Utah’s High West Distillery is well-known for a nose for sourcing whiskey from other American producers to bottle under their own label. While some may see this as being sacrilegious, the thing to note about High West is they are one of the best, if not the best, at this shell game. They also tend to indicate where they get the whiskey from, with their latest distillery release, the High West 14 Year Light Whiskey, being no exception.
High West said its new 14 year old expression is a limited edition bottling, available only at its facilities in Utah. It heralds from 100 barrels “discovered” by master distiller Brendan Coyle and his team at MGP that was distilled between 1999 and 2001 before being aged in second fill casks.
For those unfamiliar with the term light whiskey, here is how High West describes it:
Quick whisky question
Single malt is everywhere, but what does it mean? We want to know what the word “single” means to you. Three quick questions, under a minute.
Light whiskey denotes a grain spirit that’s been distilled at a higher proof than a straight whiskey — between 80-95% alcohol by volume (ABV) versus less than 80% ABV respectively. It’s typically used as a component in about 95% of the world’s blended whiskeys. In the U.K., what they call grain whiskey is essentially the same thing as light whiskey.
“This whiskey was distilled at a higher proof on the still, which reduces the heaviness of the flavors, and reveals more floral and fruit subtleties,” said Coyle in a statement. “It was aged in used barrels, as opposed to first-use charred barrels, which lends more elegant complexities with a spirit-forward character.”
High West 14 Year Light Whiskey, bottled at 46% ABV, is pricing at a rather hefty nearly $100 a bottle if you want one. Limited official tasting notes for it are below.
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