Smooth Ambler Old Scout Bourbon, Aged 7 Years

I’d like to thank Smooth Ambler and their PR folks for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Hey there, folks! So we are looking at a bourbon put out by a distillery in West Virginia tonight. I don’t have a lot to say about West Virginia, personally. I’ve driven through a few times, stopped at a few places, and spent the night at a couple of others. It is beautiful country, but the last time I spent the night there, the hotel advised me not to drink the water and to limit showers to the shortest duration possible due to pollution in the city’s water supply. And, well, that basically sums up my thoughts on West Virginia.

Luckily for us, this bourbon comes from Indiana. They don’t say which distillery in Indiana, but since it uses the same Mashbill as MGP’s “36% Rye” bourbon, I think we can safely assume the origin. Which is great, because MGP makes very good boubon.

Smooth Ambler distills their own whiskey as well, but they had breakout success with their curated line of Old Scout transparently-sourced bourbons and ryes back in the early 2010s. And that Old Scout line continues today with the reintroduction of a seven-year-old expression of Old Scout Bourbon. Available in stores throughout CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MD, MI, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, WI, and of course, WV, this bottle’s suggested retail price is about $65 and is bottled at 99° proof. According to the Smooth Ambler website:

When we started “scouting” for whiskey in 2011, we wanted to find worthy whiskey we enjoyed, bring it to West Virginia, and blend and bottle alongside the whiskey we made at home. In our humble (*cough*) opinion, Old Scout became the standard for sourcing whiskey by being transparent, bottling deliciousness, and sharing it widely. Well, it turns out folks liked it, and we’re very proud we get to keep the practice going. That’s exactly what led us to the legendary Old Scout 7.

So, since we haven’t looked at anything from Smooth Ambler in a while, let’s see if they still have their sourcing and blending chops, shall we?

Smooth Ambler Old Scout Bourbon, Aged 7 Years

Purchase Info: This bottle was sent by the producer at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.33

Details: Distilled in Indiana. 7 years old. 49.5% ABV. Non-chill filtered. Mashbill: 60% Corn, 36% Rye, and 4% Malted Barley.

Nose: Oak, brown sugar, bubble sum, and a touch of spearmint.

Mouth: Spicy and oaky with notes of cinnamon, vanilla, almond, and oak.

Finish: The flavor blossoms immediately upon swallowing. It is medium to long and warm, with notes of bubblegum, cinnamon, vanilla, and oak.

Thoughts: Dry and oaky in the mouth. Vibrant and flavorful on the finish. This bourbon is “saved” by the finish. The mouth is nice enough but unremarkable. The finish, however, is where this shines. Which, if I had my choice, is where I'd want it to be. I spend more time with the finish when I drink whiskey than I do with the mouth. All in all, this is a really good whiskey. I like it.

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Wheel Horse Bourbon

Last month, during our brackets, I included exactly one bourbon that I’d never previously reviewed. It was a reader suggestion that, honestly, I had never seen for sale in Minnesota. But when I unexpectedly ran across it during my cross-metro shopping trip, I knew that it would be a shame to pass by the suggestion.

I mean, what is the point of asking for suggestions if you then turn around and ignore them?

Here is what I had to say about this during the competition.

Wheel Horse Bourbon is a new one to me. It was suggested by a reader in the last giveaway. I don’t know too much about it, but I know that it was distilled at the Green River Distilling Company in Owensboro, Kentucky. This property has been distilling whiskey off and on since the late 1800s. It was the home of “The Whiskey Without A Headache” until Prohibition. After Prohibition, it was run by the Medley Family until the 1980s. The property was briefly the OZ Tyler Distillery, making some truly terrible whiskey, before being renamed to Green River in 2019 and deciding to stop using the TerrePure process for the future whiskeys they were making there. I was thrilled to read this, which made me decide to take another chance on the whiskey produced there.

Now let’s see how it does in a proper tasting without the influence of another bourbon clouding my tastebuds.

Wheel Horse Bourbon

Purchase Info: $25.96 for a 750 mL bottle at Top Ten Liquors in Chanhassen, MN.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $1.73

Details: 50.5% ABV. 4 years old

Nose: Strong notes of soapy anise lead off with caramel and lumber underneath.

Mouth: Notes of clove, cinnamon, herbal mint, and oak.

Finish: On the longer side of medium length and warm. Lingering notes of anise, clove, red fruit, minerals, and oak.

