Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Vapor.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Colorado, USA.
ABV: 53.5%.
Age: 4 years. Bottled in 2024.
Cask type: Multiple cask types and malted barley varietals, see below.
Price: Gift, sells for $75 USD for 750mL locally.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 6 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder (consistent through the entire bottle.)
Nose: vanilla paste, cherries, oiled wood, blackberry syrup.
Palate: full body ~ cherry cough syrup, liquorice tea, more oiled wood.
Finish: long ~ on vanilla and cherries, wood smoke.
Thoughts: Since I’m based in Boulder and Vapor is the closest distillery to me, I tend to follow what they are doing with keen interest even if I don’t always fall in love with their spirit. The distillery has been releasing a higher-ABV, bottled-in-bond-esque series for a couple of years, all with names associated with hiking culture (Trailhead, Ten Essentials, etc.) Leave No Trace features a complex recipe that I’ll copy directly from Vapor’s website:
100% malted barley whiskey aged in charred oak for a minimum of 4 years, finishing times vary. Elements used:
- Straight peated malt, 4.5-6.5 years
- Straight malt, 6 years
- Sherry cask finish, 7 years
- Secondary aged Ten Essentials, 5.5-7.5 years
- Root Shoot roasted malt whiskey, 4.5 years
So, we have peated malt, roasted local Colorado barley, a sherry finish, an overaged cask left over from a previous release in the series (which itself included a vatting of armagnac, tawny port, and PX sherry finishes), and plenty of new oak to tie it all together—the go-to cask for Vapor is a No.3 char new oak barrel, so that’s what most of this was aged in. I would say that the end result is actually better than the Frankensteinian sum of its parts might let on; it comes together into a simple but relatively conjunct experience focused around wood, herbs, vanilla, cherries, and blackberries. The new oak is still a bit much for my tastes, but it becomes part of the recipe here rather than the entire story (as do the peated malt, roasted malt, and the sherry-finished component.) In that sense, it reminds me of Bruichladdich’s complex vatting and re-racking of casks in pursuit of a flavor profile that differs from the norm. I’m still waiting for a slightly lighter wood touch from their single malts, but this is probably my favorite Boulder Spirits release thus far.
Final Score: 82.
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 