Featured at World Whisky Day 2020: Many an American single malt (and those the world over) take a variety of cues from scotch. Wanderback is tapping into a different tradition, one found in both Ireland and in the Bourbon world here in the United States, somewhere between a distillery and an independent bottler. This is where a brand works with a distillery to create the whisky, which is then handed over to the brand for anything else like maturation and blending. This isn’t because the company wants to shortcut the normal process, moreso that they want to explore all the prospects American whiskies currently produce already offer and take them in new directions. The first four batches, The Evergreen Collection, were distilled just a few hours to their north at Westland Distillery. The Wanderback Batch 3 has been aged in high toast, low char new American oak for five years and finished in French oak port casks.
Distillery: Wanderback Whiskey
Region: Foreign
Age: 5 years
Strength: 45%
Price: $59.00
Maturation: ex-port casks
Location: Hood River, OR
Nose: Citrus, orange blossom, wintergreen, apricot
Palate: Wintergreen, raisin, bacon, coffee, chocolate, grain
Finish: Dried cherry, chocolate, brown sugar
Comments: Keep these folks on your radar.
Adam – The base spirit already brings that lovely wintergreen on the nose and palate along with the chocolate on the finish, but that’s only because I know where this came from. The Wanderback Batch 3 does a wondrous job of blending the ex-port casks with the base spirit to elevate both into something really unique. The port influence definitely bring some florals and sweetness that give almost a candied fruit on the finish after the wintergreen kicks the palate off. This is a lovely dram to explore and unwind, with a new layer ready to peel back and savor. The sad part is that it’s not a perpetual offering even if Wanderback releases large offerings with each batch. This is what the awesomeness of American whiskey is, the search for new things and experimentation. The down side is that the really nice stuff can get elusive fast. But isn’t that the plague of so many good whiskies? What I do know is that I can’t wait to see what future batches from Wanderback entail (hint: Texas).
Ben – This makes me believe in trusting others. I don’t know what they did or how they did it, but it’s a nice mix. It’s uneven, which makes it an adventure every time you take a sip. I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to make that adventure go poorly. There’s no danger that you’re not going to like the next thing. We should all be lucky to have lovers like this.
We should all be lucky to have lovers like this.
Kate – The Wanderback Batch 3 smells like smoky cinnamon streusel. With a creamed honey sweetness. On the palate is bacon and coffee and really rich dark chocolate. It doesn’t have a super long finish, my one complaint. I kind of want it to be longer, I enjoy it so much.
Henry – The nose is such a beautiful trip through a cornucopia of fruits. From just a hint of floral to a deep winey richness. With dried apricot. Everything from fresh apricot on the tree to stewed fruit with just a little edge of actual perfume if you breathe it in lightly. It’s the stone fruit, everything from the nuttiness’ of the pit to the fragrance of the perfume, stone fruit. And in the mouth, that unmistakable Westland cereal note is cradled by the cask influence. Both the oakiness and the tannic nature of the port, which comes together in the finish. The finish could be longer. It’s a warm medium finish. The thing that overwhelms me is how the fruit, the nut and the toast integrate. Like apricot cobbler without the muskiness of the apricot. White peach cobbler. Such an interesting combination of fruits. And the lightest possible nose reveals that Westland, the cool wintergreen frisson.
Kristin – It has a sweetness to it, like an apple. I really like it.
