The Story

Distillery 291 has been producing its Colorado Whiskey since 2011 and says its whiskey is “Handmade the Colorado Way”.  291 is involved in every bit of the whiskey making process and uses innovative techniques to help mature their whiskey. One of those ways is to use Aspen Wood Staves to finish several of their 10 variations of whiskey.

One of those variations is their 291 HR (High Rye) Colorado Bourbon Whiskey. According to 291, the origins of the high rye mashbill happened by accident. A double dose of rye was added to the bourbon recipe by mistake. As it turns out, this was not a complete disaster. After aging, 291 discovered that the resulting batch was a nice balance between their bourbon and Colorado Whiskey, so they kept it.

The bottle we reviewed came from Batch #24 and clocks in at 126.8 proof. The mash bill is made up of 67% Corn,  32% Malted Rye, 1% Malted Barley and was aged at least 1 year in new, charred, American white oak barrels.

Nose

on the nose we get some prominent wood aromas, dark fruit, syrup with the woodiness hanging out in the background.

Palate

Spice dominates the palate with the heat quickly making its presence felt. While that slowly dissipates the woody funk from the nose is revealed followed by a hard cherry candy flavor.

Finish

The finish is long and dry, similar to that of a red wine. Overall, wood notes dominate the profile.

Verdict

This was a bottle that we really wanted to like and were impressed by some of the nuances in the profile, but ultimately we are giving this bottle a pass. 

291 did a great job maturing this whiskey. Whether it was the aspen stave finishing or the double rye content, the 1 year age is not really noticeable. With that being said, there are some things that were hard to overlook. The woody notes were almost overpowering on the nose and palate. I am fond of woody and oaky notes, but not when they overtake the whiskey. The spiciness and heat were also factors in our rating and may have been the slightest glimpse of the whiskey’s youth. 

Secondly, there’s the price point. It is very hard to spend north of $100 on a whiskey you’ve never tried, let alone something that you might have not heard of with an age statement of at least 1 year. We really feel this whiskey deserves a try at least, but feel it is priced too high for what it offers. Age is not everything in a whiskey, 291 has shown that here, but it is a tough sell at a higher MSRP.

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Cheers friends!