High West is today a pretty beloved American whiskey brand that has developed for itself a tidy cult following - especially for the likes of its A Midwinter Night Dram releases, which pays homage to Shakespeare and so each release is marked by an Act and Scene number, as well as its Bourye, which as the name suggests, blends both Bourbon with Rye whiskies. We'll be tasting both later on, so stay tuned for that!

But first let's cover some ground and catch ourselves up to speed with High West. The distillery was founded in just 2006 by David Perkins and his wife Jane. David was a former biochemist who would find himself inspired by the parallels between his work and the act of fermentation and distillation as part of the whiskey making process. A visit to a whiskey distillery in Kentucky would prove to be the tipping point for which he knew he had to start his own distillery.

High West founder David Perkins.

And so in 2004, David and his family would relocate to Park City, Utah, where they began distilling in 2007. Park City was chosen because David loved the Old West, and was charmed by Utah's whiskey history - and lack thereof in the present. As it turns out Park City was once home to an illustrious saloon where folks would socialise over whiskey, it was called Miners and was established in 1884. Yet Prohibition would later prove to throw a serious wrench into Utah's whiskey scene, and although the state voted to end Prohibition, no whiskey distiller would re-emerge. Thus when High West turned on its distillation stills in 2006, it would formally become the state's first legal distillery since 1870!

Given Perkins' love for the Old West, he would unsurprisingly set up his distillery along with a saloon, the High West Saloon, and a restaurant in an old livery stable called the National Garage, which also happens to lie adjacent to a bonafide historic two-storey Victorian style pyramid house called the Ellsworth J. Beggs House. The house itself was built in 1914 by one Ellsworth J. Beggs, who was a well known carpenter in Utah, hence the name. As for the National Garage, it was once a stopover for workhorses that were used to pull heavy ore carts to and from the mines, and of course had to be built by Beggs. Eventually as horses were phased out and cars became popular, the stable was retrofitted to begin servicing cars, and thus became known as the National Garage. And whilst both buildings have changed hands numerous times over the century forward, they were were eventually given a new lease of life by High West, as Perkins had wanted to preserve the historic buildings.

As it so happens the High West Saloon is located at the bottom of Park City Resort's Quittin' Time ski run, which gives it the unique accolade of being the world's first and only ski-in gastro-distillery. In 2015, High West inaugurated a new distillery in Wanship, Utah, which now accommodates tours and houses a much larger production capacity.

High West's Saloon and the National Garage.

Now getting into the whiskies, whilst High West initially started making its whiskies in small batches with its combination copper pot still, which serves as both continuous and pot still depending on how its configured, it was able to get off the ground to a quicker start by sourcing its whiskies from major distiller MGP Distillery, which is best known for supplying custom order whiskies for Non-Distilling Producers (or NDPs, as they are known). And so whilst High West decides on the recipe and flavour profile, it is MGP Distillery that produces it. This might sound peculiar to folks outside the US, however, it is a rather common practice in the country, with no small number of incredibly successful brands having gotten off to a flying start by doing so, before some of them - as is the case in High West - begin to distill themselves or find that their whiskies have finally reached the maturity they're looking for and can be used instead. And so more recently as some of High West's whiskies have finally come of age, the brand has steadily added their own whiskies into the fold. 

With the new distillery up and running at Wanship, the goal has been to fully produce its own line of whiskies. Worth pointing out is also that the distillery has since been acquired in 2016 by drinks giant Constellation Brands.

And so with all that ground covered, let's finally get into it!

PS. Big shoutout to Bar Madame in Singapore for putting together this High West masterclass which I was really looking forward to attending considering I've been a big fan of High West's Midwinter Night Dram and Bourye for quite some time! If you're in Singapore and you're looking to try some High West whiskies, they're still available over at Bar Madame, and definitely keep a lookout for more Bourbon masterclasses that the bar regularly runs!

Bourbon Review: High West Whiskey American Prairie Bourbon, 46% ABV

Named after the American Prairie Reserve, whose goal is to create the largest wildlife reserve in 48 states, you'll also find a painting of a Pronghorn Antelope featured on the label (it's a painting by Diane Whitehead), which is actually the fastest land mammal in North America and which migrates over 500 miles. Unfortunately, Pronghorn populations have gone down 98% since the 1800's due to habitat destruction, and so this is High West's big to raise awareness for wildlife conservation - 10% of High West's profits from the sale of the American Prairie Bourbon is thus donated to the American Prairie Reserve.

