Because we are perhaps the oddest whiskey club currently running, it stands to reason that we display our oddness for you all to enjoy. Or hate, I don’t know. Pursuant to this character flaw, we will publish the results from an equally odd tasting theme from one of our recent meetings: beer cask finished whiskies. You heard that right, not the other way around. Whisky cask finished beers are (were) all the rage, and while I have not tried many I even remotely liked except one, why not flip the script and review the only 3 beer cask finished whiskies we could find? What could go wrong? Nothing. Nothing at all.
The first in this theme will be New Holland Brewing’s Beer Barrel Bourbon. New Holland produces Dragon’s Milk stout, which, not coincidentally, is aged in bourbon barrels. These barrels, after housing Dragon’s Milk, are then re-purposed to further finish for about 90 days bourbon made on site at New Holland. It appears that at one time they were sourcing 3-5 year old bourbon from MGPI (who else), but this is no longer the case. These bottles can be found in the Midwest, but I don’t know to what extent they’re available in the other regions of our fair country. After chill filtration and cutting down to 80 proof, New Holland’s Beer Barrel Bourbon will run you about $40. On to it….
SWC Review
Nose- Yeasty and malty. Orange peel. Sugary orange soda sweetness. Cashews. Over ripened plum. Green tea and grapefruit pith. Minty vicks.
Taste- Cigarette ash. IPA-ish. Sour grapefruit and watery. Vanilla with time. Like a fortified Fanta.
Finish- Metallic, honey. Short. Almost nothing. Some tea and hops. Green floral.
Comment- Pretty awful for some, but not undrinkable for others, I guess. The nose works but the taste absolutely does not. Pass.
SWC Review- 71/100
*Tasted Blind
Agree? Disagree?
Spokane Whiskey Club 
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