Andalusia Whiskey was started by friends Tommy Erwin and Ty Phelps in 2015. They discovered the site of their planned distillery was once called the Andalusia Ranches, perhaps after the hill country of southern Spain. The Andalusia Stryker is one of the four main offerings from the distillery. Harkening back to the Scottish tradition of drying malted barley using peat smoke for some of their whiskies, Tommy and Ty give Stryker a Texas twist by smoking the barley with a mix of oak, mesquite, and apple wood, pointing towards Texas barbeque as their inspiration.
Distillery: Andalusia Whiskey Co.
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 50%
Price: $58.99
Maturation: Charred oak barrels
Location: Blanco, TX
Nose: Wintergreen, mesquite, smoke, BBQ, milk chocolate, brine, cola
Palate: Bacon, wintergreen, smoke, black pepper
Finish: Char, mint
Comments: Water is not needed. Also delightful in a cocktail.
Adam – I’m surprised by how sweet the Stryker is on the nose, somehow suggestive of a Doctor Pepper-like cola? But then comes the smoke with a little spritz of wintergreen. What a ride. The smoke continues into the palate but the sweetness steps aside for a dash of black pepper along with some charred, caramelized meatiness that to me is a callback to cooking bacon on the stovetop but for the distillery is probably closer to the TX BBQ they were pointing to. It’s still a young whiskey, to be sure, but is riding a dirt bike of flavor unabashedly throughout the entire experience. In a flash it’s gone again, roaring off into your memory, the subtle mint that’s been riding sidecar the entire time coming to the fore with a little bit of char to leave you fresh, ready for another sip.
Kate – Reminds me again of the millionaire’s bacon because of the bacon and pepper and honey elements.
The Stryker is like a pirate map. It’s a scavenger hunt of a whiskey.
Henry – Complex, layered, and sweet wood smoke on the nose. An initial char yields to applewood and maybe a hint of wintergreen before it’s through. Sweet-sarsaparilla-maple-barbecue-mesquite apple wood bacon on the palate. Charry burnt finish with a pleasing dryness.
Ben – The Stryker is like a pirate map. The edges are all burnt and you can’t tell if the X’s are where the treasure is buried on the map. It’s a scavenger hunt of a whiskey.
