Wyoming Whiskey Double Cask Bourbon Review

By Randall Borkus

Rating: B

My first Wyoming Whiskey experience started in April 2013, when I literally got lost in a Wyoming blizzard and ended up in Baggs, WY. I saw a light in the distance and drove to it very slowly. I found myself parked under a lighted gas station awning and figured I just sleep there until morning. When the storm slowed I saw as sign across the street “Cowboy Inn.”

I made my way to the Inn, hurriedly exited my car and, to my surprise, the front door was open. The owner-proprietor met me with a smile. His parking lot was mostly empty so he was obviously happy to book me a room and a seat at his bar. He grabbed a bottle of Wyoming Whiskey and poured me a few ounces saying “welcome to Wyoming!” After a couple of deep pours I made my way to my room thinking, “Damn! That’s some rough juice!”

Well, that was then and this is now. The town of Kirby Wyoming is home to Wyoming Whiskey, and although I haven’t stopped there, I’ve driven by it many times in my travels. This was the state’s first and only whiskey distillery which  started production in 2009. The distillery is owned by the Mead family and located in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming, who came to Wyoming as ranchers back in 1890. Over the past 125 years, the family has operated their ranches and raised cattle in Spring Gulch and in Kirby. The family has a history of U.S. Senators, lawyers, extreme skiers, two Wyoming Governors and, presently, whiskey makers.

The Bourbon
This Limited Edition Double Cask Wyoming whiskey is aged in a most unique maturation environment in the whiskey world. Kirby has a sub-zero cold winter and desert blistering hot summer weather to make the juice dance in and out of the oak cradle. That environment is tough on people, but it’s extreme have great potential for the whiskey aging. The Double Cask Limited Edition starts with the same wheated bourbon used in the Small Batch and Single Barrels. The mashbill is 68% Corn, 20% Wheat, 12% Malted Barley, aged for five years in new, charred white oak barrels and finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks before bottling at 50% ABV.

The whiskey is not chill filtered and has a dark rich mahogany color in my glass evidencing the romantic dance in a sherry cask for finishing. The nose bursts with sweet dried fruits and candied fig jelly. The Wyoming Whiskey Double Cask has a wonderful aroma which I could nose for hours.

On the palate I experience a saucy, rich and syrupy juice reminding me of butter sautéed mulberries with hints of vanilla, dried raisins and orange candy sprinkles. The finish is intensely warm and long with notes of oak, more dried fruit, fig jelly and fresh-ground cinnamon spice.This whiskey is just plain good and it’s exciting for me to see this smaller distillery growing.

The Price
A check with online retailers shows this listed at $59.99 a bottle.