Thoughts: This one could be divisive. It's not bad at all, but the strong herbal baking spice notes could put some people off. I like it enough to give the rye a try, but probably not enough to buy it again unless I'm looking to use it in a cocktail that would play well with anise and clove notes. I will give this a neutral rating because it doesn’t quite align with my palate, but you may love it. .

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11th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The Championship Rounds

Welcome back, folks! We are now at the end of the 2024 contest. Eight whiskeys entered the arena. Four have fallen by the wayside. There have been some delicious treats, with not a single stinker in the bunch. Let’s see how it all ends and see if we’ve learned anything along the way. First, we have the Round Two matchups.

Division 2: Whiskey A (Buffalo Trace) vs. Whiskey B (George Dickel Bourbon)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The noses are pretty similar. “A” is more vibrant, “B” is nuttier. In the mouth, “A” is very nicely balanced with a nice sweetness. “B” is spicier, also with a nice flavor.

Winner: “B” (George Dickel Bourbon) moves on to the Championship Round based on the nice spiciness.

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Division 1: Whiskey A (Old Forester 100 Proof) vs. Whiskey B (Old Grand-Dad 114 Proof)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The nose on “B” has more caramel and nuttiness. The nose on “A” is more muted with a faint medicinal note. “B” is very spicy on the month. “A” has notes of red fruit and marzipan.

Winner: “B” is spicier, but that spiciness overwhelms the other notes. “A” is more well-rounded, which I prefer. “A” (Old Forester 100 proof) moves on to the Championship Round

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Championship Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Old Forester 100 Proof)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: The nose on “A” shows more caramel and vanilla versus the fruit notes on “B.” The mouth on “A” is showing spice, caramel, and oak. “B” shows more fruit. It’s close, but I think “A” pulls ahead based on the oak and spice.

Winner: “A” (George Dickel Bourbon)

Congrats to George Dickel 8-Year-Old Bourbon, the 2024 BourbonGuy.com Bracket Champion!

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Lessons Learned:

This was an interesting contest for me. I like contests where I know I won’t need to brace myself before taking the first sip in a tasting. Every one of the bourbons was good. I don’t think I’d say there is anything in here that would warrant a “meh/neutral” rating if it were being tasted alone. That might be a first.

So, what did I learn about each of these?

Ok, right off the bat, I expected a little blowback on George Dickel Bourbon even being in the contest. I got it last year when I included their Bottled-in-Bond Whiskey, and I honestly expected the same this year. I am personally shocked that Dickel won the contest. I honestly expected Old Forester 100 proof to win based on what I thought my personal preferences were. That said, upon reflection, I’m not shocked that the only age-stated bourbon in the batch won the whole thing. It’s hard to beat time in a barrel for making good whiskey. Add in the fact that it was less than $25 and less than 100 proof, and the whole thing just makes me happy. I love an underdog story.

Moving over to the other Championship contender, as stated above, Old Forester 100 Proof would have been my favorite to win the contest at the outset. Not only does it sit in my favorite proof point, but it was also the most expensive of the bunch. Not that price always correlates to quality (that’s one of the reasons we run this contest each year), but it certainly correlates to how much a company thinks people would be willing to pay for something. And that has at least a passing relationship with how good something is, especially with a product that has been on the market for a long time like this. That said, it came in second and won its division. It’s a good bourbon and one that is often on my shelf.

Newcomer Wheel Horse Bourbon handled itself admirably. It didn’t quite have the gusto to knock off a competitor with lots of age on it, but it should hold its head up high. It lost to the eventual champion this year. That’s nothing to sneeze at. It’s good whiskey and a good value. It may have advanced if it had had a different matchup in the first round. I think I’ll be doing a full review of this one in the near future if I don’t drink it all first.

Elijah Craig is a great bourbon. It is more delicate than other bourbons in this list, having neither the age nor the proof of other contestants. Because of that, it doesn’t surprise me that it lost in the first round. But with no comparisons, I'm a happy camper if this is in my glass.

When I think of Buffalo Trace, the old chant from high school sports of “O-Ver-Rate-Ed clap clap clapclapclap.” That isn’t to say that it is a stinker or even a “meh” bourbon. No, it is very good. But when I get comments from people saying that it goes for $50 in their neck of the woods, it’s hard to take it seriously these days. Especially when contrasted with other comparable products. Sazerac won the PR lottery when they got the contract to have Pappy chosen from among their stocks oh-so-many years ago.

