Summer Solstice Solera Cask Whiskey. 2021.
Online sales of the Solstice Solera will begin at 7:00 PM on Sunday, June 20!
FINE PRINT: THERE IS A 1 BOTTLE PER PERSON LIMIT. ORDERS WITH MULTIPLE BOTTLES OF WHISKEY WILL BE CANCELED AND REFUNDED. THIS ITEM IS PICKUP ONLY. WE CANNOT SHIP. PICKUP WILL BEGIN MONDAY AT 1PM, BUT FEEL FREE TO PICK UP LATER IN THE WEEK.
A recap: What makes this release so special is that it started as three individual casks of whiskey that spent about three years in new American oak and then blended into a single sherry cask. That whiskey mingled in the sherry cask for six months. After six months, we bottled ~1 barrel worth of whiskey which became last year’s summer solstice solera (we’ll refer to it as SSS from here) release. We topped the barrel off with another barrel of whiskey, and now 2/3 of the whiskey in the sherry cask has been in there for 1.5 years, and 1/3 has been in there for 1 year. This is also our oldest stock - whiskey that we made very early on. Today, we bottled another barrel’s worth for this year’s release. And boy...
Tasting notes: Drink this whiskey neat. Sure. Make a Manhattan. Or two. An old fashioned would be lovely. But. Drink this whiskey neat. At least a bit of it. No ice. No water. At least just a sip. Please. We decided to bottle it at 50% ABV again (100 proof), which is quite high. But - it is quite delicious, and it really doesn’t seem that strong. The extra time in the sherry cask is really starting to show. The oxidative and incredibly sweet fruity notes are notably darker and richer. The chocolate and tannins that were kinda punchy and rowdy in the first solera release have mellowed. And the cask that we blended in tied everything together very harmoniously. The cask that we added last year was whiskey that had been aging in an ex-Madeira barrel for 2.5 years and was distilled from a beer made without chocolate malt. It was light, bright, and fruity. It really lifted the whole thing and eased the tannins while reinforcing the fruit notes. If you happen to have any of last year’s SSS, it sure will be fun to compare to this year’s SSS. I like last year’s. I actually love last year’s. I bounce back and forth between that and Flagship Batch 2 being my favorite. Yeah. I choose favorites. This is my new favorite, and a release that we are really excited for. We just wish there were more of it. Once again, very comparable to other “sherry bomb” styles of whiskey out there, but with just a touch more richness from the new American oak and chocolate influence.