The Last Call

Stranahan's Single Barrel Single Malt Whiskey Review.            Stranahan's is one of those names I’ve seen on shelves for years, but somehow never really sat down with until now. This bottle changed that in a big way. This is a Market District single barrel pick of Stranahan’s American single malt, bottled at a healthy 56.71% ABV and aged for five years and one month. It was my first experience with a Stranahan’s single barrel, and honestly, I went into it curious but cautious.      Part of the excitement here comes from the format. Single barrel, cask strength, American single malt, all from a distillery doing everything in-house. When you add in a sub-$50 price tag, expectations naturally start climbing. Before even pouring the glass, this already felt like a bottle worth spending some real time with.      Stranahan's distills, ages, and bottles their whiskey in Colorado, using 100% malted barley and new charred Americ...

     Some bottles rise from obscurity overnight, and Smokeye Hill is one of them. When Fred Minnick gave this Colorado-based brand his seal of approval in 2024, their bourbons vanished from shelves faster than you could say “secondary markup.” But now that the hype has settled, prices have dropped, and I finally got my hands on a bottle.          Though Smokeye Hill operates out of Colorado, the whiskey itself begins life at MGP in Indiana. What makes it stand out is the unique mash bill, a blend of blue corn, yellow corn, rye, and barley, a departure from MGP’s traditional recipes. After distillation, the spirit makes the journey west to Colorado, where it’s aged and bottled. That blue corn addition immediately caught my attention. From my experiences, blue corn adds a unique mouthfeel and texture to the whiskey. For the full video review visit the link here:  https://youtu.be/akdEKHO9w4o . Age Statement: 5+ years. ABV: 67.1% (Cask strength...

       I received this spirit as a review sample from Larado Whiskey, linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      More recently I've had the pleasure of reviewing the other two release from Larado and so far, I've been very impressed. Larado is based out of Colorado where they are sourcing whiskey from Indiana and bringing it back to Colorado for aging along with keeping their releases single barrel. As always there is nothing wrong with sourcing specially when you are transparent in the process like Larado is doing.     When it came to their Rye whiskey, I was instantly impressed. I loved the profile it bought with the age. It was the pentacle sip I wanted when I hear "rye whiskey." When it comes to Roper Reserve they are keeping the same mash bill as the rye but keeping it cask strength along with single barrel. I have high expectations with their barrel selection and excited to see how it h...

     I received this spirit as a review sample from Larado Whiskey, linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      Now I am always keeping my eyes peeled for brands to checkout and the other day while on that hunt I ran across Larado Whiskey. Essentially Larado is based out of Colorado where they are sourcing a whiskey from Indiana and bringing it back to Colorado for aging. Personally, I think this is a great idea and I love seeing the transparency of Larado's process. For this release we do see something that is quite uncommon, a wheat whiskey.      You might be thinking this is a typical mash bill for such a release, but it is far from that. Not only are they choosing a mash bill using 95% wheat but also keeping a solid age statement on it. Typically we see wheat being used as an accent grain, which is does quite well.   I've had some experience with this level of wheat being used in...

     I received this spirit as a review sample from Larado Whiskey, linked here . It is important to clarify this did not impact the ratings of this review.      Larado’s Single Barrel Small Batch Rye arrives with a solid introduction out the gate. Based in Colorado, they are taking their whiskey from Indiana and aging it in Colorado. And honestly, the level of transparency Larado is bringing to their releases is a breath of fresh air. There is nothing wrong with sourcing whiskey as long as you keep transparent on that and Larado is. On top of that, not only letting it age in Colorado but keeping it single barrel is going to make the release more your own.     Now for me, bringing a rye at the higher age statement to the market is welcomed. Typically Indiana rye showcases itself in the six to eight year statements. Typically this brings the best balance of spice, sweet, fruity, and complexities without going too high in costs. For the full video r...