I was not originally going to admit to having bought this bottle of whiskey. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I already have WAY TOO MUCH, and probably one of the last things I needed was another bottle.
Look at all those words! |
But, I’m a sucker for labels, and this one called out to me: “Hi-Falutin’ Admirably Superior and Well Mannered WhipperSnapper Oregon Spirit Whiskey.” Upon looking it up I discovered that it was bottled by Ransom Spirits – which the bottle does say, but it’s printed on the right edge of the label and not very prominently displayed. Apparently they make wine, and gin, and vodka…which might all be great, but my current interests lie elsewhere.
I’m not familiar with much whiskey from Oregon, the other notable example for me being Rogue Dead Guy from…well…Rogue brewery/distillery, which I’ve only had once. From what I recall, a bottle of Rogue DG is around $36.00, where this bottle of Whippersnapper was $34.10. A similar price point, but the Rogue whiskey does not stand out in my mind as being as exceptional as the Whippersnapper.
Absolute carnage… |
The real battle was getting the bottle open in the first place. The wax was black, thick, and missing the standard pull-tab that is usually present on wax-dipped bottles…I tried to cut into it with a knife, but in the end we resorted to using a lighter to heat up the wax and scraping it off with a flat-head screwdriver. It was messy but effective, and in short order I was looking at an open bottle, all the possibilities it offered laid out in front of me like the yellow brick road, ready to be followed. There was a lingering scent of burnt wax around the mouth of the bottle, but fortunately it didn’t transfer over to the spirit itself.
The spirit pours a lovely, tawny golden brown color. I get a very sweet, fruity smell off of it, with almost a hint of rum-like vanilla. I believe I could sit and smell this without sipping and almost – almost – be content. But what would be the fun in that?
Whippersnapper goes down quite smooth and feels slightly thick on the tongue. I get a sweet taste from it, slight warming sensation, and very little burn, if any. It finishes quickly and leaves behind only a vague tingle on the tongue and a desire to drink more, to relive the sensation.
Final thoughts:
Overall this whiskey ranks very high in my list – I would put it in my top 5 (including Scotch), which is saying something. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a $34 whiskey, because it seems to be hit or miss sometimes…but this one seems to be an exceptional value and well worth the money. Definitely try this if you get the opportunity!!
My rating: 90/100