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American

Onyx Moonshine Secret Stash - Private Barrel

$60.00

OVERALL
RATING

4

Whiskey Review: Onyx Moonshine Secret Stash – Private Barrel

Tasting Notes:

About:
Appearance:
This pours a rich orange with amber and brown highlights, and has slight, fast legs.
Nose:
The nose is very interesting and intense. I primarily get raw woods (saw dust, pencil) and port. There is a slight medicinal quality to it, with minimal heat, and the promise of a sweet, boozy sip ahead.
Palate:
On the tongue this starts with massive oak notes, toffee, and honey. It is somewhat tannic and astringent, which is kept in check by the boldness of the sweeter notes, but is ultimately uneven.The finish starts clean and mild and quickly explodes into a bouquet of woods, sugars, and cereal notes. It lingers, then brings a few flickers of heat, ultimately turning dry and warm.
Finish:
Comments:
This is a very unusual spirit. Onyx primarily makes un-aged whiskey, and the small barrels used here contributed quite an intensity of flavor to the blank canvas it was given. However, this bottling is over-oaked, and is so intensely woody and medicinal that it almost creates a port-like finish. rnrnI also understand the expense of doing a project like this, but the price is completely off the mark in terms of quality here. I would rate this slightly lower if it wasn’t for the way it will forcefully engage the drinker. Recommended with a couple of drops of water.

When I first started getting into spirits, I had the idea of buying commercial white whiskey and aging it on oak cubes and various other woods in mason jars. I quickly realized that this was a horrible idea when the ‘shine turned a dark brown in just under a month, and was the most astringent thing I have ever tasted. Since then, the idea of drinking white whiskey has been challenging to say the least. Fortunately, the Onyx bottle up for review has undergone a treatment different than mine.

Onyx Moonshine is based in East Hartford, Connecticut, and focuses on historical distilling practices from the region dating back to the 1600s. This distillery started in 2011, and the co-founders have family roots in the New England speakeasy game of the 1920s.

With Onyx Moonshine, they created a recipe true to that time, and claim to have produced “the first ultra premium American moonshine ever.” It is made from corn and “malted grains.” It also comes as a 111 proof special release, and an apple-honey infused version. Secret Stash Reserve was their first aged product, which took their moonshine and aged it in 55-gallon newly charred American oak for an unspecified amount of time. Secret Stash Private Barrel, reviewed here, has the same methodology and a higher proof, but no additional information.

Tasting Notes: Onyx Moonshine Secret Stash – Private Barrel

Vital Stats: 91 proof, no age statement, $60 for 750ml

Appearance: This pours a rich orange with amber and brown highlights, and has slight, fast legs.

Nose: The nose is very interesting and intense. I primarily get raw woods (saw dust, pencil) and port. There is a slight medicinal quality to it, with minimal heat, and the promise of a sweet, boozy sip ahead.

Palate: On the tongue this starts with massive oak notes, toffee, and honey. It is somewhat tannic and astringent, which is kept in check by the boldness of the sweeter notes, but is ultimately uneven.The finish starts clean and mild and quickly explodes into a bouquet of woods, sugars, and cereal notes. It lingers, then brings a few flickers of heat, ultimately turning dry and warm.

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