Specs-wise, this is a blend of 2 to 13 year Straight Bourbons whose mashbills are 75% Corn, 21% Rye and 4% Malted Barley (the MGP sourced component) and also 84% Corn, 8% Rye and 8% Malted Barley (the remaining component).

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Gold

Aroma: It opens with some rich, warm honey, garnished by dusty peanut shells, almost a sort of rickhouse, woody mustiness, it's giving old wooden racks and barrels. There's also a more subtle side to it, this herbal quality of manuka honey and eucalyptus, with the aromas also outlined by some orange peels. It's got a really nice richness and depth to its roundedness.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's getting more confectionary with tones of caramel and peanut brittle, still alittle herbal and herbaceous with some parsley and dill, again outlined by that aromatic citrusy touch of orange peels and orange blossoms. It's got a nice punchiness to it, with also a veil of white pepper. That richness and roundedness persists throughout.

Finish: It's getting alittle more spiced now with some clove and nutmeg coaxed in, along with more of that caramel and peanut brittle. Some orange marmalade here as well. It brings out a really satisfying deep warmth on a long finish with that layer of white pepper and orange blossoms carrying on.

My Thoughts

Really solid all rounded Bourbon, it's got a really nice richness, that aromatic mustiness that really gives you a sense of the Old West, which is quite evocative I must admit! And it's also got a good punchiness to it that catches your attention and then mellows out without coming off spicy - this isn't one of those limp biscuits that's flat and lacking in energy. This has that verve! I should also say that it strikes me as being really all rounded and quite complete, there's tones of confectionary, wood, spice, nuttiness; everything you'd want in a Bourbon, this delivers nicely.

Whiskey Review: High West Whiskey Double Rye, 46% ABV

As a big Rye fan, I was definitely looking forward to this one! This is a blend of Straight Rye whiskies of 95% Rye and 5% Malted Barley (from MGP) and then 80% Rye and 20% Malted Rye that's distilled by High West themselves - the components range between 2 to 7 years old. It's so named 'Double Rye' because of the two Rye components in here.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: Remarkable floral and minty aromas pour forth - wow! It's incredibly aromatic with all these scents of lavender, potpourri and mint jelly. It's perfumed yet not heady nor soapy. It comes through in a really natural way without being artificial in the slightest. More on orange peels that outline the bouquet too. At times it also gives a herbal element to it.

Taste: Those perfumed potpourri aromatics carry onto the palate - roses, mint jelly, lavender, rose water, all on a supple body of honey, gently sweet, the aromatics well integrated without overpowering. Medium-bodied here with also some orange blossoms and caramel that completes the body.

Finish: Light hits of pepper here, those mint and roses stay on, here even more supple in the form of rose jelly and mint jelly, backed up by some light runny honey. A savouriness of charred wood comes through as well, giving it a slightly more dry oakiness here, with that dusting of white pepper still lingering aromatically on the finish.

My Thoughts

A most fascinating Rye that I must say I haven't quite experience before! It's incredibly perfumed and aromatic, filled in with roses and mint in a supple expression that's almost jellied and gently sweet - I was completely taken away by how expressive this was and how it was delivered. This was to me nothing short of incredible and I very much relished every sip of it whilst finding myself nosing it endlessly - this was in fact the crowd favourite of the night! Now keep in mind, this didn't come off soapy or unnatural, instead it was as if you'd infuse rose petals and mint into honey. This isn't anything like the usual ryes you'd find where you'd get a more overt pepperiness and herbaceousness - this is both intensely floral and minty at the same time! Absolutely spectacular! If this was taken up maybe 3 to 5% more ABV, this would completely smash it out the park with more of that added punchiness and oomph. Nevertheless, an utterly wonderful expression!

Whiskey Review: High West Whiskey Campfire Whiskey, 46% ABV

Another very interesting expression here, this is a blend of whiskies from High West, MGP and an undisclosed Scotch distillery, and so it's a combination of Straight Rye, Straight Bourbon and blended malt Scotch. 

