The usage of oats in whiskey production is extremely rare, and for good reason: it has a low yield and is thicker, making it more difficult to work with compared to other grains. Still, that has not kept the distillers at Corsair from experimenting with it. The Corsair Oatrage continues the distillery’s penchant for pun-themed names that highlight the grain (at least until their recent rebranding efforts). This single pot still whiskey is made from 51% malted oats, 27% 6-row malted barley, and 22% coffee malted barley. Coffee malt is a 2-row malt that has been moderately roasted, imparting an aroma and taste of coffee, and is often used in dark beers in the same way chocolate malts are.
Distillery: Corsair
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 50%
Price: $46.06
Maturation: New charred American oak
Location: Nashville
Nose: Coffee, oatmeal, earth, ash, iodine, smoked ham, mocha, hazelnut
Palate: Hazelnut coffee, nut, oatmeal
Finish: Coffee, ash
Comments: Letting it sit in the glass for a while does help improve the integration of flavors.
Adam – I’m not sure what kind of sensory experience I was expecting when I poured this whiskey in my glass. I was hoping for something, well, oatrageous, whatever that might be. Yet of all things, the Oatrage is less a dissertation on oats and more of a thesis on…coffee. That a was surprise. There are elements of sweetness and the subtlest of smoke on the nose, but there’s this astringency underlining it that is starkly reminiscent of the last mouthful of shitty coffee that’s lukewarm. With some patience other notes do open up, some sweetness and nuttiness that are quite lovely. But again, the coffee is super strong on the palate, overcrowding some of the other notes from the nose that are trying to jockey for a place at the table. Suddenly it’s over and your mouth has this charred flavor left with a little bit of that coffee bitterness to it. This is clearly a young whiskey and I wonder if it’s maybe too young. Maybe also the case where the name clearly was created by the marketing folks, who maybe didn’t pay attention overmuch to what was actually in the bottle. Was a coffee pun really too far of a reach?
Reminiscent of a sweet, creamy coffee stout.
Kate – I think Oatrage is a misnomer. I liked it, but it’s more about the coffee and the nuttiness than the oats. I think they came up with the name and thought it was cute. But really, you should expect from this is a mocha hazelnut flavor.
Henry – My first impression was coffee and soot on the nose, opening up to iodine, savory smoke, and funky North American peat. As I breathe deeply, a sweet hazelnut note comes through; this is the best part of the whole thing. Coffee on the palate, reminiscent of a sweet, creamy coffee stout, fading to smoked meat and sooty bitterness.
Kristin – I liked the coffee-ness of the Oatrage. It doesn’t burn, since I don’t like burning.
