Boondocks Cask Strength American Whiskey
In-Depth Review
If you haven’t heard of Boondocks, you’re not alone. Located in Bardstown Kentucky, this small craft distiller has built a small portfolio of offerings that range from bourbons and ryes to American whiskies aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Boondocks doesn’t currently own their own distillery, which may be one of the reasons you haven’t heard much about them. Boondocks was created as a subsidiary under the Royal Wine Corporation to source its whiskies from other distilleries. But with a growing distribution network, and some interesting expressions in their portfolio, I figured it was worth a shot to try their halo cask strength American whiskey.
Boondocks Cask Strength is an 11-year American whiskey aged in ex-bourbon barrels that clocks in at 127 proof. Dave Scheurich, the founder of Boondocks and formerly of Woodford Reserve, makes the interesting choice of using used barrels instead of virgin oak. Since bourbon is legally required to be aged in unused oak barrels, this doesn’t actually qualify as bourbon and is instead classified as “American Whiskey”. After finding Boondocks Cask Strength at a local shop I figured this mysterious cask strength whiskey was worth a shot.
Age: 11 Years
ABV: 63.5%
Cask: Ex-Bourbon Barrels
MSRP: $55
Distillery Name: Boondocks
Review Date: 5/1/21
Color: Light Gold
Nose: The nose starts off with strong ethanol notes mixed with bright sugars and hay. Burnt maple syrup, toasted caramel, and the faintest whiff of oak also show up. As it sits in the glass, grape notes mix with the sugar and conjure memories of brandy and wine, only lighter and more alcohol forward. Almost like a very intense sugar-coated grape – if it was dipped in alcohol and set on fire. It’s a wild, unrestrained nose that’s unlike any other whiskey from Kentucky that I’ve ever had.
Palate: This is a raw, punch in the mouth whisky that isn’t subtle about its proof. The ethanol plays on the tip of the togue and allows the flavors to drift into the back of the mouth. There are sour fruits, white chocolate, and more grape. Similar to the nose, the palate is quite sweet. But not a natural sweet, more like an artificial high fructose corn syrup sweet. Like the type of sugar powder you’d get in a packet of Fun Dip. The mouthfeel is good, with a good weight and consistency, but the flavors are a disappointment. The ethanol seems to overpower the palate and leaves me feeling like this was a significantly younger whiskey than its 11 year age statement would suggest.
After adding a couple drops of water, the whiskey did calm down and more notes of toffee, fruits, and hazelnut appeared, but it still wasn’t enough to overcome the strong artificial sweetness that was coming through.
Finish: the finish is long and lingering and begins with a very light caramel flavor before moving onto a splash of oak that wasn’t present on the palate. But as the finish stays with you, the flavors can turn bitter, leaving me disappointed as I try to enjoy what should be an excellent craft whiskey.
Final Thoughts: I wanted to love this whiskey. All of its pieces (cask strength, 11 year age statement, Kentucky origin) should have made this a winner – but Boondocks Cask Strength let me down. There were too many rough edges, and not enough compelling flavor for me. Using ex-bourbon barrels was always going to provide a very different whiskey experience than a traditional Kentucky bourbon – but after 11 years, I expected the casks to have softened the raw power and create some nuance. Instead, this felt like a much younger whiskey that had its fiery personality left untamed. This whiskey has some good pieces, but ultimately felt disjointed. And with an MSRP of almost $60, I feel like there are better options in this price range if you’re looking for a cask strength American whiskey experience.
