Two Wyoming Whiskey Private Stock Single Cask Store Picks...

Two Wyoming Whiskey Private Stock Single Cask Store Picks: I was sitting on these two single cask Wyoming Whiskey bottlings for quite a while waiting for a good time to sit down, pop them open together and taste and compare. Well, today is the start of a long weekend here and it sounded like a good project to work on early in the morning...

Bottled for K&L Wine Merchants (#1627) (56.9%): First barrel carries the inventory number 1627 and is bottled for K&L Wine Merchants in California. I picked this bottle in September 2017...

Color: Medium amber, orange blossom honey with very thin but slow legs.

Nose: Blood orange slices and cream soda. Sweet and tart... Vanilla, sap gum and dry pine cones. Pine needles and green wood. A few drops of water works great. Rock candies, crystallized ginger and cinnamon Altoids.

Palate: Dry and sweet... Light caramel, dried strawberries and pine honey. Cinnamon and ground cloves. Aunt Jemima syrup and toasted oak. More like an aged corn whiskey. Water works great on the palate as well. It calms it down nicely. Still getting too much of corn though: Corn syrup, cornbread and cinnamon candies.

Finish: Long... Liquefied butter and cinnamon.

Overall: Someone who likes high corn bourbon recipes would probably appreciate this particular barrel more than I did but it is a touch too much corn driven for my taste... It is a very good bourbon regardless...

Price: $55

83/100

Bottled for The Liquor Store of Jackson Hole (#1550) (55.14%): Second barrel (#1550) is bottled for The Liquor Store of Jackson Hole in Wyoming and has been bought directly  from the store in July 2017.

Color: Almost identical with barrel #1627. Same color, same legs... Kinda interesting how identical they are though.

Nose: Dusty warehouse, open fermentation tanks and geuze beer. Dry soil, pebbles and dry grain. Way less corn driven notes on the nose compared to its sister cask. Adding water brings up red fruits: Strawberries and raspberries. Mineral water and touch of lime juice.

Palate: Young and dry... Toasted oak, dusty grains and lightly roasted coffee beans. Milk chocolate and honey. Water adds corn notes it was missing. Cornbread and corn flakes. Vanilla and grilled pineapple rings.

Finish: Medium long with white pepper and cinnamon.

Overall: I personally enjoyed this barrel more than the other one... It is dusty, earthy and raw. Most importantly (for me) I am getting way less corn whiskey notes from this one. If I was picking the barrels and I had these two in front of me I definitely would go for this one. Don't know where the price difference is coming from actually. It can be the difference in taxation between states or just the store pricing or both. Thanks to Teresa Hartmann carrying this bottle all the way from Jackson, Wyoming...

Price: $76

87/100