Review by: Raygun
A blend of mesquite-smoked single malts from Santa Fe Spirits in New Mexico and Whiskey Del Bac in Arizona, bottled by American independent bottler Lost Lantern. According to their marketing copy, it aims to capture the experience of sitting around a fire on a dark night. Thanks to dustbunna for the sample. Initially sampled blind, with additions after the reveal in italics. Rested about 15 minutes.
Distilleries: Santa Fe Spirits and Whiskey Del Bac
Bottler: Lost Lantern
Region/style: American (Southwest) blended malt whiskey
ABV: 57%. Cask strength.
Age: 1 year
Cask type: Whiskey Del Bac used some new oak and some used oak for initial maturation, followed by a finish in Pineau des Charentes cask. Ex-bourbon barrels for the Santa Fe Spirits contribution, which was 3-4 years old.
Color: 1.3 tawny. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.
Price: $100
Nose: Some fruit to it, but seems pretty dry and oaky. Not as heavily sherried as the color suggested, but there is some wine influence, with tobacco, nuts, and prunes. Some touches of spice as well. I wouldn’t call it smoky, but the spices could be due to the mesquite. There is something like charred tomato, too.
Palate: Packs a punch; surely cask strength, and probably pretty high. Maybe it’s not sherry? Not oloroso or PX anyway. Not sweet enough for PX, and there isn’t much of the dried fruit and mustiness of oloroso. Could be a different kind of wine cask. Sun-dried tomatoes, prunes, almond butter. Spice that reminds me of Indian food, or Mexican. Gets a little sweeter with water. I see why I had trouble figuring it out. Clearly wine influence, but Pineau des Charentes is not something I’ve had much of, plus the mesquite flavor makes it different. Very woody, with some barbecued potato chips.
Finish: A little more like a sherry cask here. Pretty dry and woody. Some astringent black tea, prunes, and more almonds. Get some of the sun-dried tomato as well. Has some heat to it; likely high 50s. The oak gets stronger and there’s less fruit. Still wouldn’t call it very smoky, but there’s the barbecue potato chip flavor.
Guess: Not much like sherry, but not red wine either. Not sure what else it could be. Trying to think who’s got this nutty and dry style of sherry at cask strength. Not much like Glendronach. Closer to Glengoyne, but they don’t do much at cask strength. Benriach is a possibility, some single cask. Or Bunnahabhain. Could definitely see it being a Bunna. Around 56-58% and 15-16 years.
Post-reveal thoughts: Pretty far off. American malt is, for me, the Spanish Inquisition of whisky: I never expect it. And so not surprising that it didn’t occur to me, and the desert climate aging would explain the strong woody flavors which made me think it was older. Got the ABV about exactly right, anyway. Could have done worse.
Conclusion: Taking this on its own merits, this is good. Not trying to taste like bourbon as so much American malt does. It’s very woody, but not in a new oak kind of way, if that makes sense. Doesn’t quite put me in mind of a campfire, but that’s OK. It’s doing something different and it tastes good. I’ve tried one or two other blends from Lost Lantern, and I’d say this is my favorite.
Score: 81
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
- 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
- 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)
Malt Runners 