The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B-
Yellow Rose Premium American Whiskey
(Credit: Yellow Rose)
Yellow Rose Distilling started out a few years back by following the already tried and true path of the craft whiskeymaker: put out some product at once to build your brand while you get your micro-distillery up and running and your in-house products mature.
In the case of Yellow Rose, that meant sourcing certain products, like the now defunct Yellow Rose Double Barrel, while their Outlaw Bourbon is made by the distillery. In between is Yellow Rose Premium American Whiskey, formally known as their Blended Whiskey. In corresponding with me about their current lineup, the distillery implied that some of the constituent whiskeys in the blend were made by them, while remaining opaque about the sourcing side.
The Whiskey
What we have here is a Houston spin on Canadian Whisky. Some of it is bourbon, some of it is not, and none of it is neutral grain spirit. The whiskey was bottled at 40% ABV.
This is a simple, straightforward whiskey, and I must say that although I compared it in a technical sense to Canadian Whisky just now, I like it a lot more than many Canadian blends I’ve had in the past. The nose is fruity with apples and citrus, kind of like a fruit juice blend aged in an oak barrel. The body is neither light nor heavy. Yet the finish is absolutely light, as in not carrying much warmth, and goes down almost clear.
This last point makes this whiskey the very thing I would reach for if I were sitting out on the veranda in a Texas summer. Warm weather whiskey drinking is a subject never far from my mind, living as I do in a country where air conditioning is applied lightly, if at all. This stuff is not a deep sipping whiskey, the sort of thing you take your time with and consider. It’s also not mixer-grade. Instead, put it on ice and enjoy a flavorful whiskey, sans the flavoring, and don’t fuss too much about it.
The Price
Pricing for Yellow Rose Blended Whiskey floats between $32 and $35.
I just recently bought a bottle of this on my way back from Texas to the Netherlands. I am mostly a scotch and Irish whiskey drinker (although I’m quite picky with the Irish stuff), I’ve never tried Canadian whiskey, and am just now getting into Bourbons. I find this to be overwhelmingly sweet, so I’m checking reviews to see if anyone else shares this opinion. It surprised me, because while I’m not a highly experienced whiskey drinker, I’ve certainly tried my fair share and have never came across something this sweet. While I didn’t hate it, it just seems to be abnormally sweet. Is this something that is more prominent for Canadian whiskeys, is there something I’m missing?
Regards,
Eric
I can see where, if you are coming at this from a Scottish base, it would come across as too sweet. Although sourced from Canada, my opinion is that it was blended from that stock with a clear eye on bourbon fans. Bourbon fans tend to prefer sweeter whiskeys.
Another thing is I wrote this up just shy of 6 years ago. As a sourced product, it is possible the blending has changed in that time. I haven’t heard any such thing, but it happens.