10th Mountain Bourbon Whiskey - Review

The Details

10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company

Rocky Mountain Bourbon Whiskey

Aged 1 Year

Batch 62 / Bottled 12.27.22

Distilled and Bottled by 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company

Gypsum, Colorado

46% Alc/Vol / 92 Proof

Mashbill: 75% Corn / 21% Rye / 4% Barley

Price: $60

Poured Neat in a Glencairn

Appearance: Light Amber

Nose: Green Crisp Apple, Vanilla, Honey, Walnut

Palate: Flakey Pastry, Caramel, Vanilla Bean, Honeydew

Finish: Short to medium linger with a baking spiced finish

Overall: Okay, what stands out here as a Whiskey Enthusiast is the age statement. 1 Year. We all know time in a barrel plays such a vital role to pronounced flavors and the overall experience. But can a younger age stated bourbon taste good? The answer in this case, is YES. I always tend to study a label as soon as I see it and sometimes, I admit, it influences my initial reaction. This was also the case with the Jim Beam Hardin's Creek Col. Beam 2 Year Bourbon. That really helped me change my approach to younger whiskey. This 1 Year Rocky Mountain Bourbon Whiskey from Colorado is such a great example of a fine crafted whiskey that the distillers and tasters felt was ready to bring to market. I actually said "wow" as I finished my first sip. As most of you know, I tend to review whiskey first thing in the morning and in solitude, so for me to talk to myself is rare...depending on how crazy the night before was.

I immediately picked up those crisp green apple tones mixed with walnut and honey and of course, vanilla. The palate followed through quite nicely with the apple transitioning to a honeydew and some flakey pastry. The finish is where the youth showed up. But I can deal with a lighter finish when the nose and palate are delicious. And who says a light finish isn't still refreshing? Not I. The finish teeters on the light to medium scale for me. There are some delicious baking spices on the backend that round out the entire pour. While I can see myself sipping this on a normal basis, I'd personally love to see this exact mash and age finished in, say, something toasted. Not to mask any youth, but to raise the bar another notch. Just an idea.

"The patriotic men of the 10th brought diversity, courage, and hope to the Rocky Mountains when they arrived in the 1940s to train just a few miles south of what is now Vail.

They were part of the greatest generation of men, wanting to make each day count and each day better than the last. The mentality they had was strong after being shaped from the rigors of mountain warfare, their egos humble." - 10th Mountain Website - Click HERE for more.

I'd like to thank the folks at 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirits Company for providing me this sample and for trusting my honest review. I can't wait to visit soon.

Library Rating: 7.6 / 10

15 Stars - First West Fine Aged Rye Whiskey - Review

The Details

15 Stars

First West - Fine Aged Rye

A Select Blend of Straight Rye Whiskeys

Aged 6 Years (6, 7 & 8 Year Ryes)

Batch 001 / Bottle 2613

Distilled in Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee

Bottled in Kentucky

52.5% Alc/Vol / 105 Proof

Mashbill: Various - Blended

Price: $89

Poured Neat in a Glencairn

Appearance: Amber

Nose: Dark Fruits, Baking Spices, Sprig of Mint

Palate: Light Dried Fruits, Black Tea, Chocolate, Mint and a touch of Leather & Tobacco

Finish: Medium to a Long Lingered Pepper Spice with a coating of Honey and Sweet Cream

Overall: "In 1795, America's 'First West' centered on Kentucky, the 15th State and the only state west of the Appalachian Mountains, as well as two US Territories around Kentucky known as the NW Territory and the SW Territory." - Bottle Label

I'm not surprised with how delicious this offering actually is. Coming on the heels of the Triple Cask and the Private Stock 7 & 15 Year Blend, this sets that bar another level higher. I tend to pick up quite a bit of mint on my palate when sipping certain Rye Whiskey. This is no exception. But add the delectable flavors and notes mentioned above and the combination works marvelously. A 91 Point rating from IWSL! But I still want to know what that 5th judge scored this one. Ha! This is quite special.

Thank you once again to the great folks at 15 Stars for providing this sample with no strings attached. The mail-calls have been quite impressive!

If you are interested in checking out 15 Stars, click HERE

Library Rating: 8.3 / 10

The Private Barrel Chronicles - Chapter 1 - RY3 Cask Strength

When The Bourbon Thieves first hit the Whiskey Scene in March of 2020, it was a goal of ours to select a Single Barrel or a Private Selection. The other founders and I began to utilize our networking and positive vibes to create a short list of distilleries and companies we wanted to partner with. Our focus was craft and smaller companies looking to make waves. Amongst that list was a brand, new on the scene and a pair of fantastic people: Phenomenal Spirits. Karthik Sudhir & Matt Witzig are two of the nicest folks out there. Matt, the COO and Master Blender made quite the name for himself working under the same title at Joseph Magnus and helping to create their incredible Cigar Batch releases. We had plenty in common, we learned, as we set up a few zoom calls and virtual tastings. It also happened that I found myself in the Los Angeles area visiting family in November 2020 and spent an evening smoking cigars, braking bread and sipping some delicious whiskey and rum with Karthik, Founder, at his home in Orange County. With plenty to chat about and this just being the beginning of our relationship, I had a good feeling there would be plenty more to come. I wasn't wrong. More about that later.

The core product, RY3 is a Blend of 3 Mash Bills boasting a 12, 4 and 3 Year Alberta and Indiana Rye. It is also finished in vintage rum casks. Rum, Ron Izalco Rum to be precise, is another member of the Phenomenal portfolio. But we'll get into that in a different chapter ::hint hint:: This core product was sent to a couple of us founders and we immediately took a huge liking to it. So began the conversation of bringing a Private Selection to the table.

Because of the time we were starting out, the pandemic and how scattered we were logistically, there really was no chance of getting together in person to select this pick, so we decided to do this virtually. Plenty of emails and phone calls were exchanged. The back end process is where the work is. Again, this was my first experience selecting a barrel. But I knew the "fun" was yet to come. The experience was and is, top notch. We cycled through 3 samples and landed on the selection you see today. 119.4 Proof but without the Rum Cask Finish. Which we knew going into it and knew it would still be something special for our very first selection as a group and to me personally. So many firsts. The process was so easy as Karthik already had an online retailer set up to handle our selection. All we had to do was to select the blend that fit our profiles. As mentioned, we tasted through 3 different blends. All quite unique on their own. The selection was unanimous after chatting and tasting. We chose to keep in the dark about the proof of each so our selection wasn't compromised or influenced. Once the decision was made, the proof was revealed. You'll see this is a common practice for me when choosing barrels.

With the inaugural Bourbon Thieves Private Selection chosen, so began the next stage of pre-sales and hyping what we are putting our names behind. Only 66 of these bottles exist, which in my opinion, makes this a true unicorn. Again, relationships played a big part of this selection as we continued to use the same online retailer, Curiada, for numerous picks after. A blend that will never be exactly replicated. I was hooked. I needed to do more of these.

Also, The Bourbon Thieves pride ourselves on not overcharging or turning any profit on any Barrel Selection. We make it a point to try our best to get certain products in the hands of those that genuinely want to try them. These bottles were sold for $69 each through Curiada.

What a great first selection and the start of relationships and memories that will last forever.

All of these bottles are long gone but below are the tasting notes:

Nose: Mint, Rye Spice, Vanilla, White Pepper, Cream

Palate: Vanilla, Caramel, Chocolate, Pralines, Touch of Mint

Finish: Warm Medium Linger with a Black and White Pepper Spice