2Bar Amaretto Barrel Finished Straight Bourbon Whiskey

VITALS:

- $40

- 90 Proof

- 3 Years

- Washington

Prior to buying this bottle, I had never heard of 2Bar distillery out of Seattle. And, even looking at the bottle, the packaging leaves a lot to desire with it's black and white label that looks like it could have been created in Microsoft Word. 

However, what did intrigue me was the finish. This is the first that I had seen an amaretto barrel finished whiskey. I happen to be a big fan of amaretto. I love the flavor of amaretto liqueur. There once was a time in my youth where I enjoyed the occasional amaretto stone sour. And, it's a note that from time to time I get in my whiskeys, one that I enjoy. So, given the unique finish as well as the relatively modest price tag, I felt this was something worth checking out. 

On the nose I definitely get the amaretto notes. When I first opened the bottle, not so much. But, after it had been open a while, that amaretto finish definitely had its influence. There was a sort of sweet coffee note as well, kind of like a chocolate covered coffee bean. I also got a sweet oatmeal raisin note.  Overall, it smelled pretty great.

As to flavor, I was immediately hit with those notes of youth. This was unquestionably a young bourbon, as I got that overripe apple note that I always find in craft bourbons that just need some more time in the barrel. Here it was pretty prominent right up front.

But, what I really liked about this bottle, is that the finishing then seemed to kick in shortly after, removing those "young" notes from my palate somewhat quickly, and replacing them with far more pleasant flavors of amaretto and coffee liqueur.

Even the chocolate note came through to add a bit of richness and a touch of sweetness. It all blended together with the amaretto, the chocolate, the alcohol liqueur type notes, and even a bit of vanilla, such that it reminded me of a cherry cordial, just without the cherry. 

On the finish there was a rich, dark fruit note that came through, like fig or raisin. I didn't really get this up front, but it was definitely present on the finish, accompanied by a nice brown sugar note. And by the end of each sip, those young notes were pretty much completely gone.

Despite being very young tasting, this was still very enjoyable.  If 2Bar has time to let some of this bourbon age a few more years, this amaretto finish could be something quite delicious!!

Grade: B-

Doc Swinson's Alter Ego Triple Cask Straight Bourbon Finished in Sherry & Cognac Casks

VITALS:

- $65

- 95.8 Proof

- NAS

- Release No. 21-004

- Indiana/Washington

This is another one of those brands that keeps popping up in my Facebook feed--at least it did for a while.  I'm honestly not sure exactly which bottles were garnering all the attention a short while back, but what I noticed was that while I was seeing this Doc Swinson's brand in my Facebook feed, I wasn't seeing it anywhere on my stores' shelves . . . until one day I did. Apparently I just had to be patient.

I had the choice of this Sherry and Cognac finished bourbon or a rum finished rye. Given that I have found very few rum finished whiskeys I've actually enjoyed, it really was an easy choice for me. Plus, this one sounded really good! It's MGP bourbon (though the age is unknown) that was then finished in Oloroso Sherry casks, Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks and Cognac casks. I have no idea how long, but either way, this resulting blend of those three finishes was bound to, at the very least, pack a lot of flavor.

The nose was full of rich jammy notes of raspberry and strawberry, certainly the result of the two Sherry cask finishes. There was also something rich to it, kind of like a fig note. What I loved, though, was that the bourbon itself wasn't completely buried by the finishing, allowing a great vanilla bean note to come through, as well as a sweet butterscotch note.

As to flavor, as expected, this was a very fruit-forward bourbon. But, I got the influence from both the sherry and the Cognac barrels. Right away I got a bright and sweet raspberry note, and right along side that was a sort of plum and baked pear note, likely from the Cognac influence. All of this seemed to be blended with a rich vanilla undercurrent that all worked very well together.

Rich is really the common theme with this whiskey. On top of those fruit and vanilla notes, there was a  light woodiness to it--not tannic, but rather just the oak flavor. There were also some rich chocolate notes that met well with the raspberry and vanilla.

The finish really highlighted those chocolate notes, which were rich and not overly sweet. There was also a sort of amaretto note to it, something tangy like that to make it a bit interesting. I also noticed the wine notes really coming through, kind of like the aftertaste of an oaked Chardonnay, and this is where the tannins came in.  

I really loved everything about this whiskey, except for that finish. Even that finish had promise with the chocolate and amaretto, but the lingering wine note was a bit off-putting. It literally left a bad taste in my mouth. If it weren't for that, I'd have given this much higher marks.

Grade: B

Cadee Distillery Cascadia Rye Whiskey Finished in Port Barrels

VITALS:

- $50

- 87 Proof

- 22 mos.

- Indiana/Washington

Over the years I've found myself trying out various different whiskey podcasts. It gives me something to do on my long commutes to and from work, or when I have to travel to such exotic places as central Michigan or Fort Wayne, Indiana. At one point I listened to a podcast (I can't think for the life of me which one) that featured the owner of Cadee Distillery.  He was (and I'm sure still is) a Scott who transplanted to Washington where he is now making American whiskey. While I can't recall too many specifics from the interview (it was quite some time ago), I recall really enjoying listening to this guy talk and his passion for distilling, so I made a note of a couple of Cadee's brands in my phone in case I ever came across them.

And that note sat on my phone for probably a couple years with no sign of Cadee whiskeys showing up on my shelf. But, one day on a local Facebook group somebody advertised this service that delivered craft whiskeys from all over the country to your doorstep--but only if you live in Illinois. With my interest piqued, I checked out the site through its app - SpiritHub - and sure enough they had the very Cadee whiskeys that had sat as a forgotten-about note in my phone.  While their bourbon finished in port barrels, Deceptivus, was sold out, I was able to place an order for Cascadia, along with a couple other spirits I've so far only been able to get in the Northwest. And for only $8 shipping, I had my bottle in my hand within two days.

So, it's interesting. I wouldn't exactly say this bottle was hyped in my mind. It was just something that I've wanted to try. So I popped the cork right away, even if it was only early evening, and I immediately got hit with sweet and rich notes, almost like a plum sauce. It surprisingly came across initially as a bit hot, and even bitter. It had some woody notes and even a slight astringent note. 

As to flavor, given the nose, it was certainly smoother than expected.  I got notes of honey and vanilla mixed with raspberry. There was also that dark fruit element, like plum, that I was getting on the nose. It had some earthy tones to it as well, almost like raisin and walnut.

I did get a bit of pipe tobacco, sweet and a bit earthy. Unfortunately, though, I also got notes of young whiskey that so often turns me off of young, craft whiskeys. I got that all too familiar flavor of overripe or overcooked apples. That being said, that note was not as much of a turnoff with this bottle as it usually is. I'm guessing that the flavor was masked to some extent by the barrel finish.

It had a decent, sticky sweet finish to it, like apple and cherry hard candy mixed together. Alone that might have been awful, but the sweetness of that note was tempered by a malty note that also lingered. Unfortunately, there was also this chalky note that seemed to accompany it, and that was what I didn't like about the finish. 

I was thrilled to have gotten my hands on a bottle and thrilled to have tried it. While I was a bit underwhelmed, I'm still intrigued by their port finished bourbon, and I'm sure I'd give that a try as well if given a chance.

Grade: C+