Review by: dustbunna
Santa Fe Spirits of New Mexico produces Colkegan single malt American whiskey— the distillery was an early ASM advocate and has always used a 100% malted barley mashbill (30% of which is currently mesquite-smoked.) They house their casks in a high-desert warehouse 7,000 ft above sea level with no humidity.
Their cask-strength releases are really “batch strength” as each one comes in right on the dot at 59% ABV, and the individual barrels picked for release can apparently be either new charred or refill stock (although there isn’t a clear indication of this on the bottle.) Having tasted two very different CS bottlings from Colkegan side-by-side, I would bet this particular one is refill given the color and because the wood is such a light touch here.
Distillery: Santa Fe Spirits.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: New Mexico.
ABV: 59%. Cask strength.
Age: NAS. Barrel #63.
Cask type: Refill ex-Colkegan barrels.
Price: $70 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 7 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder (consistent through the entire bottle.)
Nose: minerals, vanilla, sagebrush, dry smoke, ripe corn, Chardonnay wine.
Palate: full-bodied and oily ~ more minerals, corn and smoke following through, eucalyptus.
Finish: long ~ lots of smoke, sweet tea, menthol.
Conclusion: This immediately solves all the issues I had with the standard release. This has been a favorite of the ASM bottlings I’ve tried so far, with plenty to enjoy here— thick texture, bold flavors well-integrated with one another, and the nostalgia of how well it evokes the surroundings of the distillery. I wish I knew how to tell which releases are aged in new oak and which are refill (the bottles are too opaque to be able to suss this out without opening them.) If I could identify another refill cask, I’d 100% buy this again, especially given I got this for only $5 more than the standard release.
Final Score: 87.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 