Woodinville Private Select Single Barrel OHLQ "Butterscotch"

Can the PNW deliver a bourbon that competes with the Midwest titans?

By Not Masters of Malt

February 15^th, 2021

FROM THE DISTILLER...

Woodinville Distillery Notes:

This truly small-batch bourbon starts with traditionally grown corn, rye and malted barley. All of our staple grains are cultivated exclusively for us on the Omlin Family farm in Quincy, Washington. The grains are mashed, distilled, and barreled in our Woodinville® distillery, then trucked back over the Cascade Mountains to our private barrel houses, where Central Washington’s extreme temperature cycles promote the extraction of natural flavors from the oak. Prior to being coopered, the barrel wood is seasoned in open air, rain, wind, sun, and snow for eighteen months, softening the wood’s harsh tannins. The barrels are then slowly toasted and heavily charred to further enrich the wood’s desirable flavors. This meticulous process yields a truly hand-crafted spirit with aromas of crème brûlée and spice cabinet, as well as notes of rich caramel, dark chocolate, and vanilla bean on the palate with a sweet, lingering finish.

Woodinville Private Select Single Barrel OHLQ "Butterscotch"

BEHIND THE BOTTLE:

Craft distilling is all the rage right now with establishments popping up all over. But if you would have told me a contender was coming out of the great state of Washington I might have looked at you a bit funny. After researching their process and sampling a couple of their offerings I can honestly say that Woodinville is putting themselves on the map.

REVIEW:

Price (6/10):

$69.00 off of the shelf at our local Kroger. They had several available and given the release information posted on the OHLQ website, they had been sitting for a bit. The price is probably a bit too steep to take a flyer on something that you probably never heard of if you are an average consumer. Lets face it, they don't have "Buffalo Trace" written on the side so I wouldn't expect people to line up out the door. All in all, this bottle of Woodinville runs about in line with what other craft distilleries are charging for this type of non-standard offering.

Nose (9/10):

Oh man the nose on this bottle! This is the thing I kept coming back to over and over with this whiskey. It is aptly named because it is a butterscotch bomb. The other predominant note is of an incredibly buttery fresh out of the oven peanut butter cookie. It is so up front in a good way that it overwhelms most of the proof. On subsequent pours I could also pick out toffee, chocolate chip, and cinnamon as well. A real serious treat to sniff...I'm really interested to see whether this is purely a unique characteristic of this barrel or if others have some similar notes present.

Palate (7/10):

The proof comes through a bit more on the front of the tongue along with caramel and the butterscotch from the nose. As it moves to the back of the palate you get more of the charred barrel influence as well as maybe just a hint of apple. It is hard to call this part a letdown, but it was always going to be a difficult task to live up to the nose. Overall, just a bit flatter than advertised.

Finish (7/10):

The finish is medium long and nutty with some more baking spices coming through right at the end. You also get butterscotch and toffee which shouldn't be surprising at this point. Exactly like what you would be expecting after tasting it.

Aesthetics (4/5):

Every part of the presentation here is excellent. The large branded cork has the perfect feel. The branding shines and is noticeable on the shelf and the raised lettering on either side of the bottle give it a premium feel. They also get the little things right, the handwritten barrel identification and ABV pushes that "handcrafted" feeling.

Availability (2/5):

This (like many of our most recent reviews) is both a single barrel and OHLQ pick, so the likelihood of finding this anywhere outside of an Ohio shelf is slim. However, I don't find it to be a chase bottle so if you know someone who can hunt, it may be possible to find one or I am sure there are other picks available in other places.

Overall (35/50): Daily Drinker

Final Verdict:

This sits at the very top of our "Daily Drinker" category and I think that this makes perfect sense.

It is all too easy to cast aside a significant number of startup distilleries or for them to not get the recognition the older ones enjoy. I've often found myself caught up in that mindset and this bottle reminds me that there are some truly unique options for those willing to scratch just past the surface. Woodinville is doing just this by putting out a good quality product. Their Port finished whisky beats Angels Envy hands down and this is one of the most interesting bottles we have in our collection currently. It isn't just pretty scenery and Portlandia being exported from the top left corner of the US anymore.