Tasting notes

nose

Honeycrisp apple, golden raisin, kumquat zest, wildflower honey and malted-milk chocolate, with toasted oak spice

palate

peach and cherry cobbler, gingersnap, roasted marshmallow and cocoa nib, darkening to molasses, dried thyme and charred oak

finish

long; almond cake and brown butter, with mint and a gummy red-fruit candy note as it fades

Mash bill

64% corn, 36% rye. The corn is non-GMO yellow corn from Colorado and the rye comes from Idaho, with no malted barley in the recipe. That much rye makes it a high-rye bourbon, and High West ferments it with three yeast strains, including the rarely used S. diastaticus, to push fruit into the aroma.

Why it's craft

This is the first bourbon High West has released nationally that it distilled entirely itself, made in the fall of 2020 at its distillery in Wanship, Utah. The corn and rye were grown in Colorado and Idaho, and the barrels aged under bond for four years and five months at about 4,000 feet above sea level. High West has been owned by Constellation Brands since 2016.