Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a free sample to review by the party behind it. The Whiskey Wash, while appreciative of this, did keep full independent editorial control over this article.
In my search of new shows to binge watch, I have settled on Downton Abbey. I shunned it when it was currently running: just couldn’t get into it. Perhaps I’m becoming less of a philistine in my dotage? I’ve only just started Season 2, with WWI uniforms fillin my screen and my mind—so when I got Cavalry Bourbon to review, I thought it was somehow fitting. Old School, right? A throwback?
Not so much, actually! Cavalry Bourbon comes from Spectrum Spirits, LLC, which is a “brand development organization, which fosters efficacy, productivity, and creativity… Spectrum members have over 30 years of experience in the Spirits Industry, 25 years of brand development and marketing experience and 40 years of logistics experience.” Cavalry uses this know-how and experience to create a different kind of bourbon.
Let’s call it bourbon for the impatient.
Cavalry’s mash bill is 75 percent corn, 21 percent rye and 4 percent barley malt, and sourced from Indiana’s MGP. It was sent to South Carolina’s Terraessentia, where the magic happens. And by magic, I mean science. They add distilled water to bring the four-month aged bourbon down to 90 proof and run it through an ultrasound and oxidation process. Cavalry claims this process makes an extremely smooth, clean-tasting product that rivals its barrel-aged counterparts.
I’m all for progress and innovations in drink, but I’m also torn. Whiskey writers are supposed to be all grumbly about the johnny-come-latelies, yes? I’m supposed to scoff at this, right? I want to resist change, like the Downton Dowager. But I’m also quite impatient and curious about getting my whiskey faster–especially as whiskey’s popularity continues to climb.
So: Is this evolution or a shortcut? Only the palate knows for sure.
Tasting Notes: Cavalry Bourbon
Vital Stats: This will run you about $28, and it’s 90 proof. It’s aged four months. A nice thing about Cavalry is that they help back charitable organizations that support veterans, active-duty, reserve, National Guard, or their family members through advocacy, emergency assistance, grants, counseling, and other types of direct and indirect support.
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Color: Honey fresh from the hive
Nose: New, virgin paper; cloves; graham crackers
Palate: Spicy on the tip of the tongue, but then quickly mellows. It’s smooth—so smooth—and it’s delicious. Truly. It’s buttery and sugary but balanced not to be overwhelming. This is overwhelmingly drinkable. Super-easy and workable in anything: neat, rocks, cocktail, swigged from the bottle after a tough day. It’s so pleasant! And sometimes it’s nice to have a whiskey that doesn’t punch you with everything in its being.
But here’s the thing: Cavalry is so smooth as if to be constructed in a lab—which is basically is. And while you could argue that any distillery is a kind of lab, this really…tastes like it was created by science. It has all the right ingredients and components, but there’s an earthiness, a wildness, that’s missing.
Final Thoughts:
Cavalry is like the Stepford Wives of whiskey. I’d say I’d give this to someone who is unfamiliar with whiskey, because it’s so clean and nice, but I wouldn’t want them to think all whiskey is something that simply…checks all the right boxes. Sometimes you want a ride, and to leave things to chance. But I get it, too—gambling’s not for everyone. At least not all the time.
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