New Basin Strongest 13 Year Old Light Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

A question confronting anyone eyeing a bottle of whiskey from a small distiller is whether it was made in-house or sourced. That question has only become trickier in recent years, because for some outfits the answer could be “both.”

New Basin Distilling in Oregon is an example. While their Strong 3 Year Old Light Whiskey could have been made by them–the company has been in business since 2012–their Strongest 13 Year Old must logically have been sourced. New Basin won’t be in a position to have such a product from their own stills for at least another few years. They are, however, known to do most or all of the aging of their sourced whiskeys themselves, at their distillery in the high desert of western Oregon.

As interesting a question is who New Basin could have sourced middle aged light whiskey from, and the answer is probably MGP in Indiana. That most ubiquitous of American distilleries makes a light whiskey from a 99% corn mash, one that I have encountered before in independent bottlings and blends from other brands.

Moreover, light whiskey occupies an unusual place in the stock whiskey trade, because light whiskey itself has never really been a big thing. The category was created as a response to the world whiskey industry’s crash of the 1970s, an effort by American distillers to follow the tastes of the Boomers who were into vodka and wine coolers. The effort came to naught, light whiskey never caught on, and it survives to this day as a cheap element for blending or a bar item for cocktails. As a result, demand for aged light whiskey is small by comparison to aged bourbon or rye, and it’s pretty much the only stock whiskey available today with a middle aged statement and a reasonable price tag attached.

The Whiskey
Bottled at cask strength of 133.4 proof, Strongest has a light amber coloring in the glass, and a scent of caramel and pepper. The palate has a light texture, naturally enough, but is a strongly flavorful liquor. It runs with a current of caramel, accented by toffee and a touch of fruitiness, before turning spicy on the finish.

The Price
This bottle will set you back $119.