Review #150 Woodinville Bourbon Whiskey: Bourbon

Score: 8.6 / 10

Distillery: Woodinville Whiskey Company

Type: Bourbon Whiskey

Woodinville Whiskey Company was founded in 2010 by two friends, Orlin Sorensen and Brett Carlile, with a passion for creating high-quality craft spirits. A craft distillery based in Woodinville Washington.

Their whiskey is crafted using a traditional distilling process. They mash, ferment, distill, and age their spirits on-site, taking the time to ensure proper maturation and development of flavors. The bourbons are typically aged in new, charred American oak barrels to add depth and complexity. Their line at the time of this writing is offered right around 6 years of maturation

I have found these single barrels to vary more that what I would expect. Woodinville has however in fact already claimed a couple of Double Golds at San Fran and I'm excited to see what they do next.

Whiskey Review:

Nose: At first pour, this is nothing but huge classic bourbon notes - creamy vanilla, rich caramel, charred wood, and sharp rye spice. But after a few minutes it opens up to a delectable banana bread scent with cherry underneath. The torched wood remains and it smells like some one used a campfire skewer to burn a handful of maraschino cherries over an open flame.

Palate: Luscious caramel lands first and then expands across the palate before bursting with cherries and a pepper spice. The mouthfeel starts as viscous, becomes leathery then effervescent, and finishes as oily. After the burst of pepper, there's a nice bloom of fruit on the center palate bringing clove spiced orange, lemon citrus, honey, and hot toddy notes.

Finish: The finish crackles with a nice ember of spice. This pour drinks right at it's proof so pepper remains with oaky notes. The finish is moderate in length while being both tannic on the sides of the mouth and juicy on the center of the mouth. Leathery caramel notes coat the sides of the cheeks as other flavors begin to fade and astringent rye notes surface. After several minutes there's a second finish that brings faint maraschino cherry.

Score: 8.6

Scale:

S+ Sensational - The Pinnacle (9.5+)

A - AXEceptional (astounding) (9-9.5)

B - bravo (step aBove average) (8-8.9)

C - competent (7-7.9)

D - disappointing (6-6.9)

F - flush it down the toilet (fail) (5.9 below)

Notes: Availability? Common - Originally I found this to be priced pretty high. I still think that. It sits in large quantities on shelves. However, I see a lot of this in glasses as well. I am warming up to it. Snag it for a try if you are contemplating.