of chocolate, barrel spice, rye spice, cinnamon, aged leather and cigar tobacco.

 

FINISH – I would call this a long finish. The oak, barrel spice, rye spice and leather last and last for a long finish.

 

REVIEW – The distillery tells me it is 5.2 years old but if I didn’t know that I would think this is an overaged bourbon. It drinks more like a 15+ year whiskey. The oak influence is undeniable but there is just enough caramel sweetness to make it an enjoyable pour. It really reminds me of an Elijah Craig 18 year but replace the cherry cough syrup that EC18 has in it with a caramel sweetness instead and a high proof.

 

FINAL COMMENTS – Adam Hines, master distiller at High Bank Distillery, is obviously intrigued with what barrel finishes will do to his San Francisco World Spirits Competition award winning Whiskey War Barrel Proof. The wine barrel finishes seem to be where he is finding his niche as last year’s Barrel Selects that were finished in Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon sold out quickly and were highly praised. This Pinot Noir will certainly be the same.

 

If you know Hines then you know his love of the product that comes out of double oaking whiskey. He went ahead with a Spinal Tap method and turned it up to 11 with the double double oak this year. This dark and bold whiskey will sure to be one that is talked about for some time.

 

I appreciate High Bank Distillery for giving me these samples to review. You can reserve your bottles of both of these this Saturday, November 19th at HighBankCo.com/barrel-select-whiskey. There is a limit of one per person per product.