I’m just going to copy and paste what I said last year about Old Tub, as nothing has changed in my assessment: “Old Tub reminded me that Jim Beam makes good whiskey. It just needs some proof. Go below 100° proof, and it gets way too nutty for many folks, including me, when the mood isn’t right.”

I didn’t learn much from Old Grand-Dad 114 that I didn’t already know. I knew it was a great bourbon that didn’t cost much, and nothing about that has changed. The proof adds a nice spice to what might otherwise be a lackluster bourbon that would be too grain-forward for my personal tastes. That’s why I like Bonded and 114 so much better than the 80 proof.

Finally, Ezra Brooks 99 is right there with the other bourbons in this group. It was great as a 90° proof. And with that great base, the proof bump makes it an absolute winner. Sure, the price is higher than the now-discontinued 90, but I think the quality went up more. If I’m not buying for content, this is one that I pick up a lot.

Ok, so we have one further contest to take a look at before we put the brackets to bed this year. I retired Wild Turkey 101 from the yearly bracket contest a few years ago. It won every time it appeared until I paired it against other, more expensive, 100-ish proof bourbons during the pandemic. It is literally the GOAT when it comes to inexpensive bourbon. One of the guys I talk to at a local liquor store describes more expensive bourbons using Wild Turkey 101 as the measuring stick. “Is this worth four bottles of Wild Turkey 101?” And I love that. So, I decided to bring it out of retirement to see how this year’s winner stacked up against the old bird. (You may notice it hiding in the back of the photo above.)

Emeritus Round: Whiskey A (George Dickel Bourbon) vs. Whiskey B (Wild Turkey 101)

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: “A” has a lot of oak on both the nose and mouth, along with toffee on the mouth. “B” shows nice cinnamon on the nose and mouth along with some caramel on the mouth. Both have a nice spice.

Winner: Very close, but I'm leaning toward “B” (Wild Turkey) in the Emeritus Contest.

Now that we are done, it’s time to turn the page to the future. Next week, we will look at the samples that have been stacking up while the contest was going on. As much fun as this was, it’s fun to try new bourbons, too.

Once again, congrats to George Dickel 8-Year-Old Bourbon on their 2024 Championship!

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

11th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: Round 1: George Dickel Bourbon vs. Wheel Horse Bourbon

Hello again, my friends! Let’s continue with the brackets, shall we?

If you’ve been following along, you know that these were tasted in an order only known to my wife, which was another bit of obfuscation to hide what was being tasted. So Round 1 of the 2024 BourbonGuy.com Brackets finishes up with Division 2’s Number 2 seed, Wheel Horse Bourbon, taking on Number 3 seed George Dickel Bourbon.

Wheel Horse Bourbon is a new one to me. It was suggested by a reader in the last giveaway. I don’t know too much about it, but I know that it was distilled at the Green River Distilling Company in Owensboro, Kentucky. This property has been distilling whiskey off and on since the late 1800s. It was the home of “The Whiskey Without A Headache” until Prohibition. After Prohibition, it was run by the Medley Family until the 1980s. The property was briefly the OZ Tyler Distillery, making some truly terrible whiskey, before being renamed to Green River in 2019 and deciding to stop using the TerrePure process for the future whiskeys they were making there. I was thrilled to read this, which made me decide to take another chance on the whiskey produced there. I bought this bottle at Top Ten Liquors in Chanhassen, MN. It costs $25.96 for a 750 mL bottle or $1.73 per pour.

Their opponent is another bourbon that doesn’t come from a traditional Kentucky Bourbon background. In this case, it is because it is made in Tennessee instead of Kentucky. George Dickel Bourbon is eight years old and is one of the most inexpensive age-stated eight-year-old bourbons on the shelf. Other bourbons include eight-year-old juice in that price range, but they don’t age state it. That gives them the flexibility to swap in younger bourbons as needed, but there is something reassuring about a bourbon willing to tell you it’s age. This bottle cost $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle at France44 in Minneapolis, MN or $1.67 per pour.

All of the competitions this year were tasted blind and we knew the winner of the competition prior to any reveal. Notes, thoughts, and conclusions were all from before we knew what was what. Needless to say, some of my conclusions were surprising to me. Tasting notes may be a little unusual since they were being tasted at the same time and probably influenced the perceptions of one another.

Whiskey A (Wheel Horse Bourbon)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.73

Details: 50.5% ABV.

