Whiskey Review: Trying something local

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This past weekend I had my friend over on Friday night to enjoy some grilled New York strip steaks and inevitably the tops started coming off some of the whiskey bottles in my house. He was curious about some of the stuff on my shelf, so I was more than happy to oblige him a little taste of the ones he was curious about.

He made a bit of fun at my Glencairn glass at first, but after I explained the function of the design he didn't really complain about it. Plus once the pouring started, he really wasn't complaining at all.

One of the bottles we settled on was a newer bottle of mine that I picked up from a local party store (that's a liquor store for those of you outside the midwest). It is a bourbon from a new company in the area called Great Lakes Spirits.

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The company is based in Bay City, MI and since that town is an international port, they went with a very nautical theme. The bottle of bourbon was about $40 USD and according to their site it has been aged a minimum of 3 years.

I'll jump right into it... The bourbon from Third Wind Distilling is decent, but I don't know as though I will buy another bottle at the $40 price point. If someone were to get a bottle for me as a gift, I certainly wouldn't give it back, but there are other bottles I would much rather spend my money on.

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For example, this bourbon has a spicy peppery taste that reminds me a lot of the Old Granddad Bonded bourbon that I really really enjoy. I can get a bottle of that at $28 which makes it the clear choice. If I were going to spend $40 on a bottle I would much rather pick up a fifth of Michter's Bourbon. Buying local isn't worth the compromise when it comes to whiskey.

Beside the spice notes there was also a definite butterscotch or caramel feel. Those are typical of most bourbons and I found it quite enjoyable. The oak finish was definitely front and center as well. I did happen to notice a distinct acrylic taste that was a bit off putting. My buddy compared it to drinking a coke where the straw had been left in it for quite some time.

I'm not giving up on this local business. I honestly hope they have a great deal of success. I will however be waiting for them to get a bit more established before I pick up another bottle of their bourbon.

I think it is important to note that many of these newer startups (and even some of the more established places) buy barrels from other distilleries that don't quite make the cut. They then mix these lower quality bourbons together to come up with something they can put in a bottle while their on-site crafted stuff is maturing in barrels for 7 to 10 years.

This is a common practice, but something that should be remembered if you are trying out something new. If the business has been around less than 10 years, they are likely serving you a blended whiskey and not something they distilled themselves. Either that, or only a portion of the mix will be their "home brew".

I can't say I recommend this right now, but give me five to ten years and I might be changing my tune!


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4 comments
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Interesting stuff. You have obviously read up on some of how the distilling industry operates. Shame this was not up to scratch, but maybe they can improve with experience. I know wines have good and bad years, but is whiskey as variable?

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I think it can be. I think a lot of it varies between the barrel too. That is why they put the rick # and barrel # on a lot of the bottles.

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This is a post worthy of more tokens.

!BEER

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