Stranahan’s Sherry Cask Whiskey
When you think of Colorado you probably don’t think of whiskey. But Colorado is where Stranahan’s Whiskey is distilled and aged. Today I tried Stranahan’s Sherry Cask whiskey. This sherry cask whiskey is four years old and is aged in 40 year old Oloroso Sherry Casks from Spain, specifically the Andalusia region. Stranahan’s Sherry Cask is made in small batches and I bought bottle #3739 of batch #2.
Sadly Stranahan’s doesn’t have a lot of information on their website about their Sherry Cask whiskey. But I was able to find some information from TheCask.com.
From The Cask
The Nose
A surprising amount of sherry right off the bat. There’s candied almonds, fudge brownies with nuts, spiced orange, cherry pie filling, and raisins. Notes of fruitcake, lemon oil polish, and subtle malt syrup follow. Subdued oak with a bit too much of that lemon furniture polish applied, along with baking spices – vanilla bean, nutmeg, clove and candied ginger – and a faint hint of oiled leather.
The Palate
Initially quite zippy with a familiar oily mouthfeel and…lots of sherry. More candied almonds, cherry cough syrup, plump raisins, and juicy citrus. After that, maple extract, burnt sugar, a bit more dry fruit cake, along with salted mixed nuts, and melted dark chocolate. Stronger youthful oak – grippy, rough-sawn boards. Hot cinnamon, vanilla bean, clove, ginger, and black pepper. This gets a little hot and quite bitter towards the end.
The Finish
Slightly numbing and a little too bitter with cola, burnt sugar, tannic oak, woody cinnamon, ginger and black pepper dust.
Thoughts
Fairly decent, but also a little confusing. For a slightly older than four year old whiskey, I thought this lacked the richness of the Diamond Peak. And at the same time thought it was a little too influenced by those old Oloroso casks. The nose had an interesting complexity, with a paler, more amontillado-like feel. The palate was more Oloroso-like, though still relatively fresh and lively seeming. The wood influence grows throughout and, by the finish, gets to be a bit too astringent. As I said, the Stranahan’s profile seems a great match for sherry cask maturation, but in this case, the sherry influence felt perhaps too heavy, and overwhelmed the richer aspects of the four year old malt, amplifying some of the younger, woodier harsher aspects. While this one is not quite there, the general idea is a worthy addition to the brand and I’m certainly looking forward to future batches.
https://thecasks.com/2018/03/30/stranahans-sherry-cask-colorado-single-malt-whiskey-review/
From The Dapper Man
Aroma
Sweet, fruity, nutty, some honey
Taste
Sherry, nuts, caramel or brown sugar
Finish
Shorter than expected, woody, brown sugar, slightly spicy.
Final Verdict
I love this whiskey. Not only because Stranahan’s is from Colorado, but because it is sweet, but not to sweet, and not peaty like Laphroaig, Lagavulin, or Johnny Walker Double Black. I will keep a bottle of this on hand for when I want something sweet instead of smokey. I would highly recommend picking up a bottle before it is all gone.
Mrs. Dapper Man tried this whiskey and she really enjoyed it and she is not a whiskey fan.
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Greg from The Dapper Man
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