Episode 5: Distillery 291 Barrel Proof Colorado Whiskey

The Pot Still Column: Episode 5

Weird Whiskey Wednesday Edition

Distillery 291 Barrel Proof Single Barrel Colorado Whiskey “Winter Sucks"

Barrel #0002

Proof: 129.6

Age: at least 1 year

Finish: Aspen Staves

Source: Distillery 291 (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Price: $105.99

If I could exclusively review products from smaller distilleries with a promising future, I absolutely would. Unfortunately, nobody would read my articles if I did, so I must especially relish the infrequent opportunity to review whiskeys like the one we will get into today.

Distillery 291 was founded in 2011 in Colorado Springs, joining household name Colorado distilleries such as LAWS, Stranahan's, and Leopold Bros. The company is very clear about its intentions-- they mean to make a rugged, Old-West style whiskey made from grain to glass in-house on their copper pot stills. The distillery offers a great host of expressions, the flagship models of which are their Colorado whiskey, bourbon, and rye, all offered as cask strength single barrels or 100 proof small batch blends. Distillery 291 has expressed a preference for bottling at barrel proof, and its decision to bottle no lower than 100 proof is commendable.

The bottle I have in my hands today is a single barrel selection of 291’s Colorado Whiskey selected by Hood Sommelier, a young but potent American whiskey distilled from a rye-malt mash--- always a promising grain selection. The selection was curiously named "Winter Sucks," the truth of which I will never know, as I am sipping this during a beautiful California Summer. The presentation is beautiful, defined by a simplistic and natural looking topper-less cork, a rustic label with earthy colors, and a slender, squarish bottle. The single barrel is extremely young at 1 year of age, although one wouldn’t think so based on the color. It spent its short but intense maturation in a new oak barrel, and was finished with aspen staves, a little-explored finishing choice and a defining characteristic of the 291 product line.

To say that the nose is complex would be an understatement. The rye malt mash left strong traits of both grains in the scent profile, providing a strongly herbal and green rye presence that is saved from smelling too young by the roundness of the malted barley. There is a distinct roasty note, like toasted rice or sesame seeds that permeates the nose, shortly followed by hints of light roast coffee and lychee fruit. There is plenty more there, but it eludes description.

The taste reveals caramel and more traditional oak barrel notes that bolster the previously mentioned toasty characteristics. At 129.6 proof and with little time to mellow in a barrel, this whiskey demands water, and the experience is significantly more enjoyable after its addition. Waterless, the rye-malt is too sharp, the delicate and complicated flavors done little justice by the ethanol’s dominance. After adding a drop or two of room-temperature water, the ethanol defuses and it becomes much easier to pick out flavor notes.

I fully recognize that I am a sucker for bold and unique whiskeys, almost always preferring innovation to the tried and true, so it is no surprise that I can’t help but give Distillery 291 my respect. Everything about their product, from the rustic contents to the gloriously transparent presentation, perfectly represents what the craft whiskey scene in the United States should aspire to be. Too many distilleries lean on the success of vetted mashbills and tired flavors, so the roads less traveled often remain so. Distillery 291 pioneers its own path into the whiskey world, providing its customers with an entirely unique and fearlessly bold expression in its Colorado whiskey.

Closing Impressions:

While the age of the whiskey and its high-ethanol presence handicaps it somewhat in my evaluation, my impression of this whiskey has been overwhelmingly positive. The nose jumps out of the glass with reckless abandon, and dozens of flavors compete for attention in an exhibition of maximum potency. Flavor per drop is high, and extra points are always awarded for uniqueness. I cannot wait to see what comes of Distillery 291 in the next decade, and it is with resigned certainty that I await the moment when the world catches on and renders it impossible to find.

Nose: 95/100

Taste: 91/100

Finish: 89/100

Overall: 91/100