The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By John Rayls
Rating: B-
10th Mountain Bourbon
(Credit: 10th Mountain Spirits)
10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company is big on creating marketing images both verbal and visual. They have built their organization around two primary ideas: 1) the toughness and resiliency of the men who began training for combat in the 1940’s just south of Vail, in the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and; 2) the pure enjoyment and excitement of living an active outdoor lifestyle.
Of course, Vail conjures up both of those images as well. The company includes this writing on its bottles, “10th Mountain Bourbon embodies the same characteristics of the 10th Mountain Soldier: confident yet humble, adventurous yet grounded, bold yet modest.”
The founders claim to use locally sourced ingredients, and one of the most exciting parts of this company is that it used Kickstarter for at least a portion of its funding.
The Bourbon
I found the bourbon to be sweet at the start, in the middle, and at the finish. This, no doubt, comes from the “sweet, sweet corn” grown near Vail, which comprises 75% of the mash. The whiskey seemed a little thin to me, this despite swirling it producing a coating on the glass which receded reluctantly.
At 92 proof, it produced a nice warmth which lasted a long time even after the flavor had died down. However, it does not come across as “hot”. It’s a very smooth, easy drinking whiskey. This is especially surprising considering it was aged for only six months. You will certainly get the hint of vanilla with a stronger flavor of toasted nuts. Although I can appreciate deeply the desire to recognize of the 10th Mountain Division, I continue to struggle with tying this bourbon to “…confident yet humble, adventurous yet grounded, bold yet modest.”
The Price
Their website lists the 10th Mountain Bourbon at $57.99 for a 750ml bottle, and you can purchase it directly from their website. That isn’t cheap, but of course, if you’ve ever been to Vail, you already know there isn’t anything inexpensive anywhere near there.
My grandfather was an original 10th mountain soldier, so I think I owe it to my grandfather to get at least one bottle
10th Mountain bourbon whiskey was my favorite bourbon whiskey until you quit using natural cork and started using a synthetic cork and now it is the Worst whiskey I have ever tasted. So please let me know if and let me know if you go back to using the natural cork because I can’t see wasting my hard earned money on a whiskey that was my favorite bourbon whiskey, to the worst whiskey I have ever drank.
Please go back to the natural cork.
That is interesting. Usually if a cork is pointed to as the cause of a bad anything-beverage, it is natural cork, due to cork contamination. I’ve never heard of anyone blaming synthetic cork before. That doesn’t mean it isn’t possible, but that stuff is supposed to be made of food-neutral material.