If we get into the specs, this'll be Straight Rye Whiskey (95% rye, 5% barley malt) from MGP; Straight Bourbon Whiskey (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% barley malt) from MGP; Rye Whiskey (80% Rye, 20% Malted Rye) from High West Distillery;
and finally the Blended Malt Scotch Whisky.

David of High West elaborates about how the Campfire Whiskey came about as such "One morning at the Bruichladdich distillery B&B, my wife and I smelled peat in the air - the great ladies that made our meals were simmering a bottle of peated whiskey and sugar! Later that night, they brought out dessert of ripe honeydew drizzled with the peated syrup. That was the most unusual, delicious and memorable ending to a dinner I've ever had. The combination of melon and sweet smoke really worked - so (naturally...) I thought "why not mix sweet bourbon and peat?"

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: Much more honeyed here, there's swaths of vanilla cream and butterscotch, and an immediate but gentle plume of sweet smoke. Also a lifted and more airy scent of buttered popcorn, before heading down to a body of caramel, maltose candy and tanghulu candied fruits, candied oranges in particular. Yet it's not over the top sweet, but does have a good richness about it. Along the way some mustiness of antique stores and also a rather floral scent of fresh linens. Really aromatic!

Taste: A smokiness of kombu seaweed with that salinity of sea spray by the beach side comes through. The smokiness is alittle more ashy here and more forward, although not prickly, definitely rounded out by a deep reservoir of honey garnished by apricots. Medium-bodied.

Finish: Some light pepperiness here, little bit of savouriness too of charred meats, backed up by more caramel and butterscotch, along with bags of dusty peanut shells. It's rich into the clean finish, straddled by more of that vanilla cream and butterscotch.

My Thoughts

Wait, wait, let me take a guess - it's an Islay whisky, isn't it? If you were working off on taste alone, you'd probably think it was an Islay whisky, but the aromas and finish would indicate otherwise. On the nose, the Bourbon side of things are more forward, giving it more of that confectionary richness, the same goes with the finish, which takes your back out of Islay and into Bourbon territory. The aroma was definitely where I found the most delight at, with that really aromatic mustiness of antique wooden furniture, fresh linens and even candied oranges! If you're into Islay whiskies, the Campfire should be fun to add into your rotation.

Whiskey Review: High West Whiskey Bourye, 46% ABV

Is that not the cutest quirky woodland rabbit-antelope thing (High West calls it a jackalope or an antelabbit)?! According to the brand, cowboys would sit around campfires and sing at night with these jackalopes singing back! And if ever a jackalope was chased, it would throw out human sounding call phrases to distract and escape. And so the best way to catch a jackalope is to lure it weith whiskey!

High West's Bourye has made a neat cult following for itself - you can find whole forum threads dedicated to looking for it, and it's not just because of the label! In any case, as the name suggests, this is a blend of Bourbon and Rye, all of which are at least 10 years old, coming from several distilleries.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Amber

Aroma: It's coming off more rounded and citrusy here, and less confectionary, yet really firm and mellow. There's that honey, orange peels, orange flavour herbal candy, also herbaceous with some parsley, it's concentrated and rich yet not so overtly perfumed. More on orange blossoms amidst bouquets of white florals, as well as a touch of industrial scents of rubber tyres.

Taste: A much more candied body here, medium-bodied, it's filled in with orange peels, orange lozenges, tangerines, coated in a body of honey and caramel, superbly plush. There's a herbal element of cough syrup, and then more on parsley with some nuttiness of peanut shells. It's got a very nice presence about it, rounded and yet expressive of its character.

Finish: More savoury here, of charred meat, and yet at the same time it remains super candied with just a touch of cough syrup. It's savoury in the front and all honeyed at the back. Some pepperiness here, giving off a deep warmth on what is a totally plush and rich finish.

My Thoughts

See this is why folks love the Bourye so much, that ability to express this character particularly on the palate where it's well structured, complex and yet chiselled to the point where you feel those nuances and outlines perfectly. On the nose it's not as perfumed as we saw in the other expressions yet it's by no means muted, it's firm and concentrated yet just not as heady, still very much garnished by citrus and florals and with even alittle bit of an industrial element to it. Into the finish it's immaculately candied and honeyed, like that of maltose candy, which gives the finish such an incredible plushness and richness, whilst it keeps this head of savouriness. It's always great to revisit High West's Bourye! And it never fails to impress! If you ever run into this jackalope - don't let it get away.

