Bourbon

Bourbon Review: Doc Swinson’s Garryana Exploratory Cask Straight Bourbon

We review Doc Swinson’s Garryana Exploratory Cask Straight Bourbon, aged for over five years in new American oak and finished in Garryana oak casks.

OVERALL RATING

9
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Doc Swinson’s Garryana Exploratory Cask Straight Bourbon review

Tasting Notes

About:

Aged for over five years in new American oak and finished in Garryana oak casks, 54.4% ABV, mash bill: 1: 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley and 2: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley, SRP $80/ 750ml bottle.
Appearance:
This whiskey is amber in appearance with a yellow undertone.
Nose:
This initially comes across as muted and subtle on the nose. With time, hints of chocolate, wood polish, and ripe apricots emerge. As the whiskey sat in the glass, it began to show notes of mineral-rich sea salt, malted puffed cereal, cocoa powder, and Samoas Girl Scout cookies. This quickly became my favorite aromatically of the line up with its appetizing and mineral nose that changed significantly over time.
Palate:
This is one of the more aromatic whiskeys in the summer line up. I taste notes of raw honey with a rich sense of whole vanilla beans and sassafras root beer. The body is light and zippy with a linen-like crispness to the alcohol. Am I sipping on a chocolate ice cream root beer float? There’s a note of yeast here like a whole grain bread dough fermenting while dense rye bread is being pulling steaming from the oven.
Finish:
Comments:
I applaud the use of local wood for this release. It’s notably different from the base bourbon, available as the Doc Swinson’s Five-Year Blenders Cut Straight Bourbon, and quite distinct from the other Exploratory Cask series release I tasted that was finished in French oak. The complexity of the spice and mineral aromatics kept things interesting with all the rich chocolate and root beer notes. Of the five Doc Swinson’s I tasted, this would be the first one in my shopping cart.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Suzanne Bayard

Suzanne Bayard struck out to the West Coast with her now husband almost a decade ago to explore the intersection of wine and policy in its world-class wine regions. She manages a Portland, OR bottle shop by day as the wine buyer and newsletter editor. She is also the Director of the Deep Roots Coalition, an organization of 30 Willamette Valley wineries that educate on and promote dry farming and sustainable practices. She joined the Whiskey Wash to explore two other passions: writing and whiskey.

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