Made from 100% malted barley the Dogfish Head Straight Whiskey is a surprising move for the famous brewery; I was expecting them to make whiskey from their beers. Instead, they went a more traditional whiskey route. But that’s kind of what they’re known for. Not being traditional, but turning left when you think they’ll turn right – keeping you off-centered.

100% malted barley spirit briefly aged in toasted barrels in Delaware. This will be an interesting malt whiskey review for sure.

Dogfish Head Straight Whiskey Review: Details and Tasting Notes

In Dogfish Head’s Words:

“This whiskey is aged more delicately than your typical American Whiskey: In wine making, the use of toasted and lighter char oak barrels is preferred to allow the liquid to mature and retain the delicate flavors of the grape. We apply the same philosophy in the barrels we select to age our whiskey. The result is a delicately aged whiskey, reliably smooth, capturing the nuances of the malted barley.”

Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)

Region: Delaware, USA

Distiller: Dogfish Head
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: Toasted Oak
Age: NAS
ABV: 40%

Price: $45*

Tasting Notes

EYE
Honey

NOSE
Honey-sweet and slightly tart aroma with notes of apricot-heavy fruit and spice. Bit of spirit and caramel.

PALATE
Honey-sweet and slightly tart with some balancing apricot-heavy fruit, caramel and spice. Has a bit of spirity vanilla, lemon and wax that picks up as it fades.

FINISH
Medium -> Lemony tartness, spice and wax.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good sense of balance, medium body and a light soft feel.

Dogfish Head Straight Whiskey Review: Overall and Score

The Aroma is noticeably young but carries a nice fruity sweetness; Palate is sweeter and more developed and carries a waxiness that reminds me, a tad, of Clynelish; Finish is a nice fade of the best parts of the palate. It’s light, obviously young, and a tad spirity, but on the whole I’m glad they went this route instead of a distilled beer route.

I don’t care much for “finished beer” whiskeys; I’m not a Charbay fan… or a fan of any of the others like it I’ve had. The hops in the mash ends up tasting like I’m drinking pot and leaves a cringing metallic aftertaste. So I’m glad this isn’t that.

The whiskey is immature and a bit spirity, but shows tremendous promise. It’s a good spirit at its core, but definitely needs more maturity to really develop into something awesome on its own. As it sits right now it seems like it would be a great cocktail ingredient and looking at their site, they seem to be embracing that aspect fully.

SCORE: 2/5

*Disclosure: This Dogfish Head Whiskey sample was graciously sent to me by the company for the purposes of this review. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.

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