Whiskey Review: High West Whiskey, A Midwinter Night's Dram, 49.3% ABV

Yet another cult series from High West - they sure are good at hitting home runs when it comes to creating some pretty iconic expressions that have over time developed a serious fan club for just that one label (ie. some folks literally only follow A Midwinter Night's Dram, with little to no interest in any other High West expression, same goes for the Bourye - a very fascinating phenomenon)!

This is of course a tribute to Shakespeare and so each edition comes as part of an Act and Scene number - this in particular is Act 11 Scene 3. The series started back in 2013 and has consistently followed the theme of being a Port finished Rye expression. And so this is a blend of several parcels of Straight Rye whiskies whose mashbills are 95% Rye and 5% Malted Barley (the MGP component) and 80% Rye and 20% Malted Rye for the High West component. 

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark Amber

Aroma: Immediately there's the supple and candied dark fruit, with all manners of black grapes - black grape jelly, tanghulu candied grapes, black grape gummies. And yet even as it's superbly rich, it finds a way to remain precise and distinct, and with such expressiveness and depth. There's some of that dunnage mustiness, also some light rancio cheesiness that tends to be the case with fortified wine barrels, and then there's the aromatics of dried herbs, supported by honey, butterscotch and of course, orange peel. With time more on fresh linens and some lavender too.

Taste: More of those black grapes - they persist in all forms to the palate, with black grapes fresh, jellied and candied, and then also a light savouriness of charred meats. There's alittle bit of yeastiness of wet dough, yet it's backed up still with maltose candy and heaps of honey. Medium-bodied here, really rich and supple, with such a lifted freshness and juiciness.

Finish: It's plush and rich into the finish, delivered on a landslide of fruity candied suppleness though the finish, of black grape gummies and maltose candy, with a side of light savouriness.

My Thoughts

There's a reason High West's Midwinter Night's Dram has such a loyal following even though the entire series follows the theme of Port finished Rye - because it's so ridiculously tasty and well executed! The idea of integrating strong flavours like the sort Port has has always been of intrigue and fascination to many a distillery and yet it's a finnicky one that can easily tether on being far too cloying or overpowering, and sometimes alittle funky. Yet High West just nails it to give the best showmanship of how it's done. Here it is utterly candied, supple, fresh and fruity. It's a cornucopia of black grapes in various forms, on a bed of maltose candy, and yet it persists in this lifted quality where it so masterfully avoids getting cloying of heavy. It's well-balanced and yet rich and concentrated to its core, with a fuller body of flavour that's simply so juicy. It's also complemented with little extensions to its flavour profile, with some savouriness and florals that gives it this added dimensionality.

Whiskey Review: High West Whiskey Rendezvous Rye, 46% ABV

So the word has always been that the Rendezvous is a sort of extension of the Double Rye expression, and it's also one that has continuously seen a year on year great inclusion of High West's own Rye whisky. Currently though it's a blend of MGP Rye (95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley) and High West Rye (80% Rye and 20% Malted Rye), which effectively makes it another high Rye from High West. Also worth pointing out is that similar to the American Prairie Bourbon, every bottle sold of High West's Rendezvous Rye will see the distillery make a donation to the American Prairie Foundation.  

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: It opens with floral wafts of lavender, outlined by orange peels, which then gets more herbal here, with herbal orange lozenges. There's also some of that dunnage mustiness, peanut butter funk, it's that classic aromatic mustiness.

Taste: It gets more confectionary here, with more on caramel, before more of that intensely aromatic hit of rose water and mint jelly begins to reveal itself. It's medium-bodied with a really nice punchy spiciness that gives it that oomph and perkiness. This waft of roses on a backdrop of caramel sweetness is entirely evocative and yet somehow so distinct and precise in conveying those flavours - very elegant!

Finish: More of that mint jelly here, along with some light touches of caramel and honey, butterscotch too, before that savouriness of grilled meats starts showing up. An aromatic dusting of white pepper lingers on.

My Thoughts

I swore I thought the Double Rye would be my favourite but wait a minute, this Rendezvous has got something serious going on here - in fact, this was my favourite of the night! Whilst the Double Rye definitely got me star struck, mouth agape, with all those intense aromatics, I did mention that I would've loved it even more if it packed more of a punch to it - and there you go! The Rendezvous does exactly that! Alright, alright, it does trade off some of that gorgeous and opulent perfume on the nose, but the body here delivers that solid oomph and spiciness that just captivates and holds your attention. For me, this was the Double Rye but turned up two notches, and I loved every bit of it!

