Review by: dustbunna

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Distillery: Santa Fe Spirits.

Bottler: American Single Cask.

Region: Southwest USA.

ABV: 65%. Cask strength.

Age: 6 years. Distilled in 2017. Bottled in 2023.

Cask type: New American oak.

Price: $55 for 375mL (bottle split, full cost $110.)

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 5 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, no significant change at the heel.

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Nose: rich vanilla and roasted corn, maple syrup, sagebrush, burnt dust, goes a bit more earthy.

Palate: thick ~ more roasted corn and vanilla, mesquite smoke, broken branches, red fruits, tobacco leaf, old leather. 

Finish: long ~ powerful mesquite smoke coming through here, flashes of barbeque sauce and pine sap, more red fruits and old leather.

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Conclusion: Wow, this really continues the Santa Fe tradition of effectively capturing the New Mexico high desert through their spirit. I am admittedly not the biggest fan of new American oak, and it’s very clearly doing a lot of work here, but even after six years of aging the spirit has somehow managed not to be completely swallowed whole by the wood. It’s kind of amazing that this even reached that age— it’s several years older than anything by the distillery thus far, and Santa Fe’s angel’s share is reportedly around 12% per year(!) The roasted corn and sagebrush notes are very much shared by the distillery’s own releases, while the red fruit, tobacco, and leather give this single cask a different dimension. Maybe a tick too wood-forward for me to really fall in love with it compared to some other Santa Fes, but I can’t deny it’s quite effective and tasty.

Final Score: 85.

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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.