Скачать или смотреть ASM Week, I: Stranahan's 10yo, Virginia Courage & Conviction, Westland Garryana, Yellowstone

I spent the weekend running around doing farm stuff with the family and I'm still catching up, so late upload today. But the headline is, it's ASM week! Yes, I already did a long and pretty successful round of American Single Malts earlier this year (   • 5 American Single Malts: St. George, Clerm...   ) but they seem to be having something of a moment, so let's taste nine more of the things. Friday's going to be the weirder, more experimental stuff, and today is four bottlings which should be about as "normal" as this category ever gets. We've got Colorado, Virginia, Washington, and Kentucky on deck, let's go:

Stranahan's "Mountain Angel" 10 Year Old Colorado Single Malt Straight Malt Whiskey, Batch 4 (Denver, CO; aged in new charred American oak, bottled circa 2024; 45.1% ABV), 85💐/100
Virginia Distilling Co. "Courage & Conviction" American Single Malt Whisky (Lovingston, VA; 3+ years old, aged in ex-bourbon, cuvée, and sherry casks; 46% ABV), 84+/100
Westland "Garryana" American Single Malt Whiskey, 5th Edition (Seattle, WA; 3+ years old, aged in Garryana oak and first-fill ex-bourbon, bottled 2020; unchillfiltered, natural color; 50% ABV), 87+/100
Yellowstone American Single Malt Whiskey (Limestone Branch Distillery, Lebanon, KY; aged in new charred American oak, bottled circa 2023; 54% ABV), 85-1=84/100

The Stranahan 10 is totally not what I expected. The last time I tasted a Stranahan's it was a hugely oaky but very delicious barrel pick (   • American Malts I: Stranahan's Cask Strengt...   ), so with ten years behind it I was expecting this to be a total wood bomb. And this one is woody, yes, but it's also incredibly floral and a bit herbal, especially on the palate. If there's anyone else out there nostalgic for the old pre-closure Glen Garioch signature, this may put a smile on their face (even if, in terms of absolute quality, I don't think it's really better than that barrel pick).

I looked it up after the fact and sure enough, the great Dr. Jim Swan did indeed consult at Virginia Distilling Co., and you can kind of tell. Fruity, accessible distillate plus tons of nice clean wood (and the sherry is especially dominant) plus a little bit of weirdness also from the casks (in this case, a kind of yeasty/beery thing which I assume is from the "cuvée" barrels). It's probably not one I'll be recounting in ten years time but, no arguments please, it's a great one to consider (especially if you're eyeing the current trade war and looking around for substitutes close to a "Scotch" profile).

With the Westland (see    • American Malts III: Weird Casks with Westl...   for some of their other experiments), you really have to like the grungy, earthy character of Garryana oak, but if you do then oh boy. This is fabulous stuff. The only problem with it is that its older neighbor to the south, the McCarthy's, is cheaper and even grungier and (I think) a hair bit better. But have no doubt that the folks in Seattle are doing good things.

And the Yellowstone? I mean, it's not perfect - keep the water away - but wow is it better than I was expecting. Yes, there's lots of raw white oak, but also a ton of chocolate and citrus and clumpy grass and somehow it holds together. Surprisingly good and quite fun, highly recommended if you're adventurous and see it on the closeout shelf.

Stay tuned! Later this week, we get weird...

Extra special thanks to my Different Spirits on Patreon (  / differentspirits  ) -

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