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Bearface Whisky Review: One Eleven Series Oaxaca Edition

We review Bearface One Eleven Series Oaxaca Edition, which marries ten parts single grain Bearface Canadian whisky with one part Mexican mezcal distilled from agave.

OVERALL RATING

7
N/A
  • Beth Squires is the Deputy Editor of The Whiskey Wash and a graduate of the OurWhisky Foundation’s Atonia Programme. With over half a decade of industry experience, she is passionate about writing stories that highlight innovation, diversity, and sustainability across the global whisky landscape.
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Tasting Notes

About:

This Canadian whisky from Bearface uses the ‘one-eleven rule’, which allows producers to blend ten parts of one whisky with one part of another. In this particular whisky, ten parts of single grain Bearface Canadian whisky are married with one part Mezcal distilled from foraged agave espadín from the village of Baltazar Guelavila by Maestro Mescalero Pedro Hernández. Bottled at 85 proof.
Appearance:
Brass, on the thin side.
Nose:
Holy Coa de Jima Batman! The agave is strong on the nose and augments the wood and caramel aromas in a way that adds up to a tobacco-like smokiness.
Palate:
It’s fascinating that although the mezcal is only a small portion of the blend, it’s the agave flavors that come out swinging on the palate.

That distinctive, semi-acidic sweetness opens space for a more characteristic caramel body with an omnipresent smoky background.
Finish:
The smoky flavor lingers with a hint of sweetness and earthiness that eventually fade.
Comments:
That smoky flavor is likely going to be polarizing as it sort of crescendos over the course of the whisky’s time on the palate and becomes an almost acrid/charred taste on the first sip. I found my palate calibrated to it after a couple sips and it became less overwhelming, but if you don’t care for smoke you probably won’t care for this. Overall the Oaxaca One Eleven is very unique; a fun and mostly successful experiment that suffers a bit from the overly assertive smoke notes. This promises to be a versatile cocktail ingredient.

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.

Beth Squires

Beth Squires is the Deputy Editor of The Whiskey Wash with over half a decade of industry experience. She possesses comprehensive knowledge of the global whisky landscape, spanning everything from heritage and production to complex market analysis. A graduate of the OurWhisky Foundation’s Atonia Programme, which champions women in whisky, Beth is a dedicated advocate for diversity and sustainability, focused on highlighting the innovation and storytelling that define the modern whisky industry.

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