Stephen and Elaine Paul founded Hamilton Distillers in 2011 in Tucson, born out of the question if smoke drying barley with mesquite wood could impart something unique to a whiskey. After a lot of experimentation, it turned out that the answer was yes. While the distillery eventually settled on their core line, they were continually experimenting with different ideas, the essence of what got them started in the first place. Some of those early experiments involving mash bill and maturation have started to see the light of day over the last couple of years, including their line of Distiller’s Cuts, which are released thrice a year and named after the seasons. The Distiller’s Cut Summer 2023 was a true mixing of elements. One batch was aged in new American white oak and finished in ex-rhum agricole barrels (rhum agricole is a style of rum made from freshly-squeeze sugar cane instead of molasses, often made in the French West Indies). A mesquited tequila petit eau (water aged in tequila barrels, which does in fact absorb some alcohol from the wood over time) was added and the whole was given a base of the Classic before being blended in stainless steel tanks. Nicknamed “Abbey’s Blend” after Abbey Fife, one of the Hamilton’s distillers (though now in marketing) who was responsible for creating this particular offering.
Distillery: Hamilton Distillers
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 52%
Price: $120.00
Maturation: new American white oak, a used tequila barrel, ex-rhum agricole barrels.
Barrel: Bottle 110 of 720
Location: Tucson, AZ
Nose: Lemon, wintergreen, mesquite, pear, evergreen sap, balsam fir, roasted nuts, figs, raisin, cinnamon, clove, dried cherries, brown sugar, allspice, cranberry, dark chocolate, vanilla
Palate: Orange, floral, spice, dark chocolate, treacle
Finish: Tobacco, clove oil, nectarine, fruitcake
Comments: While this drinks surprisingly well at full strength, it can be fun experimenting with a few drops of water to see what that does for you.
Adam – The Distiller’s Cut Summer 2023 is blended to reveal rather than blended to hide. What can’t you find in this cornucopia of a nose? And even though the nose is dense with wood and fruit and nuts and spices, they are crowded harmoniously together like a Yule Ball, dancing for the senses. An unwatered sip is a complimentary whirlwind, if not quite so broad in scope as the nose. Orange and spice and everything nice – and sweet – await the tongue, with a lingering citrus and light tobacco rounding out the finish to leave you both engaged and satiated. While on the more premium end of the price point, it is a singular experience showcasing talented craftspeople, never to be repeated in quite the same fashion. Beautiful and vibrant.
Kate – This is like a crowded ballroom of professional Viennese waltz dancers. There’s a lot going on but it’s beautiful. It’s choreography. Orange with cloves stuck in it. It leaves you salivating on the palate.
Henry – There’s a blended smell to the Distiller’s Cut Summer 2023, like the Yankee Candle Company but delightful. For a summer release, I’m hearing jingle bells when I smell it. The palate reminds me of a more evolved version of a orange cream sherry. This is Christmas! A heady and complex nose of warm, stewed stone fruits, clove-infused citrus, ripe pears, holiday potpourri, balsam, and wintergreen; disparate elements, which, in the hands of a less-skilled distiller, would clash. However, they are beautifully complementary, and tell a wonderful story. Perfume-y florals enter on the palate with a bang, accompanying the bright citrus spice and a bit of heat. Finish is long, mouth-watering, and unusually complex, with pipe tobacco, oak, and stone fruit. Delicious. It’s like Christmas in a glass.
Ben – There’s a raison on the nose and it’s really juicy raisin, the black kind where you can tell it used to be a grape. If this were a pie, before being baked, all assembled, I want to eat this pie. It’s a little like raw cookie dough. A really thorough second nose reveals some dark, dark chocolate and cranberry, with a little hint of mint tucked in there. This how I like my hot chocolate, actually. Not too sweet, really more chocolaty. And I usually throw in a little Grand Marnier in there anyway.
For a summer release, I’m hearing jingle bells when I smell it.
Bill – There’s a covered note in here on the nose, like a brandy would have. It’s got a mincemeat-ish thing going. There’s a lot going on, this is pretty complex. There’s definitely a sugary, molass-y thing happening. It feels like there’s a hint of a rye in there, even though I know there’s not. Just a hint of some pepper. The finish is reminiscent of fruitcake. The British, brandy-soaked version, not the gravel-eating Trappist monk version. The dark chocolate is huge on the palate, you can almost taste the bitter in it. Almost baking chocolate. The palate is nothing like the nose. The chocolate is almost something like treacle or figgy pudding.
Evelyn – The Distiller’s Cut Summer 2023 is so sweet. That’s what I keep coming back to. There’s vanilla on the nose, a really alcoholic vanilla, vanilla extract. For how sweet it smells, it doesn’t taste sweet. This would be fantastic in a pecan pie.
Sam – I definitely get some vanilla on the nose. It reminds me of when my mother would take raisins and prunes and soak them in a good cognac, then put spices in there once they’d soaked to give them a little kick. I used to steal them as a kid and loved them. That’s what I’m getting here. The palate is very savory.
