High West High Country American Single Malt
In-Depth Review
High West has been kicking ass lately with some of their special edition releases. They feel like a distillery that’s really coming into their own, making an excellent array of products, and haven’t become pigeonholed into traditional processes or products. They like to experiment. And normally it pays off.
High West’s High Country American Single Malt is one of those experiments. A blend of three different malts including a 100% base malt, a 100% tri-malt, and a 100% peated malt, this whiskey is not chill filtered or colored. It’s said to be aged a minimum of 2 years and with malt as old as 9 years, but beyond that, the rest is a mystery! As with many other High West releases, High Country benefits from High West’s typical barrel experimentation - which in this case - means finishing in French oak Port Pipes. This is a similar finishing process to High West’s famous Midwinter’s Night Dram rye blend.
And if you haven’t seen this at your local liquor store – you’re not alone. Sadly, as with some of High West’s other releases, this is a distillery only release. So in order to grab a bottle you’ll have to head on down to Utah to grab a bottle at their distillery gift shop or their High West saloon in downtown Park City. Either way, it’s a fabulous place to visit, so I highly recommend. Shoutout to my brother who graciously grabbed this bottle for me as a housewarming gift.
Age: A blends of three malts aged 2 to 9 years
ABV: 44%
Cask: new and used charred white American oak with some finished in port casks
MSRP: $80
Distillery Name: High West Distillery
Review Date: 3/20/21
Color: 14 Karat Gold
Nose: The nose on this is instantly refreshing. With strong notes of honeysuckle, melon, and citrus. Immediately reminds me of Disneyland frozen lemonade slushies. As it sits in the glass, richer notes of orchard fruit, sweet malt, candied apples, and straw appear. There is the faintest puff of smoke as it settles into the glass. A good nose, with inviting notes that draw you into a sip.
Palate: Freshly brewed black tea with a twist of matcha powder. There’s definitely a strong herbal quality here, with the tea notes coming in strong. Then on the second sip more sweet malt appears, which quickly takes center stage. The malt influence leads to notes of fluffy sponge cake, sweet breads, and early grey cookies. Then comes melon, fruitcake, and more refreshing citrus. The mouthfeel is good, with just enough burn to balance its creamy texture.
Finish: Short finish without much spice. The finish fades quickly into soft sweet notes of vanilla bean, almond paste, and a touch of rosewater. There’s a touch of wood influence here, but its subtle.
Final Thoughts: High West’s High Country American Single Malt is a unique whiskey that delivers a subtle, sweet, herbal character that is refreshing and inviting. The combination of new and used American oak and port finishing is subtle. The malt is key here. The tea notes on the palate were a unique twist, and likely born of High Country’s unique blending and maturation process. At times I found this to be a bit ethereal. Not a strong punchy malt, High West High Country Single Malt was more subtle than I expected. But what it brought to the table was interesting – and absolutely worth a try. As American Single Malt comes into its own as a category, look for High West to be on the bleeding edge of this exciting new whiskey genre.
