When I was in Colorado last month, I made a point to try to find at least one local whiskey to bring home. I searched out and found a place in Boulder that I’d only need a small detour to stop at on my way to Estes Park. Hazel’s Beverage World was a very cool store. I got the impression from my short visit that if I lived close, it’d be a store that I would be visiting quite often. While I was there, I noticed a store pick of a local Craft Bourbon from LAWS Whiskey House.
I’d been aware of LAWS for quite a while, though I’d never tried it. I first saw them on the whiskey menu of the bar at the Stanley Hotel on a previous visit to Estes Park. But since the bar had an extensive whiskey list, I looked for whiskeys that I’d heard of previously and passed on the local Craft product. That was about 5 years ago, I think. Occasionally I’d run across a bottle of their product, during my travels, but never pulled the trigger. So when I saw a barrel pick on the shelf at Hazel’s I decided to give it a try. But since I had never tried the standard release, I figured I should probably grab that as well.
And that is when I saw something that made me very happy. Right next to the barrel pick was a four-pack of 100mL bottles of their core whiskeys. That was great! For the price of one bottle, I could try four. And since I wasn’t sure if I’d even like what they were producing, I was very willing to pay the premium. l wish more producers would do this. I’ve wished for years for Four Roses to put out a 10 pack of all their recipes. They could be 100mL bottles like this or even 50mL. Sell it for a premium and I’d still have fun with the experience. I imagine you would too. It’s a (comparatively) inexpensive way to get your product in front of people. I’ve bought both a Cognac and an Armagnac multi-pack this way and I loved the experience of tasting the similarities and differences of a company’s lineup.
So of course I bought that one too. And since tasting 5 whiskeys for one post is a little ambitious for me these days (I like not having a blown-out palate for a week), I’m going to just focus on the two Bourbons tonight and leave the rest for another day.
LAWS Whiskey House Four Grain Bourbon
Purchase Info: $34.98 for a multi-pack of four 100mL bottles of their core whiskey line at Hazel’s Beverage World, Boulder, CO.
Price per Drink (50mL): $4.37
Details: 47.5% ABV. Two years old (note: it looks as if a full-sized bottle of this product is currently three years old so there will probably be differences in tasting notes between the two products)
Nose: Dried Grain and maple.
Mouth: Cinnamon spice, dried grain, mint, applesauce, and black tea.
Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Notes of dried grain and wintergreen.
Thoughts: This doesn't really do it for me. I'm getting better with well-constructed grain-forward bourbons, but this takes grain-forward to an extreme. I've eaten dried cereal grains before, and while it isn't an unpleasant experience, it isn't something I am looking to do for fun. This tastes like that did. Nice, clean grain flavors, but not something I am looking to have more of. Now, from what I understand, they are trying to showcase their locally sourced heirloom grains with this product. They did that very well, it just isn’t for me. But it might be something to check out if that idea appeals to you.
LAWS Whiskey House Four Grain Bourbon, Single Barrel selected by Hazel's Beverage World
Purchase Info: $59.98 for a 750 mL bottle at Hazel’s Beverage World, Boulder, CO.
Price per Drink (50mL): $3.93
Details: 47.5% ABV. Three years old. BBL#: 1402
Nose: Buttered Popcorn, caramel, and mint.
Mouth: Cinnamon Spice, clove, butterscotch, popcorn "butter," and dried grains.
Finish: Medium in length and warmth. More caramel, buttered popcorn.
Thoughts: There’s a strange thing going on here. While this single barrel has more of the notes that I like in bourbon than the standard release did, I like it less than the standard release. That buttered popcorn note is just not my thing. I am, however, open to trying more of their products. Especially the older products where the dried grain and buttered popcorn notes have had time to age out. I see that they have a six-year-old Bonded bourbon. I’ll need to keep my eyes peeled the next time I travel through a state where they are distributed.
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