Nose: Cinnamon, vanilla, mint, and oak.

Mouth: Spicy cinnamon, mint, a hint of black tea, and some caramel.

Finish: Hot and medium length. Notes of Cinnamon, honey, and tannic oak.

Whiskey B (George Dickel Bourbon)

Price Per Drink (50 mL): $1.67

Details: 45% ABV.

Nose: Black tea, honey, and oak.

Mouth: Honey, caramel, cinnamon and citrus.

Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Notes of oak, caramel, and cinnamon.

Thoughts:

Pre-Reveal Thoughts: This is the first competition this year with a clear winner. Don't get me wrong, both of these are tasty. But “B” has a more "stereotypical bourbon" sort of flavor profile. Which is what I like, as you might have guessed by the fact that I've been excited by bourbon for well over a decade. “A” is just a bit too hot relative to the more balanced “B.”

Post-Reveal Thoughts: When I set up the brackets, this was the one competition where I had no clue what was going to happen. It’s a new-to-me bourbon versus a Tennessee bourbon. I like Dickel, but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t do much in the competition. Of course, with me not really knowing much about its opponent, it was impossible to predict the outcome. And though I was initially surprised, after some thought, it makes sense. I like Dickel, and I like bourbon in the six- to eight-year-old range.

Winner: George Dickel Bourbon is advancing to round 2.

Next time we will cover round two and the Championship round to find out who wins. Let me know your guesses down in the comment section below.

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

11th Annual BourbonGuy.com Brackets: The “Not Quite Bottom-Shelf” Edition

Welcome back, my friends, to my favorite posts of the year. It’s bracket time!

Historically, this has been a series where we take a look at the cheapest of the cheapest bourbons, pit them against each other, and decide which you should pick up and which you should leave down on that bottom shelf. The 2022 edition broke me; I dumped out about 7 liters of bourbon, so last year, I tossed out all pricing requirements and did a series of Bonded Bourbons. This year, I’m reinstating the price requirements, but I’ve decided to keep them a bit “relaxed.” My goal was to find readily available bourbons all at about the same price point, in this case, the $20 to $30 price range.

Here is how we set everything up. And it is an oh-so-simple process. I seed the whiskey in the bracket, in this case, by price. Then, I pour 200 mL bottles of each contestant whiskey and label them with a nonsense name. Finally, I make a separate bracket with the nonsense names and give that and the 200 mL bottles to my wife. After that, she takes care of everything. She has no idea what is in each bottle due to the nonsense name. She pours and keeps track of the winners while we do our tastings. And all I need to do is taste and write. It’s a pretty slick system.

So, who are the participants, and how did they get chosen?

Well, every year, I try to put in limitations that will force me to choose a new set of participants. Well, mostly new, anyway. We still have four this year that were in previous editions. Because the “bottom-shelf” ones have gotten so much worse than they used to be due to inflation and strategic price increases, this year, I limited myself to only bourbons priced between $20 and $30 for a 750 mL bottle. This allowed me to get some names that are familiar to the general public but that might be overlooked due to the general public’s idea that “more expensive equals better whiskey.” A while back, I also asked what you guys wanted to see included as part of a giveaway. I included as many of those as I could. Some weren’t available in my market. Others were quite expensive. Some had just been in so many contests that I looked for fresh faces. But I included what I could.

The contestants were seeded by price. If there was more than one at the same price, the tie was broken by proof.

• Division 1, Seed 1: Old Forester 100: This was purchased at South Lyndale Liquors in Minneapolis, MN, for $27.99 or $0.037 per milliliter.

• Division 2, Seed 1: Buffalo Trace: This was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN, for $27.99 or $0.037 per milliliter.

• Division 1, Seed 2: Old Grand-Dad 114: A reader suggested Old Grand-Dad Bonded, but since I saw this fit the price constraints, I upgraded. This was purchased at Total Wine in Burnsville, MN, for $26.99 or $0.036 per milliliter.

• Division 2, Seed 2: Wheel Horse Bourbon: This was a reader suggestion. It was purchased at Top Ten Liquors in Chanhassan, MN, for $25.96 or $0.035 per milliliter.

• Division 1, Seed 3: Ezra Brooks 99: This was purchased at South Lyndale Liquors in Minneapolis, MN, for $24.99 or $0.033 per milliliter.

• Division 2, Seed 3: George Dickel Bourbon: This was purchased at France 44 in Minneapolis, MN, for $24.99 or $0.033 per milliliter.

• Division 1, Seed 4: Elijah Craig: This was purchased at Top Ten Liquors in Chanhassen, MN, for $24.96 or $0.033 per milliliter.

• Division 2, Seed 4: Old Tub: This was a reader suggestion. It was purchased at France 44 in Minneapolis, MN, for $21.99 or $0.029 per milliliter.

I’m going to tell you right now, that there were some real surprises here. I was honestly shocked at the winner. But that is for the future. In the mean time, who you got? Let us know down in the comments.

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

High West Cask Collection, South Lyndale Liquors Selection

Happy Friday! Yeah…about that. I had a tax appointment last night and completely forgot about writing anything. Sorry about that.

Next week, we start one of my favorite series of the year: The BoubonGuy.com Brackets. While I was out picking up all of the contestants from around the area, I also kept an eye out for other tasty treats that I could write about. This is how today’s bourbon ended up in my cart.

I was at South Lyndale Liquors in Minneapolis, picking up a couple of inexpensive items, and noticed this sitting on a barrel near the checkouts. Having noticed that I hadn’t covered anything from High West in a while—yes, I picked this up prior to the High West sample from the last post arriving on my doorstep—I picked it up. Especially since I tend to really like the store picks that South Lyndale gets. I don’t have much information about this one. All I really know is that this particular bottle of whiskey is a bourbon finished in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.

But despite that, let’s take a look at it. I’ve seen barrel picks of High West Cask Collection, Cabernet Sauvignon Finish in a few of the local liquor stores, so it might be nice to see if it is worth picking up.

High West Cask Collection, South Lyndale Liquors Selection

Purchase Info: $64.99 for a 750 mL bottle at South Lyndale Liquors, Minneapolis, MN

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.33

Details: Blend of Straight whiskeys finished in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. 50% ABV

Nose: Floral vanilla, brown sugar, red fruit, and oak.

Mouth: Cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet red fruit, vanilla, tobacco, and oak.

Finish: Spicy and medium length. Notes of red fruit, baking spice, and tobacco.

Thoughts: This is good? The wine cask accentuates the red fruit and tobacco notes. It has a bit of dryness to it, which is balanced by sweet, floral vanilla notes. All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase.

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

High West Bottled in Bond Rye

I’d like to thank High West for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

It has been a long damn time since we took a look at any products from High West around here. And it’s not because I didn’t like them when we last looked. No, this has to do with shelf placement.

The liquor store that I frequent most often is a small place packed to the gills with wonderful libations. It has narrow aisles and high shelves. High West sits on the top shelf at the end of the whiskey aisle. Below it are Wild Turkey and Russell’s Reserve, 1792, and Four Roses. Good company if you can get it—well, if you are a normal consumer.

I am far from normal.

I go in looking for things to write about, and, in my mind, that end of the aisle is filled with wonderful things to drink, but nothing to write about, so High West tends to get forgotten about on my local shopping trips. This is really too bad because they make some delicious whiskeys, and some of them are even decently priced at around $30 for a 750. So when their PR person reached out to me offering me a taste of their first ever Bottled in Bond Whiskey, I jumped at the opportunity to reexamine the offerings from this company that I had neglected. And boy, am I glad I did.

But before I get ahead of myself, let’s run down a few interesting items they included in their press release. This bottled-in-bond whiskey is four years old, having been barreled in the Fall 2018 distilling season. As a bonded whiskey, it is 100° proof. The mashbill is made up of 80% rye and 20% malted rye. It was distilled by High West in Wanship, UT. It was released in February 2024 and will be available “across the nation” for a suggested retail price of $79.99 (though at the time of writing this, it is currently sold out on the High West website).

So, onto the most important part: how does it taste?

High West Bottled in Bond Rye

Purchase Info: This was sent by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $79.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 ml): $5.33

Details: 50% ABV. Batch: 23L19 H218. Mashbill: 80% rye, 20% malted rye.

Nose: Honey, vanilla, cedar, and mint.

Mouth: Cedar, allspice, vanilla, honey, mint, and oak.

Finish: Medium length and warmth with notes of cinnamon, mint, and oak.

Thoughts: Bright and vibrant with good spice. This is delicious. It reminds me of an MGP rye with depth and a nutty under current. And even though I’ve long thought that I didn’t like malted rye in my whiskey, I really like this one. It must be that I only disliked the ones that I tasted first. This is why I try not to write off an entire ingredient’s usage. It also makes a killer Sazerac cocktail. Though at $80 per bottle, this probably won’t be going into many cocktails in most peple’s homes. All in all, I really like this one.

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If you want to support our work at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch that I’ve designed and/or built (tasting journals, t-shirts, stickers, pins, signs, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Use code BOURBONGUYREADER at checkout for 5% off any order of $50 or more.

Dashfire Ready-To-Drink Cocktails: Bourbon Old Fashioned and Fig & Cascara Manhattan

I will start tonight by saying that I honestly don’t care about how much traffic this site gets. I don’t take advertisements, so I don’t have advertisers breathing down my neck. I get enough samples and am on enough press release lists that I don’t need to “introduce” myself to PR folks anymore (except Brown-Forman; I just can’t get a hold of anyone there and have given up trying). But this morning, I went down a rabbit hole while procrastinating doing actual paying work. While in that rabbit hole, I looked at the BourbonGuy.com site analytics for the first time since 2021.

Holy shit, folks! Almost 50,000 of you visited in December! I am incredibly humbled by that fact. So thank you.

For a little perspective on that, I also looked at the earliest available analytics for the site. Way, way back in 2014, I had about 80,000 visits all year. The main reason that 2014 was on my mind this morning was when I interviewed one of the founders of a then-new bitters startup called Dashfire, which, if you saw the photo above, you will know is relevant to tonight’s post. I went back to reread it. I still think it was a great interview.

Shortly after that interview, I started making my own bitters, so I hadn’t thought of Dashfire in a while. Well, until I saw these cute little canned cocktails at the checkout counter of a local liquor store last night. I’d had a product lined up for tonight’s post that fell through, and serendipity was working in my favor to provide a replacement. They have expanded well beyond bitters in the last decade or so. Their offerings now include not only bitters but liqueurs, boozy coffee drinks, THC drinks, and, of course, ready-to-drink cocktails like we are exploring tonight.

I like making cocktails, but with the fact that I’ve cut way back on my drinking (I’m trying to move away from my Wisconsin upbringing and be a bit healthier about my relationship with alcohol), I don’t always have the more perishable ingredients on hand. For example, it is unlikely that I will ever use a 750 mL bottle of vermouth before it starts to feel the effects of being open for too long. I don’t make enough Manhattans to use that bottle in a year, much less the month (to a few months) the experts say it will take for the flavor to start going downhill. But occasionally, I want a Manhattan all the same. In those times, I can either buy a bottle of vermouth, knowing I will dump most of it out in a couple of months. Or I can buy a ready-to-drink version like I bought last night.

Dashfire currently makes ten different ready-to-drink cocktails. We are going to look at the two that I found last night: the Bourbon Old Fashioned and the Fig & Cascara Manhattan. I served each of them as instructed on the can, including garnish.

Dashfire Bourbon Old Fashioned

Purchase Information: $5.99 for a single-serve 100 mL can at Lunds & Byerly’s Liquor, Burnsville, MN

Serving Instructions: Pour over a large ice cube and garnish with orange zest.

Nose: Cherry and orange.

Mouth: Thick, rich, and sweet with notes of brown sugar, cherry, orange, vanilla, and baking spice.

Finish: Sweet with notes of cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, and orange.

Dashfire Fig & Cascara Manhattan

Purchase Information: $5.99 for a single-serve 100 mL can at Lunds & Byerly’s Liquor, Burnsville, MN

Serving Instructions: Stir with ice to chill and garnish with a cocktail cherry.

Nose: The sherry comes through strongly, along with some cherry notes.

Mouth: Thick and rich with notes of caramel, cocoa, orange, and baking spice.

Finish: Smoky notes of chocolate-covered raisin and cherry.

Thoughts: These taste like well-made Manhattans and Old Fashioneds from a fancy cocktail bar. I'd be happy paying bar prices for something that tastes like either of these. Hiking? Camping? Just don't want to keep the ingredients on your home bar? Toss a few of these in your pack or cupboard, and you'll have a tasty treat with little to no prep. And for $5.99, they are as good as you'll find in a good cocktail bar.

I look forward to trying their other offerings in the near future. The THC drinks sound delicious, I love coffee, and that Orange Bourbon Liqueur will certainly be coming home with me as soon as I find it on the shelf. You can look forward to that one being talked about here soon.

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