Rendezvous - you are a winner!

Whiskey Review: High West Whiskey High Country American Single Malt, 44% ABV

We move to our third whiskey category of the night - the fast growing American Single Malt! This is completely distilled by High West, and is a blend of 100% base malt whiskey and a tri-malt mashbill of 85% base malt, 14% caramel 60 malt and 1% chocolate malt. What's also unique here is that it is distilled "on-the-grain", where the grain is left in during fermentation and distillation, instead of being filtered out. It is then aged in both freshly charred and second-use oak barrels.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: Honeyed, nutty, yet not quite so confectionary. There's peanut butter, garnished and topped with a light bit of parsley and butterscotch, wrapped about by some aromatic rickhouse mustiness. Some orange peels around the outline too. It has a nice richness and good aromatics, yet still somewhat Bourbon-like without so much of the confectionaries.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, nice richness to the body, it's rounded and supple, filled in with floral acacia honey, with also some lighter touches of herbal elements and some peanut shells, along with a light veil of white pepper. It packs a gentle but still solid punchiness, and into the finish there's a rush of yellow florals in the form of chrysanthemum tea.

Finish: More of those dusty peanut shells come through here, this time packed with more honey and caramel that's just beginning to show up, little bit of cough syrup too. It's turning alot richer into the finish, yet still very much gentle and seamless with just a light tingly spiciness. Getting into that honeyed body, there's that herbal quality, citrusy orange blossoms too, with deeply floral chrysanthemum tea and dried osmanthus flowers that linger on the finish.

My Thoughts

In the line-up of what we've tried so far, this presents something quite unique. Initially on the nose, it still felt like we're well within Bourbon territory, perhaps if anything just not quite as confectionary as we might tend to find with the category, yet it is on the palate and into the finish where it takes on this deeply floral quality that's so nicely integrated into the single malt, and expressed so evocatively. The nose, whilst still aromatic, was alittle more lean, yet when we got to the body, it was clearly more rounded and supple, with immediately this more floral bit of acacia honey. It has a really nice gentle punchiness to it that for me always conveys some presence and energy, and as we slipped into the finish is where this bounty of yellow floral chrysanthemum tea really started to pour forth. It softened a little bit into the finish, before then coming back in buckets right after with heavy florals of chrysanthemum tea and dried osmanthus buds that lingered in such a beautiful way

Whiskey Review: High West Whiskey Barrel Select For The Bottle House and Corks & Bottles, 51.9% ABV

What's this now! We've got a Barrel Select that's for The Bottle House and Corks & Bottles; it's a blend of Straight Bourbon whiskeys that's been finished in Midwinter's Tawny Port Barrels.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Amber

Aroma: It's rich and mellow here, with herbal cough syrup, some supple fruity tones of black grape gummies and maltose coated candied tanghulu black grapes. The richness multiplies with time, more honeyed with a gentle caramel sweetness. It's a touch yeasty as it was with the Midwinter, yet also softer and more mellow as compared to the Midwinter.

Taste: More of those fruity tones of black grape gummies, grape cordials, along with a savouriness of grilled sweet glazed meats. There's hits of pepperiness alongside that depth and richness of sweet black grapes. With time it only gets more candied and rich, whilst still very mellow and saturated with those candied fruity sweetness. Medium-bodied yet with a nice gentle punchiness, it mellows out into the finish.

Finish: A light doughiness comes through here, must be the rancio, before it's back to that peppery savouriness that's backed up by a wall of black grape-y confectionary fruity richness and soft sweetness.

My Thoughts

This made an interesting comparison with the Midwinter Night's Dram, where here the influence of the Port barrels was less extensive, which on the flipside allowed more of the whiskey to reveal itself. This allowed for more savouriness in particular to come through which combined beautifully with the fruity sweetness to give something of sweet glazed BBQ meats. At the higher proof, this also came through with more presence even as it felt more laid back and less bold compared to the Midwinter expression. I did however find the Barrel Select to showcase more complexity and balance with the Port barrels playing more of a supporting role as opposed to being the lead. This too was a crowd favourite of the night.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot